Deadletter B – Benjamin Maxwell Sand Grad
Director & Infrastructure Geek
"The Man Who calls Himself Deadletter" came to Portland on December 1, 2005 to explore implementation of his social networking theory through the art project Dead Letter, as well as pursue a PhD at Portland State University in the Systems Science Department. His first career as a high school math teacher continues today with Portland Public School and Village Home Resource Center, though using FUEL as an example of new kinds of curriculum development will hopefully lead to bigger and better opportunities to change education and group development in this country. The long term goal is to combine group processing software with individual interest and projects to meld mathematics, craft and community service projects to create a useful application of student energy across the country. He's also the owner and manager of Watershed, an industrial arts building in SE Portland, and the director of Tool Shed, a non-profit located at Watershed that engages in craft demonstrations and education in Portland, OR.
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Xandra Green
Design Virtuoso & Professional Cat Herder
Xandra Green worked with most of the top Northwest design firms for over 10 years before starting her own company Upbeat Design Inc. Her passion and experience in design and marketing have launched many clients from small local businesses into nationally recognized accounts.
Xandra's festival background began in 1995 when she discovered the Oregon Country Fair. Immediately recognizing that the best part of the event was working behind the scenes, she signed on with the security crew for a number of years before moving on to assist with the logistics of hospitality and crew services. In 2008, she officially accepted the roll of Coordinator managing all aspects of health, safety and happiness of over 2,000 volunteers. Since 2001 she has also been the Operations Manager (better known as the Ice Queen) for all ice sales at Burning Man. In the last 9 years she has expanded ice sales from one small vending area to three fully independent locations, each staffed with hundreds of volunteers with the combined selling power of 6-9 semi trucks of ice per day.
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Noah Mickens
Talent Wrangler
Noah Mickens is the Ringmaster of the Portland Freak Underground. He helms or has helmed such top-shelf entertainment operations as Wanderlust Circus, nightmare ritual troupe Societas Insomnia, post-asiatic chamber noise ensemble Nequaquam Vacuum, dirty variety review Cabaret Babylon, and revolutionary freakshow The 999 Eyes Of Endless Dream. In addition to the aforementioned troupes, he has performed extensively with butoh dance troupes P.A.N. and Death Posture, experimental theater mob Implied Violence, and the difficult-to-summarize Greasy Demon Heat cycle. His work as a theatrical director has included a butoh adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream co-directed with Mizu Desierto, dark fairytale noise musical Bogville co-directed with NagaSita, and post-apocalyptic rock opera Day of the Zombie composed by Zombie Dan Abbott. He sat on the board of directors for 2Gyrlz Performative Arts, helping to organize their annual EnterActive Language Festival for 4 years. He was the original creative director of Someday Lounge, in-house booker for the Rotture-Branx complex, and founder of the regrettably short-lived Hippodrome Circus Arts Center. Until its 10-year hiatus began this year, he was the major U.S. coordinator for the global music collective called Radon. In 2010, his major focus is on his role as talent coordinator for the Fuel Festival, developing the Wanderlust Circus' residency at The Bossanova Ballroom, and directing an opera called Queen of Knives composed by Eric Stern. He'll take you off like a Saturday.
