Edgar Oliver is the closest thing the East Village has to an Urban Legend. His works, which include plays, poetry and fiction, have haunted stages from Downtown to Scotland. When given the opportunity to chat with Edgar about his life and work, he revealed glimpses into the lonely and meditative mind of a wanderer.

The High 5 Review: Mr. Oliver, you’ve spent time in London and Scotland, but you’ve chosen to make the East Village your home, why?

Edgar Oliver: Well, New York is where I got started performing and where I started to read my poems. I never had the inkling to perform but always to write. It never occurred to me to perform, but I knew I would read. I began reading at the Pyramid, a night club, at two in the morning after the people had been listening to dance music for hours. I had to perform in a setting like that and I loved it because it connected to the people.

H5R: Since you’ve been performing in the city for so long, how have you observed the theater industry change?

EO: I moved here in [19]77 and started performing in [19]81, and since then there’s been a lot of interest in downtown and it’s a lot easier now, well not easy, but people writers are more interested in reviewing downtown. It’s a change for the better.

H5R: In your work the connection between comedy and what might be considered horror is often explored. How would you define that connection?

EO: I think of what I do on stage as comedies, though they are terribly dark. The connection is that I’m talking about secret things; desire and longing. In a way desire is connected to sorrowful places. Horror is a good way to express, but it’s also beautiful. I love the dark and the funny.

H5R: When you are performing other people’s work, do you perform the role as it was written, or do you personalize it?

EO: When I perform other people’s work there is always an aspect that is me. I think I do personalize it. There’s an aspect of Edgar in everything. I often play villains. I try to play them as people who are having a lot of fun.

H5R: You recently played several roles in Hospital, which roles did you enjoy playing the most?

EO: Well, I loved playing Wee Willy Winkie. I loved that nursery rhyme, loved that poem. It goes “Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town, up stairs and down stairs in his night-gown, tapping at the window, crying at the lock, are the children in their bed, for it’s past eight o’clock.”  I’m a wanderer. It’s what I do, I wonder aimlessly as he does.

H5R: Where do you like to wander in such a populous place as New York?

EO: Empty and desolate places. I love the bridges to Brooklyn and Prospect Park and Harlem. I want to go to Greenpoint and wander. I’ve never been to Greenpoint. I also love walking the Bridges to Queens and recently I’ve been to Jackson Heights.

H5R: What do you find yourself writing about when you return from wandering?

EO: I write about solitude and being alone in these places. I write about the trees, I love trees.

H5R: When you’re writing, how do you ensure that the piece will connect with the audience?

EO: I guess by being as simple and truthful as possible. I try to make sense. Try to not be afraid to say things in a strange way. I think making people laugh is always good. I love making people laugh during dark things.

H5R: Do you ever find yourself editing something because it’s too dark?

EO: No, I’ve never done that. I tend to trust whatever my first draft is. My notebooks might look like someone who’s constantly changing things because of all the scratches and writing. I do change things, but I’m constantly changing them back.

H5R: So you prefer writing in notebooks?

EO: I prefer writing by hand. I like to write by pencil. I don’t know, I guess it’s the quality of writing. I like dragging the pencil across the page. It’s a beautiful noise. Sometimes my cat likes to think the pencil is a toy and she’ll claw at it.

H5R: Do you think having a cat benefits your work?

EO: Well, it’s nice having something to live with. My cat can contribute to the work as well. It’s good to have a companion when you’re agonizing over what to write next.

H5R: Are you and your cat working on anything now?

EO: Yeah, I’m going to begin writing a story. It’s going to be prose. I was thinking yesterday about the bridge and the coastline. I’m going to try to write about a Polish man. It’s strange because I don’t know anything about being Polish and I don’t know any Polish. So when I figure that out I can write. I’ll tell you, my solution so far is to make the story as close as possible to my own life. I’ll see what I can do with that and I’ll be simple and truthful.