'OFF THE DESK' to Open in January at WorkShop Theater Mainstage

Off The Desk (Tales of A Mediocre Stockbroker) written and performed by Chris Foley will begin atWorkShop Theater Main Stage starting January 20th. Padraic Lillis directs.

Ivy League educated Chris Foley had dreams of being a heavy metal guitarist/DJ, but his parents coerced him into choosing a career on Wall Street for status and security. In Off The Desk he chronicles his career path from his days as a summer intern for Paine Webber mixing up currencies in a pre-euro foreign exchange department, to working in Lehmann Brothers' Stock Loan department, known as "the underworld of Wall Street", before reaching the status of stockbroker working for one bank... and then another ("like switching seats on the Titanic"), all the while under heavy scrutiny from his bosses. Although fantasies of becoming a great performer enabled him to retain his sanity continuous job related stress finally took its toll. Recounting his years on Wall Street Chris brings to life a myriad of colorful characters he met along the way, from a ridiculously chauvinistic foreign exchange salesman to the suave and street smart loan trader called the Silver Fox who in his own way predicted the financial downfall.

Chris Foley is an actor and comedian who's performed at Gotham Comedy Club, Stand-Up New York, Caroline's, Don't Tell Mama and Upright Citizens Brigade. He has a supporting role on the new web seriesBelow The Line and can be seen in the upcoming Showtime series, Billions. Off The Desk(Tales of A Mediocre Stockbroker) had a sold out run at the New York International Fringe Festival in 2013. The show ran again in 2015 for ten successful Saturdays at C.O.W. Theatre.

Padraic Lillas directed the recent solo shows Lucky Chick by Felicity Seidel that was part of the 2015 Fringe Encore Series, Douglas Taurel's American Soldier nominated for an Amnesty International Award and Lee Kaplan's Bully for which he won an Overall Excellence Award in Directing from the NY International Fringe Festival. He also won the NY IT Outstanding Director Award for Rise and Fall of a Teenage Cyber Queen by Lindsay Joy. His play Two Thirds Home is published by Dramatists Play Service.

Off The Desk (Tales of A Mediocre Stockbroker) opens at WorkShop Theater Main Stage (312 W. 36thStreet, 4th floor, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues) on Wednesday January 20th and runs Wed. thru Sat. until Jan. 30th at 8PM. Sunday matinees are on Jan. 24th and 31st at 3PM. Tickets are $25, $15 for students/seniors. Tickets can be purchased online at www.brownpapertickets.com andwww.OffTheDeskShow.com or by phone at 800-838-3006.