Don't Forget the Elephonkey!

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Scattered all over the floor are spray cans, paint pots and papier-mache heads of pigs. Against the walls are posters of George W. Bush saying things like: "I'm with this idiot." This is ground zero for one inaugural protest organization's art productions.

Glamorous it's not. In one big room on the outskirts of the District, there's no heating, few of the electrical outlets work and there are no bulbs in the overhead light sockets. But for three volunteers from the Justice Action Movement (JAM), a youth movement affiliated with the AFL-CIO, this is no hardship. They wear overcoats as they paint their corporate-bashing signs, and hope that the papier-mâchémasks will dry next to the lone space heater.

Their most original creation, the Elephonkey, drained them of $12. The elephant-donkey hybrid may look lonely now, as it lies on the freezing concrete floor, but in a day or so, it will be the centerpiece of some very unofficial street theater. "It represents how really the two political parties are the same," says Alexis Baden-Mayer, 26, the puppet's creator, before veering into long criticisms of the political system. It all seems rather serious until she puts on the puppet. Then the elephant's trunk, made from a Slinky inside a leg warmer, swings in front of her face. "I've always found excuses to do art," she says.

This puppet, though, won't be taking part in the official inaugural parade. (In fact, there won't be puppets of any stripe in the parade — like stilt walkers, umbrellas and baby strollers, puppets are considered a potential threat to the President's security.) Instead, JAM plans to join alternative rallies and protests at the periphery of the official parade route.

To raise money for their activities, JAM is staging its own inaugural balls, selling up to 4,000 tickets for $10 apiece through an ad in a local free paper. Unlike the official ones, these are not black tie. "You can wear anything you like," laughed Baden-Mayer. "We won't be turning people away because of the way they're dressed."

It's not all anarchy, however. At their rally on Saturday, the organization says, there'll be no direct action of the type used in Seattle. Just as well for Baden-Mayer — she was arrested last summer outside the Republican convention in Philadelphia. "My parents were very upset," she said. "But they don't hold it against me; they're proud that I'm getting involved in politics."