Art in the middle of nowhere

By David Bert

At a tea party in New York City a psychic held Marta Becket's ring, closed her eyes and pronounced some disturbing news. She predicted that within a year Marta would be leaving New York and moving to a "rural place."

As a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker Marta was none too happy with that idea. The news, however, was not all bad. According to the soothsayer, Marta would be doing the most satisfying work of her life at this new locale. For a classically trained dancer and artist it was hard to imagine how the latter prophecy could come true in any rural setting.

Then on Good Friday in 1967 Marta's dance tour was cut short when she and her husband had a flat tire in Death Valley. It turned out that the only place to have the tire repaired within many miles was Death Valley Junction.

Strolling about while her husband was having the tire patched, Marta discovered an old theater. She recalls vividly the first time she entered that theater. "The roof leaked terribly and the floor was warped from the rain. It had been abandoned for 25 years. An old doll's head was on the floor with its glass eyes looking at me through a sunbeam, and kangaroo rats were scurrying around. The afternoon sun had a romantic look. It's almost as if the theater said, 'Take me. Do something with me.'" ...

SEE THE WHOLE STORY AND PHOTOS IN THE Spring 2002 CERCA

The March/April 2003 Issue is out. Find it at Las Vegas bookstores today.