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Creative faces Mail Tribune / Andrew Mariman Three Rogue Valley girls try on their creations after a mask-making workshop at the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater in Medford on Sunday. Performer Michael Cooper gave the workshop before his 3 p.m. show at the theater. By Shari Downhill Master mask maker Michael Cooper wrapped his magical net of creativity around about 50 children during an afternoon of mask-making at the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater on Sunday. The Pied Piper papier-mache, Cooper instructed workshop participants in the makings of their own paper masks, which included entertaining lessons on mime and the value of everyday magic. "I had no obvious talent when I was growing up," Cooper said of his early theatrical experience. "I did enjoy figuring things out. It�s the sticking with something that�s important. I really believe talent is a much overused word. The greatest talent in the world is tenacity." Cooper creates many of his own exaggerated character masks with a papier-mache method that uses clay, brown paper bags from the grocery store and Elmers glue, he said. Each mask can take from one to three weeks to make and include as much as 300 hours of labor. The entertainer donned two favorites for his young audience � a chicken and a baby boy � adding his theatrical talents to bring the characters to life. "You don�t want to just put on a mask and stand there," Cooper said. "That�s pretty boring." Cooper encouraged his workshop participants to pursue their interest in art, music and theater regardless of potential hurdles. "Creativity is a birthright," he said. "Take it and run with it." Cooper received his college degree in Peace Studies from Goddard College in Vermont followed by six years of theatrical training under Tony Montanaro in Maine, and Etienne Decroux in Paris. Cooper has performed for more than 4,000 audiences of all ages over the past two decades, including performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Eugene O�Neill Theatre, the Richmond Children�s Festival, and the Love Affair Festival in Georgia. Although Cooper bills himself as a mime, his theatrical presentations are anything but silent. Using spellbinding storytelling with an East-Coast tinge and a wide range of physical theatrics, including his own form of stilt dancing, Cooper�s dialogue comes across as unceasing and meaningful. The mask-making workshop was an early afternoon precursor to Cooper�s 3 p.m. performance at the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.