Link to the GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/b5046cccf

The Angels of Light Free Theatre were one of the most dazzling offshoots of the San Francisco counterculture. Emerging in 1970 from the spirit of the Diggers and Kaliflower communes, the Angels dedicated themselves to creating free theater for the people of the city. Their shows were kaleidoscopic pageants of color, costume, and imagination—part Greek tragedy, part acid vaudeville, part street carnival—performed in parks, warehouses, lofts, or wherever an audience could gather. The Angels believed that art should never be sold, only shared. Their performances, given without charge, invited everyone present to step into a world of collective joy and transformative possibility.

Debra “Beaver” Bauer was one of the core members of the Angels of Light. Aside from her skill as a performer and designer, she has been the guardian of the Angels’ creative legacy. For decades, Beaver has carefully curated an extraordinary archive: photographs, drawings, costumes, scripts, music, sets, masks, props, programs, posters, announcements, and the lived stories of a communal troupe that redefined what theater could be.

Recently, Beaver uncovered a rare treasure: six Super 8 film canisters shot by fellow Angel Brian Mulhern between 1972 and 1979. These reels contain living history—performances, gatherings, and glimpses into the communal magic of the Angels of Light—that have never been seen outside their circle. One of the main goals of this GoFundMe is to digitize these films at the highest 1080p resolution, ensuring their survival for future generations.

We also want to help Beaver continue her curatorial work. She has been relying on a ten-year-old computer that is now on its last legs. A new computer will allow her to preserve, catalog, and present the Angels archive in ways that match the brilliance of the material itself.

This project is sponsored by The Digger Archives, which has long been dedicated to preserving and sharing the legacy of the Diggers, Kaliflower, and the many free cultural movements that sprang from them. Supporting this campaign means helping to keep alive one of the most visionary communal art experiments in San Francisco’s history.

The Angels of Light taught us that beauty and generosity can change the world. With your support, Beaver can continue to safeguard their vision and make it accessible to artists, historians, and dreamers everywhere. Please help us honor this extraordinary legacy. Every contribution brings the Angels’ shimmering, communal light one step closer to being preserved for all time.

Thank you for your support.

P.S. In the photo collage at the top of this page, that’s Beaver in the upper right corner wearing red and purple, costumed and radiant as ever, embodying the spirit of the Angels of Light.

What We’re Raising Funds For

1. Digitization of six Super 8 film canisters (footage by Brian Mulhern, 1972–1979)
   – Cost: $691.40
2. External hard drives to safely store and back up the digitized films and archival materials
   – Cost: $130.32
3. A new MacBook Air to replace Beaver’s ten-year-old computer, giving her the tools she needs to continue curating, cataloging, and sharing the archive
   – Cost: $1,954.16

Total: $2,775.88

If we are fortunate enough to raise more than this goal, the additional funds will be set aside for future Angels of Light archival projects—ensuring that more of this remarkable history can be preserved and shared.

Link to the GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/b5046cccf

Tracing the Digger Movement Through Them That Lived It

This is the program for a talk that I presented at the closing event for the Our Commons Are Free exhibition at Fort Mason in San Francisco last month (August 9, 2025). The booklet was printed “fan-fold” style and measured 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″.