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Are Ya Working? Rants of a Post-Industrial Hybrid
by Steven Karwoski

SF Bay Guardian (December 5, 2001)
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by Robert Avila

Steven Karwoski's one-man show chronicles the trials
and tribulations of a working-class guy who's after a better life,
but not at the expense of his dignity. His slice of the American
dream is firmly rooted in pride of place: he's an Irish-Polish
Philadelphian of "peasant stock" who put himself through college
by holding down two jobs and paying room and board to his
mother. Despite this overarching theme, the show is less a
single, cohesive piece than a series of monologues, poems, and
stories. Subjects include the confessions of a waiter, an
autobiographical tale of a truck-driving college grad, and some
anecdotes of a substitute teacher. Roughly hewn, the show could
stand some direction; the whole thing comes across as rather
choppy and meandering. Despite the desultory and unpolished
feel, though, Karwoski's sincerity and charm win us over to his
side almost immediately, and there's potential in some of the
material for a more developed and compelling piece.
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