There are two types of people in the world: those who dread annual office holiday parties and that terrifying minority who live for them. I count myself, obviously, in the former.
So the very idea of Paulie’s Polymers Office Holiday Party didn’t exactly sing to me. If going to a real office holiday party is to me, at best, a colossal waste of time and at worst an opportunity to watch people embarrass themselves so deeply that their shame is never overcome, then the prospect of a fake office party didn’t exactly get my engine going.
To tell it true I was hoping that one of the other reviewers would be able to catch this one, but no. It fell to me.
And I’m all the luckier for it.
Katy Foley and Michael Dunn organized this character-driven, seemingly largely improvised office farce on relatively short notice, or so I’m told. The framework put the audience in the role of the “San Diego branch” of the titular company, sent up to participate in holiday festivities with their LA counterparts, a flailing band of misfits helmed by the founder’s daughter. There’s ostensibly a plot: the VP of San Diego wants us to get dirt on the LA office in order to take over the company, but that’s not nearly as interesting as the office drama that bubbles up all over.
What made PPOP a joy are some tried and true improv scenario mechanics.
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For starters there is what improv guru Keith Johnstone would call the “justification/endowment” game of the “San Diego branch.” By giving us that basic relational role to the characters — we’re in the same company, but don’t know each other — the audience is empowered with a simple frame of reference which they can lean into as far or as little as they want.
As soon as we started to be on boarded I leaned in: I was from the IT department, and I instantly implied that I made a hobby of reading everyone’s emails and spying on folks via webcam. That and a little “yes and-ing” would be my skeleton key for the hour plus-ish delight.
To be sure: I wasn’t entirely left to my own devices, but was recruited pre-show via email from the character Samantha to be her “date.” She was avoiding an office hook-up from the previous year’s party. By being on her arm for most of the run time I was given the chance to see the world through her eyes. Which, honestly, is way more interesting than dealing with an office party from my own perspective.
Not everyone was granted a POV character to anchor to, but the cast seemed to do a pretty good job of mingling, circulating through the guests — some of whom adopted fictional roles in the company of their own.
I won’t tell you that PPOP was surprisingly deep or that it had a rich lore which made for a compelling narrative. What I will tell you is that it was freaking fun: a sublimely executed improv confection that worked because it focused on the moment, not on trying to reach for some grand design. By keeping things light the ensemble got to hit solid comedic notes.
By the end the LA branch was kaput, but I hope these weirdos re-emerge someday. Maybe in an alternate universe on another holiday.
I hear Valentine’s Day is coming up.
Paulie’s Polymers Office Holiday Party ran for one weekend in December. Tickets were $30.
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Office facilities provided by Thymele Arts, in Los Angeles, CA.
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