Trip From Harvard To LSD Revealed In ACID TEST At The Marsh

Acid Test is the true story of Ram Dass, renowned spiritual teacher and LSD pioneer. Presented by The Marsh San Francisco, the show explores Ram Dass' many incarnations from being Richard Alpert, the scion of a wealthy Jewish family and a psychology professor at Harvard, to launching the psychedelic revolution along with Timothy Leary. Whether meeting his guru in India or suffering a paralyzing stroke, Ram Dass illuminates his search for inner peace and lasting truth with humor and humility.

Written by prize-winning playwright Lynne Kaufman, featuring acclaimed actor Warren David Keith, and staged by veteran director Nancy Carlin, Acid Test explores Ram Dass' journey from "be here now" to "still here" to "be love." Acid Test will be presented September 21-November 4, 2018 (press opening: September 22) with performances 8:00pm Fridays, 8:30pm Saturdays, and 5:30pm Sundays at The Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia St., San Francisco. For tickets ($20-$35 sliding scale, $55-$100 reserved) or more information, the public may visit www.themarsh.org or call The Marsh Box office at 415-282-3055 (open Monday through Friday, 1pm-4pm).

Acid Test has been hailed by The Mercury News as "a tantalizing tale for anyone who lived through the era and an enticing taste of history for those who didn't," while the San Francisco Chronicle noted Lynne Kaufman's "deftness with which she captures [Dass'] playful dance on the edge of one illumination after another." Acid Test made its debut in September 2012 at The Marsh Berkeley, where the East Bay Express wrote "Kaufman has well consolidated an eclectic lifetime into an evening's entertainment." It was extended twice there, and subsequently transferred to The Marsh San Francisco, enjoying successful runs in May and October 2013. The piece was performed in front of Ram Dass on December 6, 2012 on Maui, where it received his blessing. Titled Be Here Now, it ran to full houses at the Ocean Beach Playhouse, San Diego in summer 2015 and also in 2016.

Lynne Kaufman (Playwright) is the author of 20 full-length plays that have been produced in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Louisville at such theatres as Magic Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, and many more. Her plays have won many awards including the Glickman Award for Best New Play (The Couch), the Kennedy Center's Fund for New American Plays Award (Speaking in Tongues), and the Neil Simon Festival New Play Award (William Blake in Hollywood). Kaufman's short stories have appeared in Cosmopolitan, Redbook, and McCall's. Her last production at The Marsh, Two Minds made its world premiere at The Marsh San Francisco and enjoyed a successful run.

Warren David Keith (Performer) appeared as Ram Dass in the premiere of Acid Test: The Many Incarnations of Ram Dass at The Marsh Berkeley. In addition to his enlightening journey with Ram Dass, Mr. Keith has appeared at theatres throughout the Bay Area, most recently as Sims in The Nether at the S.F.Playhouse, Touchstone in As You Like It at California Shakespeare Theatre, and Sartorius in G.B. Shaw's Widowers Houses at the Aurora Theatre. His film credits include Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, A Serious Man, Haiku Tunnel, and Love and Taxes. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and The Yale School of Drama.

Nancy Carlin (Director) is also an actor, writer, dialect coach, and acting teacher. A former company member of the American Conservatory Theater and associate artist with Cal Shakes, she has performed and directed extensively in regional theaters, including A.C.T., Berkeley Rep, Aurora Theatre, Shotgun Players, The Jewel Theatre, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. A theater arts lecturer for UC Berkeley, UCSC, and San Jose State, she holds a BA in Comparative Literature from Brown University and an MFA in acting from A.C.T. Ms. Carlin is a member of SDC, AEA, SAG-AFTRA, and the Dramatists Guild. Other current directing projects include #GetGandhi by Anne Galjour at Z Below, The Wolves for Capital Stage and The Obligation at Potrero Stage.

The Marsh is known as "a breeding ground for new performance." It was launched in 1989 by Founder and Artistic Director Stephanie Weisman, and now annually hosts more than 600 performances of 175 shows across the company's two venues in San Francisco and Berkeley. A leading outlet for solo performers, The Marsh's specialty has been hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as "solo performances that celebrate the power of storytelling at its simplest and purest." The East Bay Times named The Marsh one of Bay Area's best intimate theaters, calling it "one of the most thriving solo theaters in the nation. The live theatrical energy is simply irresistible."

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