REDBUD THEATRE is presenting, a series of monologues by Blue Lake writer/performer Jeff DeMark. Jeff will be performing three of his well received stories over a three weekend period at Camp Kimtu in Willow Creek.

Writer/ performer Jeff DeMark of Blue Lake, CA has written five solo theatrical shows, “Writing My Way Out of Adolescence” (1993), “Went to Lunch, Never Returned” (1994), “Making Every Mistake Twice” (1998) and “Hard as a Diamond, Soft as the Dirt” (2002), “They Ate Everything But Their Boots” (2006). DeMark has performed over 180 solo shows since debuting “Writing My Way Out of Adolescence” in 1993.

July 18, 19: Hard as a Diamond, Soft as the Dirt A tapestry of humorous and poignant stories, songs and poems about baseball and how it connects with the writer's family and friends. It is a multi-media show blending music and baseball images and objects throughout the piece. The piece possesses a ritualistic feel, showing how DeMark used a trip to Detroit's Tiger Stadium as a healing ritual to say goodbye to his deceased father. Along the way, the show sheds light on the importance of Hank Aaron's shower shoes, the perils of obtaining Willie Mays' autograph and the serene beauty of Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks.

August 1, 2: Went to Lunch, Never Returned (a love story for the vocationally impaired) DeMark’s odyssey of moving from Madison to San Francisco for love only to discover his relationship was crashing as fast as the California economy. In a 17-month period DeMark worked at least 22 temporary jobs and took notes in between filing, typing and shredding. A comedic monologue with serious undertones, “Lunch” is a series of thematically linked stories about work, love, delusion, demonic cars and the struggle to keep faith in oneself in an increasingly insecure workplace and love landscaper.

August 9: Writing My Way out of Adolescence A series of five intertwined stories about growing up in Racine, WI. It’s a journey of rebellion in Catholic schools to freewheeling days at the University of Wisconsin-Madison at the height of anti-war protests and swirling pyschedelia.

The show describes battles between DeMark and his father and a glass-eyed nun and progresses to two wild odysseys that originate in cornfields and end up in police stations. By turns broadly comedic and serious the show in ultimately about the difficulty and importance of maintaining close family ties.

The show will be on the lawn in front of the Redbud Theatre, which is located next to the Trinity River in the former Camp Kimtu Cookhouse. The shows begin at 8:30p.m. Admission is $10 for adults; $7 for children 12 and under. There are no reserved seats and if people want to bring a blanket and sit on the lawn there’s room for that.