E-mail this page Reader Comments (below)

By Justin Ellis Monday, April 9, 2007

When you think of public speaking, what comes to mind? Is it that book report on the "Scarlet Letter," the mass of unknown faces, the attention, the dooming potential of flop sweat, or something else?

Is it fear?

There is a very real sense of dread that comes from putting ideas out into the open, where they can be mauled and stomped onto life support.

But if you believe in something, maybe standing up, saying it and defending it is a chance you have to take.

"It's not as scary as rejection or failure," said Justin Cote, who at his best guess has taken at least one class on public speaking and is excited by the idea.

"But it's opening up, so that's scary in a way," said Yumiko Murakami.

The two are students at the Maine College of Art; they are also Vestigial Avengers. The avengers are tasked with a job that seems simple on its face: Find something you're passionate about and talk about it in public.

For almost a month, a small group of students has held forums at the Portland Public Library, discussing topics such as living on a farm, the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and living off the grid.

Though the forums are part of a class at the college, they involve more than a typical research paper or presentation.

The final forum in the series starts at 4 p.m. Friday at the library main branch downtown.

Perhaps public speaking would not seem so bizarre if we did not live in a time when even the longest conversations get shortened to a txt message, or when it seems the only place left to vent ideas is your blog.

"I see people as hungry for it," said Lisa Pixley, a recent graduate of MECA who is also moonlighting as an avenger.

Everyone has theories, ideas or seemingly random thoughts that they debate by themselves, she said. In a forum you can hash it all out in the open in a less formal way, she said.

"When you're having a conversation with somebody you don't have to have a thesis statement," Pixley said.

Pixley suggested the name Vestigial Avengers on a whim. After a day of studio visits, the word vestigial kept popping up in conversations describing people's works. After looking up the meaning, she threw out Vestigial Avengers as a group name and was surprised when it stuck.

Pixley, Murakami and Cote will each present a topic this Friday.

Murakami will look at how people decide what matters most to them.

Using video and live performance, 30 people will each have one minute to say what's most important.

In this way, what people choose to say will be as important as how they say it, she said.

Cote and his partner, Nina Petrochko, will discuss how people place value on found objects that can be reused in creating art.

It could be called scavenging, some may say it's rescue, others use the word recycling. But as an artist, Cote asks, how does taking something discarded transform its worth?

Pixley will focus on how history shapes what happens today -- specifically what the history of a certain place or building says about Portland and the people who were here in the past.

Oratory -- also known as public speaking, or speechifiyin' -- doesn't have to be something from the past, said Chris Thompson, a professor at MECA.

The forums are part of Thompson's practicing theory course, which set up the idea for a forum, but left most of the leg work up to students.

Thompson said people see practice as what is done in the studio, while theory is some dense, weighty thing that gets talked about in classrooms.

Thompson said he considers the series a success.

"It's almost like vaudeville," he said. "You get these really wild performances, some are very serious and some are wildly funny."

Just the act of going public means you have to be willing to stand up to questions, which could lead to questions of your own, Cote said.

Said Pixley, "In a place like class you're protected -- it can be easier to explain ideas on paper or out loud."

Murakami said she's never had to speak publicly before, but is looking forward to Friday.

One way to look at it is that theories -- in that large scary way people may look at the word -- come out of people talking about what's on their minds.

Maybe what's important isn't the theory, but what happens next, Cote said.

"There's a lot to learn from talking and not just trying to make a point," Cote said.

Staff Writer Justin Ellis can be contacted at 791-6380 or at: