Fringe Shorts: Curriculum Vitae
Kim Surkan loved Jimmy Hoggs tales o work in Curriculum Vitae by The Roodie Pancake Experiment at the Theatre de la Jeune Lune. See it on Thursday, 8/10, at 5:30; Saturday, 8/12, at 1:00; or Sunday, 8/13, at 4:00.
Anyone who has pounded the pavement looking for a job will more than appreciate Jimmy Hogg’s performance of Curriculum Vitae at Theatre de la Jeune Lune. This British actor has his audience laughing out loud at his energetic tales – first job, worst job, joblessness, and how the elusive search for a “career” fits into the grand scheme of life out on one’s own.
Here’s an actor with an iron grip on characterization, never leaving the audience in any doubt as to whom he is describing as he introduces each new figure – supervisors, co-workers, the girl he’s trying to get to take notice of him. That’s no small task given the pace he sets for himself, carrying us with him through the jobs he never wanted and the ones he falls into, all peopled with colorful characters like “Sandra the Supervisor,” “Sandra not-the-supervisor,” the very tall contractor “C.C.,” and many more.
Between narratives of particular job situations, he offers some philosophical musings about the relationship between job hunting and the search for a meaningful life, as well as some very useful tips on how to fake one’s way to the top of a resume heap. Hogg’s commentary on the treadmill of the nine-to-five file clerk’s nightmarish existence may not be a wholly new idea, but his investment in his story and the people he brings to life are so genuine, it seems refreshingly original. This one’s a keeper.