You Give Me Fever

A Strip-o-gram is one thing, but a 90-minute one-man show in your living room? “I’m like one of those walking books in ‘Fahrenheit 451,’ ” says actor Paul Mackley, who’s been zipping between private homes and parties with his recent theater-to-go revival of Wallace Shawn’s one-man show, “The Fever.”

As often as five times a week, he plays an American having a crisis of conscience in a hotel bathroom in an unidentified Third World country. In addition to making house calls, Mackley, 42, performs the piece--on a sliding fee scale--in bars and parks, in cafes and on roofs. Recently he entertained the neuroscience and philosophy departments at Claremont College, and next month he’ll appear at the state prison in Lancaster.

The most intimate show to date was for a man in a car. While Mackley performed in the passenger seat, his audience cruised Los Angeles from Bel-Air to South-Central. “Actually, it really augmented the piece,” he says. The initial challenge of getting in and out of character without a dressing room was addressed via coiffure. “When it’s time to begin, I take a few moments to collect my thoughts, retie my ponytail and I’m there.”

Far more difficult is the graceful exit. “When a play’s over, people don’t necessarily want to speak to the actor,” says Mackley. “I mean, after ‘Death of a Salesman,’ do you really want to hang out with Willy Loman?”

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Paul Mackley, (213) 620-9229.