Eric Bogosian

Once described as the bard of the urban underbelly, protean "downtown" performance artist Eric Bogosian established himself as one of the wittiest, most incisive chroniclers of the 1980s. In a series of highly acclaimed one-man shows, he combined black humor and an aggressive, confrontational energy with an underlying charm to make pointed social commentary about the environment, racism, sexism and human behavior in general. His 1977 off-off Broadway debut "Careful Moment" was the first step on the road to many super-charged solo performances. Three of his one-man shows ("Drinking in America," "Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll," "Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead") earned him well-deserved OBIE Awards.