Junkyard Theater’s

Interview with a Vampire

Junkyard Theater's Artistic Director, Justin Leaf, recently sat down with a vampire to discuss cross-dressing puppeteers and the meaning of life.

Vampire: Who is Ginger to you?

Leaf:  Ginger is my muse.  Like a puppet -- the ultimate puppet, perhaps fulfilling some childhood Muppet fantasies -- bringing them to life. 

Vampire: But she's a woman, and you're not.  Why must you portray a woman (you pervert)?

Leaf: Oh, the question of gender.  Yes, this is a drag art, so I suppose gender is relevant.  As if we have something to uphold in that realm, I'll play along...  If Ginger is a puppet of sorts, then why not question the Muppets?  Frank Oz played Miss Piggy for years.  Still does.  Is he questioned for morality's sake?  Have you taken offense to those puppets?  [The vampire looks dumbfounded.]  No?  Well, it might have been different if Kermit had carried a purse like that poor Teletubbie!  What was his name?  Tinky Winky, I think it was!

Vampire: Wait a minute.  Are you trying to compare yourself to Frank Oz?  I mean, you're wearing the dress, and you seem to enjoy it. 

Leaf:  Okay.  So while I say that Ginger is essentially a puppet, I don't deny the fact that I'm a man dressed as a woman (of sorts) and I experience the performance -- and enjoy the performance -- from that perspective.  Is that what this is about? 

Mistress Ginger stars in her premiere music video

“See-Line Woman,” which premiered in July 2009 as part of Junkyard Theater’s Bedroom Eyes at the Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater in Minneapolis.

Film: Emily Tyra and Justin Leaf

Music:  Nina Simone, Verve Remix

JUNKYARD THEATER

 

            “I am in the butt crack

                   between theater

                         and dance...”

                              ~Mistress Ginger

Subscribe to the Junkyard Theater’s

e-newsletter for sundry updates about upcoming performances and whatnot.

                                                                                       Vampire:  Well...yes.

Leaf:  Are you disturbed because I appear to take pleasure in crossing those lines, in donning that

wig, those heels, that dress? 

Vampire:  Well, you are such a great dancer, a real dancer, even a classical dancer.  Why must you go down this road to ruin?

Leaf:  I feel in that moment, when performing as Ginger, with that combination of elements:  dance, song, character, a culmination of everything that I have cultivated in myself as a performer and a creator thus far in my lifetime:  the beauty of line, the power of a voice, and a sense of humor.  And even as a child, when I was absorbed in fashion design, puppetry, and playwrighting, I was -- unbeknownst to me -- preparing for this work.  Then, I consider the other significant aspects of my life as a gay vegan yogi, longing for liberation in all realms.  I notice how those themes make their way into the life of Ginger -- who is also ultimately longing for love, liberation, and happiness.  You see, all of those facets of this diamond I call self have an arena for play in the vessel of Ginger, my muse.  So, when playing her, I can play with all of those things that I have cultivated, and I feel like something has come to fruition, something has been fulfilled.  The aim of those years of toil has been uncovered.  Now I enjoy and explore and evolve this cross-dressing puppet who has come to life.

Vampire:  I'm confused.  First of all, you make it sound like what you do with Junkyard Theater is meant for children.  How dare you compare yourself to Frank Oz, that good, upstanding heterosexual.  What's wrong with you? 

Leaf: I know.  I had a feeling that all of this talk about puppets and cross-dressing might have you confused.  (And you thought I was confused!)  Don't get me wrong, Junkyard Theater is not child's play.  My work bears evidence of my temporal circumstance:  the world, the society, the culture, the frame in which I live.  In this way, the themes are (almost always) for a  "mature" audience -- though it's with childlike wonder that these themes are explored.  In a style not unlike that of the Muppets we call ourselves Junkyard Theater.  I can even see those two old Muppet men up in the balcony, heckling Ginger as she attempts to pull off some Streisand inspired medley with as much gusto as she can muster.  A few props will come in handy.  A dance phrase stolen from here or there.  Gwen Verdon thrown in for kicks -- literally.  And bubbling beneath the surface are some themes true for us all, some themes tying this tomfoolery to our worldly existence, to our spiritual evolution, and revealing our greater depths:  Love.  Life.  Death.  Power.  Happiness.  Bondage.  Freedom.  And more.

Vampire: Hmm...  Do you have anything else to say for yourself?

Leaf:  We have come of age now.  THIS is the time of our lives.  That's what I say when I'm working on a new show, a new act, a new dance, a new song.  I turn to my collaborator, and I say, "Look at us.  We are having the time of our lives.  THIS is the time of our lives!"  

Vampire:  You sound pretty sure of yourself.

Leaf:  That's Junkyard Theater.  We are bold and limitless.  We are free and loving.  We run.  We play.  We live the life of our dreams.  "Ah, the mystery of dreams that you find in the Junkyard!"

Vampire:  Hmm...That sounds...kind of nice...if you like that sort of thing.

Leaf:  It's okay.  You can suck my blood.  There's more where that came from.