North Coast Rep Presents ACID TEST, 2/28

North Coast Repertory Theatre presents ACID TEST, based on the true story of Ram Dass, spiritual seeker, as he explores his life from the time of being Richard Alpert, a tenured Harvard psychology professor from a wealthy Jewish family, to meeting Timothy Leary and embarking on 377 LSD trips. He shares his adventures of traveling to India to meet his guru, Maharajji, to becoming an international lecturer on 'enlightenment' to his writing a book on conscious aging and having a stroke that paralyzes his right side. With humor and humility he illuminates his search for inner peace and lasting truth and sheds light on a new understanding of aging and death. Join him as he journeys from 'be here now' to 'still here' to 'be love'.
 
 Lynne Kaufman (Playwright) Lynne Kaufmanhas written twenty full-length pays which have won numerous awards and been premiered at the Magic, TheatreWorks, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Fountain Theatre, Florida StudioTheatre, and the Abingdon Theatre. Prizes and awards include the Will Glickman Award for Best New Play in San Francisco, Theatreworks Award for Best New Play in California, NEA Fund for New American Plays, Dramalog, Best plays by Women Playwrights and the Otis Guernsey New Voices in Playwriting Award from The William Inge Theatre Festival. Her plays have been published by Smith and Krauss, Dramatists Play Service and Dramatic Publishing. She also has three published novels to her credit. Lynne teaches writing at OLLI U.C. Berkeley and California Institute of Integral Studies.
 
Simon Levy (Director) Simon Levyis an award-winning director and playwright who is the Producing Director/Dramaturg with The Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles. In 2010 he directed OPUS at the Fountain (nominated for Best Production OVATION Awards 2010) and last year's  PHOTOGRAPH 51 (nominated Best Production OVATION Awards 2009). His directing credits at the Fountain include: MASTER CLASS (winner of the 2004 Ovation Award for Best Production); DAISY IN THE DREAMTIME; GOING TO ST. IVES, which went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA; SUMMER & SMOKE (winner of the Ovation Award for Best Production); THE LAST TYCOON, which he wrote and directed (5 Back Stage West awards, including Best Adaptation and Direction); and ORPHEUS DESCENDING, (6 Drama-Logue awards, including Best Production and Direction), among many others. Prior to moving to L.A., he was Artistic Director for the One Act Theatre Company in San Francisco, a resident director at the Magic Theatre of San Francisco, and General Manager of Beach Blanket Babylon. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Society of Directors and Choreographers, and Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.
 
Jonathan McMurtry (Baba Ram Dass) Jonathanhas a fifty year affiliation at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre where he is an associate artist, with over 200 productions as an actor to his credit. He also teaches Shakespeare for The Old Globe MFA program. He has performed in all of Shakespeare's 37 plays. He is honored with the 2008 Craig Noel Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre award for his service in San Diego and outlying communities. He has appeared at major regional theatres across the U.S.A. and Canada. Films include, Beautiful Joe with Sharon Stone, Best Laid Plans with Reese Witherspoon, Little Nikita with Sydney Poitier and Point Blank with Lee Marvin (to name a few). TV credits include,  guest-starring roles on Cheers, Frazier, Almost Perfect and most recently Eli Stone. William Inge plays include, BUS STOP, PICNIC, and DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS. McMurtry is a proud graduate of England's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He lives in Vista, CA with his wife, Terri and their daughter, Coral.

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