David Sirk Revisits Early 1980s East Village in “THE DEVIL WINKS” By Richard Ward

Whether or not you are a native New Yorker, you can’t help but be fascinated with the unique history of the East Village. Now a trendy neighborhood, the area formerly known as Alphabet City was once a den of drug denizens and a hipster hotspot for restless artists trying to express themselves in the turbulent decades leading up to the 21st century.

Currently, a revival of sorts in happening in New York City that pays tribute to that time period. There are photographic exhibits from the 1970s on display through July 10 at Tribute, located at 24 Broadway at Bowling Green (www.tribute-nyc.com), and a homage to the late artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is being presented at the Brooklyn Museum of Art through June 5 (www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/2005/basquiat/).

Now actor-writer David Sirk brings his own retrospective to life as he relives his youth in the neighborhood in his solo show “The Devil Winks,” presenting a travelogue back in time for those who lived it and those who wish they did.

The show, subtitled “To Be or Not to Be on Ave. B,” will be performed at Creative Place Theatre, 750 8th Avenue # 602 (between 46th and 47th – on the east side of street) in NYC. For more information and to make reservations, call the box office at 212-726-1486. You can also visit the official website at www.thedevilwinks.com.

Sirk has had diverse starring roles in films such as “Drivers Wanted”

( http://www.driverswantedmovie.com/) and stage projects like “Savage in

Limbo” for the Total Theater Lab. The performer has a knack for turning personal experiences into taut and taunting theatrical fare.

Acting in theater “on and off” for the past 20 years, Sirk approaches his solo efforts differently from ensemble assignments. “The differences between plays and one-man shows are all about the dynamics between characters. In plays, you feed off your fellow actors, whereas a solo show is one long monologue. For the latter, you must create your own characters in your head.”

He not only is writing and acting in the show, but producing it as well. First trying his hand at producing three years ago, Sirk is now quite savvy in the ways of show marketing and promotion. When he hit upon the idea of capturing his early escapades in NYC’s “Loisaida,” the play came together quickly and he knew it would strike a nerve with NYC playgoers and artists. “I was one of the few who lived to tell the tale of Avenue B. I knew while I was living there that this was the stuff of great stories. There were so many different crazy characters. It’s all based on truth -- with some poetic license of course.”

The show calls for Sirk to transform into a variety of colorful characters, which can present a challenge on stage. “I do play several characters to help move the story along. I portray my best friend and roommate Phillipe Bounous, a French Artist; ‘The Pope of Dope,’ my neighbor who was a local pot dealer; David Life, owner of Life

Café; Patrick, a violent Rastafarian wannabe; and various poets that frequented Life Cafe's poetry readings. I have workshopped the show twice already and I have been able to get feed back that helped with the development of certain characters.”

However, Sirk maintains that “The Devil Winks” was not necessarily written as a venue to express different characters. Rather, all the people in the play are seen through the main character’s eyes.

The play is all about life in Alphabet City in the early ‘80s, but it covers other topics that are just as pertinent today. “I touch on themes of addiction and materialism and the thought of losing one’s soul. Those are reoccurring themes in the piece.”

Sirk hopes audiences will be able to take away a better understanding of social groups after watching the play. “I hope viewers will find a bridge between idealist hippies and opportunistic yuppies. Somewhere in-between would be a better world, in my view.”

And for performers contemplating writing and performing their own solo shows, Sirk offers the following advice. “Have intense passion for the project, and all the faith you can muster. Because there will be 10,000 reasons not to go on with the show!”

Judging from his singular passion and faith for his own project, Sirk’s show will definitely go on, running June 2-19, with a preview night June 1. Performances are Tuesday through Sunday at 8pm, with a special Industry Night June 7 at 6:30pm. Next up for Sirk: Part Two of “Devil Winks” as well as more screen plays and stage dramas. His next play will be called “Bail Bonding” about a group of 40 pedicab drivers sharing a Bail Bonding office in Jacksonville Florida to work the 2005 Super Bowl.