The most distinctive thing about Edgar Oliver may be his voice — not just the way that he forms his words as they roll out of his mouth with an unplaceable accent and an somewhat melodic delivery, but also the unique way that he chooses to tell his stories.
Whether one encounters him reading at a lectern, sitting at a coffee shop or performing a self-written one-man play — as he is currently doing at the Axis Theater — there is no doubt that you are listening to Mr. Oliver.
“Rip Tide,” his latest autobiographical production which is now running at the Axis, is ostensibly about his days as a patron and performer at the now legendary (and defunct) Pyramid Club in its East Village 80s heyday.
In only 60 minutes it becomes much more, revealing some very personal truths in a way that he has not done before.
Although his previous pieces have certainly revolved around his history — especially his somewhat unusual upbringing with his artist sister and a mother who, shall we say, kept the three of them in a world that did not exactly resemble a typical nuclear family — “Rip Tide” goes further into the artist’s actual state of mind.
“It’s the most personal thing I’ve done,” admits Oliver. “It was scary. … It still is.”
He began creating it about one and a half years ago, writing “some short things” and he “didn’t try to think about how they would go together.” Despite the fact that he “felt incapable to do the Pyramid justice,” he draws a vivid picture of the unique scene there.
In conversation, Oliver mentions the many Pyramid performers who did not make it into the script, such as Hapi Phace, John Sex, Ethyl Eichelberger, John Kelly, Wendy Wild and Kestutis Nakas and all the other inspirational figures who helped him to become a performer. When he finished the piece, he said that he thought, “Wow, now I’m going to have to go onstage and say these things.”
Artist Alexandra Wolkowicz recently enlisted Oliver to help christen a project installed at Baker Falls, the club that occupies the former Pyramid space.
“I aimed to create a site-specific portrait of the place and its history,” Wolkowicz recounts. “Edgar’s stories played a huge part in helping me imagine the exuberance and creative energy of the place, which fed directly into my pieces. So I invited him to read in the space that holds such significance for him becoming a performer. I admire how Edgar makes himself vulnerable through his work. It’s brave to be so deeply personal and revealing.”
Part of the credit for Oliver’s impressive evocation of the old days goes to director Randy Sharp, who has been collaborating with Oliver for over 14 years.
“Randy was really a co-creator,” Oliver explains. Sharp helped to shape the narrative and aided Oliver in creating the specific hand gestures that he employs to paint the picture on the stage, which is a standard black box set.
That simplicity is all the more effective as Susan Hwang , founder of the Bushwick Book Club and a performer herself, notes.
“He changed the room the moment he entered,” she said. “His face glowed out of the blackness and it was like he was holding your hand in the dark, telling you a story.”
Aiding the tale is the music of Paul Carbonara, who composed the accompanying score and appears playing guitar in an ensemble that also includes Samuel Quiggins on cello and Yonatan Gutfeld on piano.
“I love having them live onstage with me,” Oliver says. “It’s a completely new world with live musicians.”
Oliver is pleased with the reactions to the show so far, noting that, “I love to make people laugh, but I hope that the audience gets the seriousness of it too. People so far have found it very moving….. that means a lot to me.”
Hwang muses on the effect of the show, saying that “Being in his audience brings out a profound experience of intimacy. I guess that’s what being a great performing artist is––opening yourself and connecting with others in such a deep place of vulnerability that it is palpably, powerfully felt and transforming.”
Show info: axiscompany.org/mainstage.php
Edgar Oliver website: https://www.facebook.com/
Edgar Oliver Instagram: @edgargibsonoliver56
Edgar on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=
