Aquila Morong Studio Presents DUSK RINGS A BELL By Stephen Belber Director ~ John Hindman Producer ~ Caitlin R. Campbell Sound Design ~ Peter Carlstedt Lighting Design ~ Toranj Noroozi Graphic Design ~ Paul Dorian Stage Manager ~ Linda Braumann World Premiere Presented by Atlantic Theater Company New York City, 2010 DUST RINGS A BELL was developed at the Ojai Playwrights Conference, 2009 Cast Molly: Brea Bee Ray: Wes McGee Time: 2010 Place: Bethany Beach, Delaware Produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc. The Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers of the United States DIRECTORS' NOTE Turns out life is really just a series of moments. Moments both broken and golden alike. And the past is the treasure chest in which we keep them. And for me, it’s always the smaller, more fragile, seemingly inconsequential instances that gain velocity over time. When I stumble onto of those tiny golden ones a little voice tells me I might need this nugget of info later as I navigate the topography of my life. So I tuck it away, like a letter I will mail to myself when I need it. And, when the time comes (and it always does) I just hope it’s there. I had one of those moments the first time I heard “Under Pressure” by David Bowie and Queen. I was just a kid in high school who was listening to this cool weird new song that didn’t sound like anything else and then out of nowhere these lines jumped out at me- “Can't we give ourselves one more chance? Why can't we give love that one more chance?” And then, toward the end of the song David Bowie sings “Love dares you…” Those lines really hit me. What I heard was that love was a challenge. That love had to be fought for, struggled with and earned over and over again. To give love one more chance implied that you had given up on love, or at least lost faith in it. That love might need more than a round or two in order to do its job. That if you gave up, let something else…anything else win, you might be losing more than you bargained for. Maybe, even more than you could endure. What I heard was that love says, “Pick something else. I dare you.”. So I took those lines and tucked them away. Put them in the post office of my mind if you will. They’re still there. But really, my hope is not that I remember them when I need to, my hope is that I don’t forget. In “Dusk Rings A Bell” Ray and Molly get a treasure chest of moments and the only compass they will ever need. But then they move on, and time works it’s magic and they tell themselves it was folly, youth, a moment in time, etc. All of the lies the head tells the heart in order to hand the world another cheap victory. Until one day they get a chance to fight their way back through the darkness and all of the choices they made while they were in it. They get to fight for those moments that seemed so small at the time but now mean everything. And, they get one last chance. “Pick something else. I dare you.”. On behalf of the cast and crew we hope you enjoy our efforts and we thank you for your kind attention. John Hindman Director Performer Bios ~ Brea Bee (Molly) is honored to make her LA stage debut in Stephen Belber's "Dusk Rings a Bell" with Aquila Morong Studio, where she has been a member since 2012. A veteran of countless theatrical performances Brea is a graduate of The Boston Conservatory and and before moving to Los Angeles worked in her home town of Philadelphia with such illustrious companies as The Philadelphia Theatre Company, The PA Shakespeare Festival, and several Philly Fringe shows. Brea recently wrapped production on the feature film "Any Bullet Will Do" directed by Justin Lee. Other feature film roles include Mel in "Dare" starring Rooney Mara and Nikki in David O. Russell's Academy Award winning "Silver Linings Playbook". Endless thanks to her fearless partners John and Wes! Wes McGee (Ray) is happy to be a part of another Aquila Morong Studio production. THE AQUILA MORONG STUDIO: “Lone Star,” “Suburban Motel,” “Time Stands Still” (understudy). IAMA THEATRE COMPANY: “A Dog’s House” (understudy), WARNER LOUGHLIN ONE ACTS: “The Origin Of Shadows,” “Survivors.” THE BLANK THEATRE: “A Singular They.” CHEKHOV STUDIO INTERNATIONAL: “The Seagull,” (Tennessee Williams) “Orpheus Descending,” “A Lonely Impulse Of Delight.” THE RUBY THEATRE: “Spiked Heels.” STUDIO C ARTISTS: “20:30.” TV: Devious Maids, NCIS, Southland, Common Law, iCarly, RECENT FILM: Allegiant Part 1, Bridge Of Spies, Excess Flesh, Sunder, Gone In The Dark, Fearless, My