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by Sheilah McEwen

The music begins to play, and in a swirl of colour and lights, the performers of Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque bound, glide, and even cartwheel out onto the stage. Who are these people exactly? Erin Maxick (also known as Dusty) describes herself and her fellow performers as: “An extraordinary collection of freaky sick twisted inspirational sensual bizarre and highly wacky souls!"

But...let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

Lucent Dossier was formed two years ago in Los Angeles, California, with the aim to ”Bring light onto its viewers.” Says performer Roger Fojas, “and perhaps allow those viewers to spread the same kind of light to others in their world.” This is probably why the name ‘Lucent Dossier’ loosely translates to ‘A Gathering of Light’. Lucent follows ‘The Four Agreements’, based on the writings of Don Miguel Ruiz, within their close-knit community to maintain peace and keep everyone happy. ‘The Four Agreements’ are as follows:

1. Be impeccable with your word.

2. Don’t take anything personally.

3. Don’t make assumptions.

4. Always do your best.

Lucent Dossier is not officially a non-profit organization, but functions pretty much the same way. They will take donations of materials for props and costumes, money (of course), and “a whole lot of love!” as they state on their website.

Lucent Dossier strives to inspire and interact with their audience. ”In a performance there is this fourth wall that separates us from the audience, and we are trying to break down this wall.” says Dream Rockwell, who I had the pleasure of interviewing over the phone. Dream also tells of an especially magical performance: ”I actually walked out into the audience and curled up in this man’s lap and fell asleep (we were all pretending to sleep all over the stage) and he just put his arms around me and cried...and then I started crying, and we just stayed like that for the rest of the show...it was beautiful.” Lucent has performed with artists, such as Panic! At the Disco, 30 Seconds to Mars, Healer, and the Flaming Lips, and appears in Italian Vogue magazine’s April 2007 issue alongside other circus performers. Their rehearsal area is held as sacred by those in Lucent Dossier, and is called, simply, ‘Temple’. Once there, they "Sit in a circle and hold hands,” says Dream, ”and then just be wacky.” For those who want to run away and join the circus (the vaudeville cirque, to be exact), now is a great time to prepare for this! ”The best is to have multiple talents and a willingness and energy to learn.” says Roger Fojas, "It’s great to have a dance or gymnastics kind of training.” Having a background in theatre or any circus-based talents, such as trapeze, contortion, and aerial tissue, is great too. Lucent has only held auditions once, and other than that they have “met and found people that fit in with our style.” says Roger of recruiting new members. I hope to attend circus school to prepare for my future trip to Los Angeles to join this fantastic group of people.

The performers of Lucent Dossier hope to travel around the world and share their wacky style of theatre with everyone and ”to bring new light into entertainment and theatre and to allow people to see the world beyond the box.” says Roger.

Remember this:

"We must shed the spells society has accidentally cast upon us, and find out, for ourselves, who we are and what we want from this incredible world of possibilities.”

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