Mick Diflo, Brian Mandes, Matthew Stadelmann, Gene Wynne and Richard Zhuravenko.

Those are the actors who will be playing the single title role in Downtown auteur Richard Maxwell's latest piece, Joe, which begins at P.S. 122 on Aug. 30 and runs through Sept. 22.

The performers will all play Joe, but at different times in his life: as a small boy, a teenager, a young adult, a middle aged man and an old man. Together, they will trace the character's progress as he goes on "a deep, yet whimsical, search for himself."

Joe may prove a departure for Maxwell, whose characters are not known for their powers of self examination. In past works such as House and Drummer Wanted, Maxwell's dumbfounded creations speak and sing platitudes in numbing monotones, seemingly bored and infinitely confused by the mundane events that make up their static lives.

Maxwell won an Obie for House, while set designer Angela Moore and lighting designer Michael Schmelling won Obies for their work on Drummer Wanted. Tickets are $15. P.S. 122 is located at 150 First Avenue in the East Village. Call (212) 477-5288.

—By Robert Simonson