Andy Bragen's "This Is My Office," running through May 22 at Studio Roanoke near City Market, keeps up the tradition of odd little plays with a special appeal that dot the schedule. This one is a one-man show by a playwright who admits there are some elements of autobiography involved, but not so many that you can be certain what they are.We are introduced to a middle-aged playwright, living in an abandoned office that his father's company once occupied, living on a fellowship grant that is about to run out.
We get a full tour of the office--three rooms of it and the audience moves with the actor (Drew Dowdy, in this case) through them all--before he goes into the story--long and sad--of his father and how he seems to be following some of the same patterns.
It is a simple concept, but there is considerable complexity, revelation, discomfort, humor and honesty in the script. Dowdy, who is simply superb, delivers the entire hour and 10 minutes in an almost apologetic conversational tone that at times seems to break away from the play altogether. But that's part of it, too ("Anybody ready for a bathroom break?").
It is a continuation of the oddball and entertaining fare that makes Studio Roanoke the valuable resource it is.
Tickets are $15 ($20 at the door and $12 for kids, warriors and old people). You can order tickets (and print them) online at www.studioroanoke.com or call 540-343-3054.
Dan, thanks for your positive comments about the show and for coming to see it last night.
ReplyDeleteJust as a point of clarification, and to give credit where due, Andy Bragen is not the actor. The character of Andy Bragen (written by Andy Bragen) is skillfully portrayed by the actor Drew Dowdy under my direction. If you didn't realize that Drew wasn't Andy himself, I'll take that as the highest compliment our work could get. Drew does a fanstastic job of making those 31 pages of monologue sound like a true conversation with the audience and recollections of memory, not someone else's written lines. I'm very proud of the work we've done on this show and I hope your post helps to encourage a few more people to come see it!
Again, glad you enjoyed the production and I appreciate your constant support of Studio Roanoke.