HOLDING THE EDGE
2016 Achievement Award by Berkeley’s
Sui Generis Foundation
Written and Performed by Elaine Magree
Developed with David Ford
Directed by Rebecca Fisher
Acting Coach by Jill Vice
March 3 – April 8, 2017 | San Francisco
Fridays at 8pm | Saturdays at 5pm
“…the spirit of humanity … permeates ‘Holding the Edge'” –SF Examiner
“Powerful…a story so beautifully told.” – Daily Cal Review
“… a beautifully woven tale…utterly engaging and genuinely moving…real artistry and humor” – Winnipeg Free Press
“A touching look at living and dying.” –SF Examiner
“‘Holding the Edge’ starts an important dialogue about the relative value society places on lives…empowers the many voices silenced during the AIDS epidemic of the ‘80s.” –Daily Cal Review
“…thoughtful, lyrical and charming…startlingly funny..unvarnished and intimate” – SF Gate
“These laughs in ‘Holding the Edge’ don’t just balance tears; they also amount to their own nugget of wisdom” – Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle/ SFGATE
Show Description
This new solo show takes audiences to January 28, 1986 to join Elaine, a hospice nurse and Cub Scout mom. She finds herself in the chaotic socio-political center of the AIDS epidemic on the day of the Challenger explosion, confronting the relative value of lives. What does an irreverent and outraged lesbian, who also happens to be in the midst of early sobriety, do? Determined to keep holding the edge, Elaine starts a riot.
Artist Biography
Elaine Magree received her B.A. in Dramatic Art from Pomona College and an MFA from UC Davis. She has worked at The Magic Theatre, The California Shakespeare Festival, Theatre Artaud, SOMAR, Solano Repertory Theatre, The 54th Street Theatre in New York, and many other West Coast venues from Santa Cruz to Seattle. She has taught theatre at Solano College, San Francisco City College, The East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, and in homeless shelters, recovery programs, youth programs, and in prison. She was the director of The Artist in Residence Program and co-director of The New Music Theatre Project as The Z Space Studio.
New work she developed, wrote or directed has been seen at The Marsh, Venue 9, The Working Woman’s Theatre Festival, Brava, The Berkeley Piano Club, Solo Z, The Maritime Museum, The People’s Theatre Festival, and The National Women’s Theatre Festival.