Adam Strauss’
Before I Forget
The Marsh Berkeley Mainstage
June 7 – 21, 2025
Workshop Performances
Saturdays at 8pm
Written & Performed by Adam Strauss
Directed & Co-Produced with Jonathan Libman
Produced by Carl Ford
Ticket Information
Tickets: $20 – $35 General Seating | $50 & $100 Reserved Seating
70 minutes | No intermission | Ages 15+
(Please do not bring infants to the show)
Click Here for Tickets
Online ticket sales close 2 hours before each performance.
Additional tickets may be available for purchase at the door.
Show Description
What’s worse: forgetting who you are, or remembering every mistake? Before I Forget is the ferociously funny true tale about the impossibility of getting life right, told by a man trying to outrun his genes, his past, and his search history. Ancient Greece, artificial intelligence, inherited madness and open relationships all collide in the only time that’s real: now. Warning: May contain mushrooms, existential dread, and trace amounts of hope.
Artist Biography
Adam Strauss (Playwright/Performer) is a New York-based writer and performer. He created and stars in The Mushroom Cure, an autobiographical solo show about his attempt to treat severe OCD with psychedelics. The show premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe, had its West Coast premiere at The Marsh, and went on to extended runs in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. It was named a Critics’ Pick by Time Out New York and praised by The New York Times for “mining a great deal of laughter from disabling pain.” Strauss has won the New York Fringe Festival’s Overall Excellence Award for Solo Performance, The Eddy Award for Best Solo Show in The Bay Area, and the Leffe Craft Your Character Storytelling Competition. As a stand-up comedian, he performs regularly at clubs across the U.S. He holds a B.A. in Psychology from Brown University.
Jonathan Libman (Director/Co-Developer) is a New York-based writer and director focused on new work. A member of the Actors Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit, he has directed projects featuring Chazz Palminteri (A Bronx Tale), NEA recipient David Libman, Guggenheim Fellow Christina Masciotti, and Dramatist Guild Fellow Nicole Pandolfo. He studied under David Cromer and earned a scholarship to the Manhattan Film Institute. His directing credits include productions for The Collective NY, Nylon Fusion, and Ripple Effect Artists. He was the director and co-developer of The Mushroom Cure, which premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe and went on to acclaimed runs in New York, Chicago and The Marsh San Francisco. As a playwright, his full-length works include Accidents Waiting to Happen (Kitchen Dog Theater Finalist) and Please Leave the Light On (Bay Area Playwrights Semi- Finalist). Libman has also developed work with original cast members of Hamilton and LAByrinth Theater Company. He holds a BFA from NYU Tisch and is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC).
Carl Ford (Producer) is a writer, director, producer, and acting coach. He co-founded the Susan Batson Studio and previously ran Black Nexxus, where he developed talent including Adepero Oduye (Pariah, 12 Years a Slave) and Angelique Zambrana (Precious). As a filmmaker, he directed Real With Me (Pan-African Film Festival, Best Comedy at NYIFFVM) and Free Richard, and co-produced 30 Beats (distributed by Lionsgate). His short films have screened on BETJ, IFC, and at numerous festivals including LA Shorts Fest and the Roxbury Film Festival. He has worked with Miramax, Island Pictures, Orion Classics, and Forty Acres and a Mule as a producer and unit production manager. Ford has also directed theater in New York, Los Angeles, and the UK, and coached artists including Brandy, Pharrell, and Anthony Minghella.
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