THE SAD LIFE OF A HAPPY MAN Written and Performed by Christion Ty Edwards at The Zephyr Theatre

An Official Selection Of The Joshua Tree Solo Festival 2023, The Sad Life Of A Happy Man, Written and Performed by Christion Ty Edwards, Directed by Heather Dowling with Choreography by Lauren DeVera and Christion Ty Edwards, peels back the facade of showmanship and personifies what happens when a man confronts the fractured parts of himself to realize his purpose for living. When he tries to uncover this purpose, he is tossed into the throws of depression, and suicidal ideation, and must figure out if it’s all worth it before the clock runs out. A storyteller broken into pieces. If you had the chance to peer inside the mind of an artist on the brink of disaster… would you do it?

The World Premiere of Christion Ty Edwards The Sad Life Of A Happy Man opens on Friday, June 2, 2023, at 9 pm, Sunday, June 11th at 1 pm and Saturday, June 17th at 8:15 pm.

*CONTENT NOTE: Possibly disturbing material that includes suicide, self-hatred, depression, some F-bombs, and other colorful language. Ages 13+

Christion Ty Edwards (He/His) is an alum of James Madison University’s School Of Theatre And Dance, where he majored in Theatre Studies and Performance, with minors in Music and Dance. Ty is an actor, director, singer, physical theatre artist, mask and clown performer, and teaching artist. Forever a student, Ty is a candidate for certification in Voice Body Connection, the VanBoxtel Method of teaching singers, SSN Transform, Yoga and Meditation teacher training, and constantly strives to better his artistry with training in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as well as Consent and Trauma-Informed creative practices. Previous credits include: STAGE: Keegan Theatre; Shakespeare In Love (Peter), Flying V Theatre; The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Dr. Scott), Forbes Center for the Performing Arts; Equus (Harry Dalton). Southern Appalachian Historical Association; Horn in The West (Rev. Sims). FILM: Foreign Mindset Productions; Coffee & Yellow Roses (Thad), J. Cubed Productions; Sharp Dressed Men (Mitch).

HEATHER DOWLING is an award-winning writer, actor, and director. Heather brought to life 50 distinct characters in her critically acclaimed one-person shows, Unemployed. Finally. and Fertile. Both shows won the PRODUCERS’ ENCORE AWARD and were nominated for BEST SOLO PERFORMANCE at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2015 and 2019. Both shows were selected for the prestigious LA WOMEN’S THEATRE FESTIVAL and both were invited to SOLOFEST, the largest solo theatre festival on the West Coast. Unemployed was selected to be part of UNITED SOLO, the largest solo festival in the world, on 42nd Street in NYC. On the heels of her solo success, Heather started coaching for Soaring Solo Studios. She directed 5 shows that gathered 5 award nominations for the 2022 Hollywood Fringe Festival and one of the shows she directed and developed, Asexuality: A Solo Musical, won the TOP OF FRINGE and BEST PREMIERE.

Jessica Lynn Johnson is the winner of BEST NATIONAL SOLO ARTIST, Board Member & Submission Screening Panelist of the LA Women’s Theatre Festival, Director & Instructor at Whitefire Theatre, and Founder & CEO of solo theatre company SOARING SOLO LLC. Jessica has toured Internationally performing & teaching with her solo shows for over a decade. Her 1st solo show “Oblivious to Everyone” was published in “The Book of Estrogenius 2008”, and her 2nd solo show ZE has toured festivals and schools nationwide. Jessica’s work has been seen in the LA Women’s Theatre Festival, the NYC Samuel French Playwright Festival, the Kansas City Fringe Festival, the NYC International Fringe Festival, the Sola Voce Festival, the Monodrama Thespis Festival in Germany, the Black Magic Women’s Theatre Festival in Amsterdam and enjoyed an extended run at NYC’s prestigious Theatre Row on 42nd Street. Johnson currently teaches a weekly FREE 1-person show development class in LA and does small group & private coaching through her company Soaring Solo LLC. As a Director & Developer, Johnson has co-created over 75 solo shows & has proudly taken home TOP OF FRINGE, multiple ENCORE PRODUCER AWARDS, & several other accolades over the years. She is exceedingly excited to keep the tradition alive and direct multiple solo shows in this year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival.