by David Mamet - directed by Patrick Dooley

"Many were they whose cities he saw, whose minds he learned of, many the pains he suffered in his spirit on the wide sea, struggling for his own life..."
~The Odyssey of Homer

This play needed to be done. First performed in 1982, Edmond took on the issues of racism, homophobia, and sexism. These issues are still wrestled with today, though more often than not in the now tiring voice of the politically correct. The feel-good Reagan era of the eighties is over, and we've accepted that the fear, distrust and misunderstandings between the varied sexual and racial blocs continues. The way our country deals with the Rodney Kings, the Anita Hills, and the gay population will tell you so. This play does not intend to remedy these ills but rather to expose them. As Mamet himself put it, "Edmond is an adult fairy tale," the honest, unnerving odyssey of a man in search of his place, his identity, and truth.

Opened: July 8, 1992
Performed: Wednesday at 9:00 pm from July 8 through July 31, Thursday & Friday & Saturday at 8:00 pm from August 1 through August 29
Performed At: La Val's Subterranean Theatre, 1834 Euclid Avenue, Berkeley
Closed: August 29, 1992

Mae Z. Meidav as Fotune Teller, Madame & Woman on Subway
Pamela St. Ives as Edmond's Wife & Shill
Robert Bertozzi as Man in Bar, Hotel Clerk, Man in Back & Chaplin
Judy Phillips as B GIrl & Whore
Doug Smith as Bouncer, Customer, Leafletter & Police Officer
Ray Halliday as Bartender, Bystander, Pawnshop Owner & Interrogator
Karen Goldstein as Stripper & Glenna
Darryl Keyes as Cardsharp, Pimp & Guard
Curtis Sims as Mission Preacher & Prisoner
Richard Silberg as Edmond

Patrick Dooley, director
Michael Dooley, set construction
Leith Burke, publicist
Caridad Francisca, lighting technician
Paul Jinnings, combat choreographer
Jon Gordon, producer
Patrick Dooley, artistic director

Chris Borris for the San Francisco Weekly
East Bay Express


I know most of you weren't around when we kicked off our first production. Our intention was to run it for two weeks and put it to bed. We ran it for two months and we made enough money to move Patrick from a cheap hotel in the crack district to a cheap apartment in the crack district.