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| Edgar Oliver, "the Poe
of East Tenth Street," has assembled an evening of serial plays by four authors,
collectively titled "MY BOYS FRIGHTEN ME." Featured will be "I
am not a ghost" by Edgar Oliver, "Scenes from Borderline" by Eric
Roemele, "Saga of a dismembered post-preppie survivalist balladeer"
by Michael Wiener" and "dinner in the void" by Aaron Howard and
David Francis. In Edgar Oliver's play, "I am not a Ghost," a man alone in an empty house is seized with terror. As he tries to determine the source of his fright, he finds it increasingly difficult to believe he is not a ghost. Edgar Oliver's plays are a cross between Henry James and Troma Films. They are inspired by the gothic atmosphere of Savannah, his childhood home, where the hanging moss does tricks on a child's thoughts. Oliver's erudite, eerie verse dramas were described by critic Brandon Judell (WBAI Arts Magazine) as "literate stuff with gratuitous nudity, terrific sets, offensive costumes, and a karma unto itself" The playwright, who lives in "the most haunted house on East Tenth Street," is a gaunt fellow of indeterminate age who speaks in eerie tones like a ghostly harmonium. Critic David Kaufman (Downtown) wrote that he combines "the verbal qualities of Boris Karloff with the effete gestures worthy of Aubrey Beardsley. If silent films could talk, Edgar Oliver is certainly what they would sound like." "Scenes from Borderline" by Eric Roemele focuses on a young clown's doomed attempt at love with a female scarecrow. The love is overshadowed by the haunting affections of his Father Bull and Mother Skeleton, a familial bond which keeps him from becoming a mature, grown-up fool. Directed by Jason Bauer, it features actors Sandi Carrol, Eric Roemele and Mary Lou Wittmer and musicians Katy Cox and Angela Rogers. This playlet is a segment from Roemele's full-length work, "Borderline, a Clown Show," which tells the story of a mentally-ill young clown facing the ghosts of his past. Roemele has also written a film script based on his experience as a mental health worker in a locked psychiatric ward. Roemele has acted in numerous past plays by Edgar Oliver, including "The Drowning Pages," "Chop Off Your Ear" and "Motel Blue Nineteen." Michael Wiener describes his solo play, "Saga of a dismembered post-preppie survivalist balladeer," as part of a "slowly-growing saga of teenage isolation, Barthesesque iconic dismemberment and urban survivalist games, all presented in blinding post-preppie finery and accompanied by heart-rending Rock balladry." Aaron Howard is a writer from the provinces who lives in NY to avoid farm work. This is his stage debut. He will perform his "dinner in the void" along with his collaborator, songwriter David Francis. |
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