Josh Lefkowitz: Carrying On the One Man Tradition

            Meeting Josh Lefkowitz at a local coffeehouse for this interview was not all that different from meeting him at his critically acclaimed one-man show, Help Wanted, currently enjoying a successful run at Baltimore's CenterStage.  The difference isn't in the delivery or tone – what you see onstage is pretty much what you get in real life – the difference is that one-on-one is actually personal.  You see, it is nearly impossible, even in a sold out cabaret setting not to feel like Lefkowitz is simply talking just to you.  So when, in the café, it really IS like that, the effect is just as exciting and engrossing. 

Help Wanted details Josh's life as a college graduate, going from job to job while trying to get an acting career started.  So just how much of the piece is actually the truth?  "90%, including all of the big, major points," he insists, smiling.  "I mean, in light of the James Frey/Oprah thing, I think it is important that I am honest about that.  I feel like there is an unspoken contract with the audience [to be honest].  Details, like my birthday being on September 11^th need to be true, or I'd be cheating.  Obviously, some things are exaggerated – I don't really fantasize about a big talking frog on my shoulder - or rearranged, and replaying entire conversations would be boring, so I cut them down.  But what isn't exactly true comes from an emotional truth." 

That truth has made this rather personal work a hit with critics (see my review, posted 01/30/2007) and audiences, alike.  At 25, he seems at be an enthusiastic mix of youthful abandon, intellectualism and an inner wisdom usually reserved for those much older than he.  Perhaps that mix is why he is popular with a wide variety of audiences.  Personally, I found his struggle to find happiness and personal fulfillment to be quite meaningful.  Hasn't everyone had mindless jobs, only to find they are enjoyable, or even worse, finally getting to do what you wanted to do, only to find it isn't completely fulfilling?  That kind of response from people of all ages pleases the young actor.  "It feels awesome to cross generational lines."  And the critical reception?  "I have been fortunate – LUCKY.  I didn't know if people would understand… relate.  Eric Bogosian always says, 'don't write for the critics,' and I took that advice.  I write for me and my friends."

His friends and family are definitely a part of his process.  "I test material by trying it out on friends.  But writing autobiographical stuff is risky.  I ask myself, 'Is this too self-indulgent?  Is this really me masturbating on stage?'"  His girlfriend, Anika, who figures prominently in Help Wanted, understands that anything that happens in his life, and by proxy, hers, is fodder for material.  "What Anika and I are going through now is working its way into my next piece.  Like, when we fight… she'd rather talk about it right now.  But I need space and time to think it out.  She knows that some of it will end up in my work, and she accepts that as part of who I am.  When she sees it, she'll know how I feel."

The process of getting Help Wanted to the stage actually grew out of a job he took at CenterStage a few years ago – as a scenery pusher in Sweeney Todd.  "Irene [Lewis, Artistic Director of CenterStage] wanted actors to move the scenery, not stage hands, so they called and asked me if I was interested.  I wasn't sure, but I took the job.  I was in awe!  Working closely with such a talented group – musicals are HARD work, you know?  And the material!  Sondheim is a genius!  What he does with words and music is just incredible!  Anyway, while I was doing that, I worked on my stories.  Prior to that, I showed my stories to playwrights who told me it wasn't theatre because there was no arc.  But I knew I wanted to do a solo show, thinking I'd do characters like Eric Bogosian does.  Then I found that I most enjoyed doing the characters most like me.  In the end, I decided to tell my story – one part of my life, and there was my arc.  So, one day during Sweeney, I showed maybe 6 pages, about 25 minutes worth, to the people at CenterStage.  They liked it, and I became part of their First Look reading series.  Then I went back to New York to work on it, put out there, with the goal of bringing it back."  The result is the show now on display.

Since this work is about one specific part of his life, Lefkowitz reflects that, "eventually, there'll be a point when I retire the piece.  But I would like to see someone else do it.  That would be interesting.  I wonder how critical I'd be?"  Doing solo shows has its rewards, but he admits, "it is very lonely.  With a play or musical, you have a cast – instant friends – working toward a common goal.  But [as a monologist] alone, you are hungry for a connection with the audience.  The luxury of live theatre and this form is that we are all going on the journey together.  When the audience doesn't respond [vocally], I wonder, 'are they listening?'  But I have learned that they are – I can see them.  I have learned to trust the material."

In developing his skills as a monologist, he has come to realize that there is no such thing as a new form.  "But, it is my own thing, and definitely influenced by others before me – Lily Tomlin, Eric Bogosian, and Spalding Gray.  Even The Simpsons influences me.  We all are fighting against being labeled as any one thing." 

In his show, a large theme of the piece is finding and having heroes.  Just who is a hero to Mr. Lefkowitz?  "Well, like [I say] in the play, Spalding Gray really inspired me.  I also really admire Jonathan Ames, a New York writer and performer.  He is the bee's knees, you know?  And Lisa Kron!  She is really in the forefront of the current movement.  Mike Daisy, he does the same kind of thing I do.  He is fantastic!"  In the show, he tells of a philosophy that says people you admire before you turn 20 are heroes, after 20 they are colleagues.  In actuality, he says, "I hope I always have someone to look up to and aspire to be.  When I don't, I guess I can lay down in a box and be six feet under!"

So, what is next for this enthusiastic 25 year old?  "'Now What?' is a tentative title for my next piece.    I have always wanted to make a living performing a one man show.  It is actually happening for me and it is mind numbing and scary.  I worry about a sophomore slump!   I don't want to lose momentum!"

Help Wanted: A Personal Search for Meaningful Employment at the Start of the 21^st Century continues at CenterStage Thursdays and Fridays at 8:15PM, Saturdays at 7PM and 10PM.  Tickets are just $15.00.  Go to www.centerstage.org for more information or call 410-332-0033.

 

PHOTOS: Josh Lefkowitz in Help Wanted.

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