The exterminating poet
The Center at West Park Presents
the exterminating poet
As a part of the Evolution Festival
Monday, September 23, 2025 @ 7:30PM
Location
Appropriate for 18+
Jack manages the office of an exterminator. Although surrounded by reminders of mortality (including his own) he searches for beauty in a world driven by longing and greed. He writes his poems and stares out the window of his car in the Lincoln Tunnel looking for some kind of light.
"The Exterminating Poet" is an assemblage of the poems of Jack Wiler. The poems, a collage of work from later in his career, reflect his imminent death as well as the hope to find love, meaning and truth in an otherwise materialistic world. Inspired by Spalding Gray and incorporating puppetry, pastiche and a reimagining of Jack's work, "The Exterminating Poet" is a solo performance and a collaboration between two artists who never met but are connected through a desire to wrestle with the promises of a bitter and beautiful world.
Colleen Sullivan - Director
Vinny Mraz - Adaptor/Performer
Jack Wiler - Writer
Teresa Carson - Dramaturg
About the Lead Artists
Vinny Mraz is a playwright, teaching artist and theater maker in NYC. His work has been seen at the The Vineyard Theater, Golden Thread Productions, HERE Arts, La Mama, New Ohio, Object Movement Festival, The Tank, Dixon Place, and Andy’s Summer Playhouse. He was an Artist in Residence with the Object Movement Festival from 2018 - 2019 where he developed an original puppetry piece called You Can see Nothing From Here along with collaborator Chris Carcione. He is excited to be back presenting work with the Center at West Park!
He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Theater at Manhattanville University. MFA, Sarah Lawrence College.
The CWP Evolution Festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
