Hi, i'm dave.
Welcome to my website!
I'm an actor living in New York City. My type has been described as quirky and funny. I can play a wise ass or a bad guy with a nice guy face. I can live within an active stillness, go dark and soulful, and much more.
I'm also a musician. I play the guitar. I play blues and styles rooted in blues. Visit my music page.
And I love to improvise, write, direct, and teach. Perhaps if there is one way to sum up what I do, it's that I'm a storyteller. It's just that the story can manifest itself in many different forms.
Please be sure to visit my blog page to find out more about me and some things that I think about.
acknowledgements
A big shout out to Peter Hurley, who took all of my head shots, and to Darrell Stokes who designed this site!
current projects
plasticland
This is the working title for a one woman show I'll be directing starring the very talented Kym Bernazky. A woman struggles to find her own voice in a world filled with seemingly equal amounts of beauty and trash. The work is in very early development but promises to be full of stunning images, heart wrenching movement, and beautiful words.
Invisible CITIES
This working title is an ensemble piece that I'll be devising alongside several other new collaborators that collectively emerged out of training with SITI Company. Also in very early development, it will embrace the unique international culture of New York City- what we call home. We are interested in creating a world that does not exist anywhere else on the planet but perhaps you can still understand it in your own special way. This piece will be a gift to the audience.
our bar
Our Bar: a unique communal performance experience in a bar with surprises. I write and perform. This is an ongoing show that lives and dies between one read through, one rehearsal, and the performance. Always on the first Wednesday of every month at 7 and 9pm. Only $10 (admission includes a pint of Bud) at Failte Irish Whiskey Bar- 531 2nd Ave between 29th and 30th St. Every month is all new material with a different theme.
blues Jammin'
Here's a shot of me playing at Banjo Jim's in the East Village. Wanna see and hear it? Go ahead.
I, IV, V
I have been conjuring up ideas for a brand new show for quite some time now. The Roman numerals represent the chords used in a traditional blues progression. I am writing and directing this play and I'm thrilled to delve into its one mega question: What does blues music look like in a theatrical context? This will not be a musical, but instead it will explore the content and structure of the songs as well as the myths and characters surrounding the blues, America's original art form. Movement, found text, hoodoo, and ghosts are sure to be involved. Stay tuned...
If YOU are interested in being a part of this project in any way, please contact me at dave@daveedson.com. Thanks!
Recent projects
The Storm
"Dave Edson, who has some wonderful comic turns as Galoshes, Marfa’s maid...Theatre of this quality and imagination is rare." -Glenda Frank, New York Theatre Wire
"There is much to be admired in the skill and imagination exhibited here...including the music of Dave Edson." -Ron Cohen, Backstage
"Some performances that stood out were Jason Griffin as Feklusha ("a bride with two grooms")...He and his 'grooms' (Dave Edson) looked a bit like they were in a Pina Bausch piece that every once in a while took precedence here, their whole presence being that strong. - Julie Barclay, Somewhere in Transition
"There are moments of magic...an exciting and unusual piece of theatre." -Jessica Doherty, New York Theatre Review
After multiple workshops over a year, I performed with Blessed Unrest in The Storm, by Aleksandr Ostrovsky, translated and adapted by Laura Wickens. Ostrovsky finished this play before Chekhov was even born. His work has been adapted by the likes of Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. This adaptation was hilarious, quirky, sexy, dark, and moving. I composed and arranged music in addition to my acting duties.
SITI Company Winter Advanced Training
I participated in a groudbreaking and exclusive 7 weeks of advanced training with SITI Company. The final 2 weeks of the session were dedicated to rehearsing with the company under the direction of Anne Bogart. The source material was Cafe Variations, a piece in development by SITI- text by Charles L. Mee and music by George and Ira Gershwin. What a combination! The session culminated in a thrilling showing on Monday February 27th at New York Live Arts.
Columbia University
I worked on a variety of scenes with Columbia University's MFA Directing program. Classic American and classic Greek plays can be deconstructed and re-imagined physically in site specific locations or they can be approached more traditionally. Both are adventurous and satisfying.
I was a zombie
I shot another funny video with LandlineTV. This time it was a parody of a certain current movie involving cowboys and aliens...and other things...like zombies.
comedy short with Landline TV
I shot an episode of "Celebrity Encounters" that will be featured on MSN's celebrity news website, Wonderwall. They are short, funny reenactments of real life celebrity encounters produced by Landline TV. I got to throw a cup at a comedian's face and I pegged him right between the eyes. This episode: John Mayer.
Sketch comedy
Sometimes I write and perform sketch comedy and I recently did with my friends from Dirt Bike in an evening of laughs in the stalwart basement of The Triple Crown- where comedy happens in NYC.
artcamp sexytime football-
We created a full show that began with only a title. After a year's worth of workshops and rehearsals, we did it!
ArtCamp SexyTime FootBall was a completely devised theatre piece that I helped build with Blessed Unrest. The show had a very successful run and we hope that it will continue to grow and evolve in the future.
This project began with only the title one year prior and it took on an incredible life of it's own. We created loads of material over many months, tied together emerging themes, and shared sneak peeks with an audience. I was thrilled to see this process all the way through and hearing about the audience's experiences was seriously incredible. From a performer's point of view, it felt like giving someone a gift certificate and they got to spend it in any way that they liked.
Upright citizens brigade theatre
I have completed the core programs for Improv and Sketch with Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. I've learned a lot and met a lot of great people. This stuff is as challenging as the most sophisticated stuff out there but it's also super rewarding. I will continue to use these skills in everything that I do.
studio session musician
Two very busy weekends of recording some fun music with a band called Primordial Ooze- you gotta love the name- resulted in seventy two takes of twelve songs at Redemption Studios in New Jersey. We had a really great engineer, Bruce A. Miller, who has worked with loads of famous musicians including Steely Dan, Dave Matthews, and, incredibly, Miles Davis. I played lead guitar and I had so much fun breathing life into the tunes.
Gormanzee & other stories:
I had a great time performing at The Flea this summer. The dance/theatre company, anna & meredith remounted their funny, dark, and moving trio of one acts in downtown Manhattan.
offoffonline.com raved "...a uniformally and committed cast and an abundance of amusing theatricality...an exubert show that busts with creativity."
theasy.com declared "...clever and surprising...the energy is pumping...consistently surprises the audience...I am totally impressed..."
Doruntine, an international collaboration between blessed unrest of nyc and teatri oda of pristina, kosova
I had the pleasure of traveling to the Balkans to perform in an Albanian legend adapted for the stage. We toured throughout Kosova, Macedonia, and Albania.
I am ever so grateful to have had this opportunity of artistic and cultural exchange. Consistent standing ovations, warm people, and breath taking sights were a daily occurrence. Check out blessedunrest.org for more info.
