Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!

What does it mean to be the town crier for downtown Los Angeles?

Town criers are ambassadors of goodwill for their communities. Just to be seen, that's the biggest duty, to let people know that we're a residential community, not just a commercial community. I celebrate every part of downtown, whether it's the streets, or artists-in-residence housing, or SRO-type housing or the new market-rate housing in the lofts. Neighborhood councils must have posting sites for agendas, minutes. Having a town crier go out and post in those places is something I'm supposed to do. I emcee the Artwalk in the Old Bank District. I come up with my own ideas on how to bring pageantry and ceremony to the community.

Tell us about your town crier outfit.

Somebody from the Fashion District donated a couple hundred dollars and I went out looking for something to wear. I wanted it to be the way town criers looked, but not associated with the English colonies on the East coast. The gold coat, of course, is L.A., City of Angels. The scroll was made by Qathryn Brehm, an artist who lives in the [downtown] Arts District. The bell was donated by Lesley Taplin, [who was active in the formation of the neighborhood council]. Since breeches were too small, I wear tuxedo trousers.

What is the deal with, "Oyez, oyez"?

All it means is, "Listen up." "Hear ye, hear ye," is just a stereotype. To make it official, you want to make sure you say "Oyez, oyez." You want tradition. You don't want to be a stick-in-the-mud, but it's not just being a street performer.

We understand that you network with other town crier groups and are planning a town crier contest. What goes on at a town crier competition?