As a diehard fan of Parks and Recreation, it’s hard to imagine Nick Offerman — the actor who plays Ron Swanson — as anyone other than his whiskey-loving, red-meat-fanatic, Canada-hating, monotone libertarian.
When he walked onto the stage — sans mustache — for his show at the Lobero Theatre as part of his Big Woodchuck comedy tour, I half expected him to launch into a Swanson monologue about how the government has no right to tax us.
The truth is, Offerman is quite the opposite of Swanson. Still, he and Swanson share a few things in common: a love of woodworking, a love of steak, and a deep disdain for modern conveniences such as the smartphone, self-driving cars, and Amazon.
“To narrow down what I love to eat is not easy, because the main thing I love to eat is everything,” he read from his recently published book Little Woodchucks, a family-friendly woodworking book featuring 12 projects, which he wrote alongside his longtime friend and fellow woodworker Lee Buchanan. “But if I were stranded on a desert island,” he continued. “And had to pick just one thing to eat, that would be meat.”
The book, he says, is a “thinly veiled anti-AI screed.” Through it, Offerman hopes that parents and kids alike discover the power of building something with their hands. Also similar to Swanson, Offerman runs on a “do it yourself” mindset. The actor, woodworker, author, and comedian praised this running theme throughout his show.
“You know,” he said, “when I need something done, I would rather do it myself or pay someone with skills to do it than like, hit a button on my phone, because I think that makes for a good neighbor and a good citizen, and it makes us feel more responsible.”
Just as I thought I’d successfully separated him from his Parks and Rec character, Offerman frequently broke out into his high-pitched giggly laugh, which, if you watched the show, is a Ron Swanson trademark — though now I’m realizing it’s actually an Offerman trademark.
At the show’s start, Offerman invited Buchanan onto stage. The pair recounted their first meeting, which came shortly after Offerman secured his role in Parks and Recreation around 2009. Knowing he’d be away from his woodshop for long periods of time, he hired Buchanan, a woodworker, to sweep the shop and look after the place. Buchanan continued to work in Offerman’s shop until her recent departure.
Rather than follow a conventional comedy show setup, Offerman and Buchanan opted for a mostly unscripted, conversational format, bantering back and forth as Offerman occasionally broke into an original song on his guitar — or on a ukulele he had made himself — while Buchanan, occasionally interjecting, constructed a “slap stick,” a toy where two pieces of wood are connected by a hinge so they make a slapping sound when moved around, one of the 12 woodworking activities in the book. When Buchanan finished constructing it, Offerman bent over, jokingly presenting his rear end for her to smack.
Walking out of the show — which I went to with my dad, formerly a carpenter — I found myself with an oddly strong compulsion to visit a hardware store, but not Home Depot — “It’s the Olive Garden,” Offerman interjects. “It’s the mom-and-pop killer” — and attempt to make the wooden shelves I’ve been wanting. It hadn’t occurred to me before the show that I could, indeed, make them myself. Even if it doesn’t turn out great, I’ll get the satisfaction of having made something with my two hands. At least, that’s what Offerman claims.
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