Evansville Civic Theater’s The Drawer Boy Reunites Veteran Actors

Talking with The Drawer Boy actors Steve Small and Mark Atchison is like having a chat with Harvey Corman and Tim Conway. These two close friends have been comrades since eighth grade, and know each other so well, they complete each other’s sentences. They are as entertaining off stage as they are on.

Small and Atchison are no strangers to the Evansville Civic Theatre stage, either. Though they may disagree about their first Civic Theatre production together (it was Oliver in the ‘78-‘79 season), they have appeared in productions such as Mame, Camelot, The Odd Couple and Lunch Hour. The duo has also worked together in New Harmony’s productions of A Trip to Bountiful and Anna Christie to name a few.

This may seem like a large body of work, but the two veteran actors would like to have had more opportunities to work together. Atchison says that “even though we’ve been friends for many years, and do theatre, we’ve often talked about how hard it is, by virtue of having jobs and trying to get schedules aligned, we don’t get to do shows together as often as we would like to.”

But theatre has been a bonding agent between them. “We’ve always had something to talk about” as Atcison tells it. Small feels their love for theatre cemented their relationship over the years and allowed them to grow together not only as performers, but as friends as well.

John Kozloski, a guidance counselor at Mt Vernon Jr. High School, joins the duo to round out The Drawer Boy cast as Miles. Kozloski was last seen at Civic in last fall’s Spring Awakening (along with Atchison) and has been looking forward to an opportunity to work with Mark and Steve together on a project. Kozloski, who has appeared in Civic shows Blessed Assurance, Ghost of a Chance, Over the River, and Proof, is impressed with his colleagues’ professionalism. “The cast has only been rehearsing together for three days, and these guys already have their lines memorized!”

The story of The Drawer Boy is centered around a small farm in 1972 that is owned by a pair of World War Two veterans. Their peaceful life is interrupted by the appearance of a young actor, Miles (played by Kosloski), who is researching a role for a play and anxiously wanting to experience life on the farm. Morgan (Atchison) amuses himself by assigning the young actor ridiculous tasks while Angus (Small) can’t even remember who Miles is from one minute to the next due to a head injury sustained in the war. Miles stumbles upon the truth about their past and as a result, their lives are forever altered.
The trio of actors agrees that what drew them to The Drawer Boy was the power behind the story. Atchison enjoys the mix of comedic and dramatic moments while Small was drawn to the challenge of playing a character with a disability. Kosloski feels that due to the country-living aspect of farm life, this is “a story people in this area will relate to”.

The Evansville Civic Theatre will present The Drawer Boy February 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 and March 1 at 8:00 PM and February 24 and March 2 at 2:00 PM. Ticket Prices are $17.00 for adults, $16.00 for seniors 65 and up, and $12.00 for students 21 and under.

photo courtesy of Theater Mania