INTERVIEW: Edgar Oliver details complex friendship in new solo work
Photo: Edgar Oliver’s new solo work looks at his 20-year friendship with a man named Victor. Photo courtesy of Pavel Antonov / Provided by Everyman Agency with permission.
Edgar Oliver, the writer and performer, is a mainstay of the New York theatrical scene. He has brought his insightful and challenging solo works to audiences for decades, and his latest project comes courtesy of Axis Theatre Company, his frequent collaborator.
Victor details Oliver’s 20-year friendship with the title character, a mentally ill homeless man. They were opposites on the surface, but a deep connection was built between the two men. Their relationship lasted a long time, but Oliver questioned whether their shared attraction was ever true.
Were they bridging the gulf between them, or were they two ghosts of New York City connecting out of loneliness and perhaps sorrow? Victor, which features music by Paul Carbonara, promises to answer some of these questions. The show runs through Oct. 26 at the Axis Theatre at 1 Sheridan Square in Manhattan.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Oliver about the new solo work. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What can audiences expect from Victor?
A vulnerable and in-depth look into a friendship like any other. Onstage with me are three musicians who are as much as a part of the play as myself. The original music is both engendered by and engenders me.
Does writing and performing the piece help you process your relationship with the real-life Victor?
I guess first off that I would never have been able to write this show if Victor was still alive. Writing about someone who’s no longer alive gives one a lot more freedom. I guess that I feel in real life that I failed Victor, and I hope that performing this show in some way can make up for that.
How does music elevate the narrative in Victor?
Well, I love the music, and I think it does make the piece much easier to perform. I always feel like my one-man shows do become in a certain way a kind of dance, and the music really does help to make the performance like a dance. Sometimes music can say things that words just can’t, so I hope it helps me to convey the emotions.
Have you ever hesitated about sharing personal details and stories with an audience through one of your plays?
Yes, I absolutely have hesitated. That is part of the process of writing for me, struggling to figure out what I dare say and what I’m not going to say — I feel like most of the time when I write these shows I end up writing what I’m compelled to say, and generally I will say those things whether they’re frightening to say or not. But certainly I think Victor has a lot in it that I’m frightened at the thought of saying. I think it’s going to be really scary to perform. Things that are scary to say about myself I hope are things that other people can identify with and understand.
When did you realize theater was the best outlet for your creativity?
I started out writing poems, and I got into show business doing readings of my poems. And then I started doing monologues in night clubs like the Pyramid. And then people started asking me to be in plays they’d written, and then I thought why not start trying to write plays myself. And I guess that theatre is a way to be heard.
What is it about the Axis Theatre Company that keeps you coming back to collaborate with them?
I feel that I have such a great rapport with Randy that these shows that I’ve done at Axis couldn’t have been created anywhere else with anyone other than Randy. Plus, I’ve had the opportunity to work on other plays at Axis, ones that I’ve not written and that has made me closer with Axis, artistically. I love the whole creative team at Axis. I’ve worked with them for almost 20 years, and I feel like they’re my family.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Victor, written by and starring Edgar Oliver, plays through Oct. 26 at the Axis Theatre in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
