Friday + Saturday, February 24 + 25 @ 8.30pm

Rick Mitchell—an award-winning, experimental dramatist who formerly made his living as a ventriloquist/comic—returns to his roots (sort of) with a darkly comic, solo performance piece (with dummies and video) about vaudeville, race and dummy love.

A theatrical exploration of identity, performance, and social conflict in late 19th-century America, the dark comedy is informed not only by vaudeville “humor,” but also by relevant historical conflicts (and, of course, by conflicts of today). The Saturday, February 25th show will be followed by an audience talk-back moderated by Dr. Anthony Dawahare, and featuring the play’s director, Roger Q. Mason, as well as Rick Mitchell.

Directed by Roger Q. Mason. Video by Elliott Barker. Sound Design by Ed Cha. Lighting by Leigh Trujillo. Original music by Max Kinberg. Stage Management and Costuming by Jecsy Ranilla. Puppets by Rick Mitchell and Alan Semok.

Featuring Deon Sams, Mark V. Jones, and Angela Grillo.

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“Funny! Provocative! Stunningly poignant! Rick Mitchell is a great American Playwright!” Edward James Olmos.

His “provocative, surrealistic [Ventriloquist Sex] exemplifies the best of EdgeFest… a stinging critique of capitalism, but the comedy is so funny that the audience never feels harangued.” LA Weekly.

“A modern day Brecht,” WMNR.

$20/$15