Eleventh. Production Team Bios~ Stephen Belber (Playwright) was born in Washington, D.C.. He studied philosophy at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, graduating in 1989. He moved to New York at the age of 25, where he unwittingly moved in with a roommate with AIDS, and helped nurse him for two years until he died. He held a variety of jobs including waiter, substitute teacher, and wire service operator for the United Nations. His first show in New York was a solo show entitled "Psychotic Busboy Blues". He went on to attend the Playwrights Horizons Theater School where he worked on his third solo show "One Million Butterflies". In 1994 he was accepted to the playwriting program at The Juilliard School, where in his second year he produced his first multipart play "Stone Cold Lyricism". In 2000 he was the winner of the Fringe NYC Overall Excellence Award in playwriting for "Drifting Elegant." Also in 2000, the Actors Theatre of Louisville produced Belber's Tape at the Humana Festival of New American Plays. He then wrote the screenplay for the 2001 film adaptation of the play Tape, directed by Richard Linklater. Belber's next major project in 2001 came from working with the Tectonic Theatre Project. There he researched, was an associate writer, and acted in "The Laramie Project," a play and later a film written in response to Matthew Shepard’s fatal beating in Laramie, Wyoming. Between 2002 and 2003, Belber wrote for the US TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Belber's Broadway debut came in 2004 with his play "Match". Belber's other plays include "The Transparency of Val", "The Wake", "Through Fred", "The Death of Frank", "Mel and Gene", "A small melodramatic story", "McReele", and "Stabbing". His films include "Drifting Elegant", and Management. "Dusk Rings A Bell" received its European premiere at the HighTide Festival, Halesworth in April 2011 Linda Braumann (Stage Manager) born in Bonn, Germany, raised in Caracas, Venezuela, she speaks German, Spanish and English fluently. She is a proud graduate of AMDA Performing Arts College, having earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors in Acting. Credits include “Shakespeare & Magic”, “The End of the World” and Short Film “Eternal Limbo” which she wrote as well. Recently she has been working behind the scenes as she continues to immerse herself in the world of theater. She would like to thank John Hindman for giving her the opportunity to be a part of this production. Peter Carlstedt (Sound Design) A Santa Monica, CA native, Mr. Carlstedt also works as a supervising sound editor and re-recording mixer for film and television. Recent theatrical collaborations include Sophie Treadwell's “Machinal,” “Crimes of the Heart” by Beth Henley, “The Rose Tree” by Angela Berliner, Conor McPherson’s “The Good Thief,” and Ken Ludwig’s “The Three Musketeers” at the Cape Fear Regional Theater in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Peter is pleased to be once again collaborating with John Hindman. Caitlin Renée Campbell (Producer) is an Actress and Producer working in theatre and film. Producing Dusk Rings A Bell marks her fourth production working with Director John Hindman - previous award-winning productions Proof, Crimes of the Heart, and Brilliant Traces. Summer 2015 cRc produced her third Neil LaBute LA Premiere In a Dark Dark House at the Matrix Theatre. Independently she has produced Cousin Bette with Antaeus; Brilliant Traces with 80 West Prods. and Modigliani with Amedeo Prods. At the Open Fist Theatre: After the Fall, Light Up the Sky, Neil LaBute’s Helter Skelter and The Last Testament; Ovation nominee deLearious; and Marketing Producer for the World Premiere of Frank Zappa's Joe's Garage. www.caitlinrenée.com John Hindman (Director) is a writer/director whose script “The Dream of the Romans” was on Hollywood’s famous Blacklist. He is the writer and director of the 2009 Sundance Grand Jury Prize Nominee film “The Answer Man” starring Jeff Daniels and Lauren Graham and is currently in post-production on his latest film “The Passing Parade”. John has directed award winning productions of David Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize winning play “Proof”, Beth Henley’s Pulitzer Prize winning “Crimes of the Heart” and Cyndy Lou Johnson’s “Brilliant Traces”. He recently starred in Kim Rosenstock’s “Tigers Be Still” and was in Damien Chazell’s latest film “La La Land”. And this spring he will direct “Gruesome Playground Injuries” at The Hudson Theater. He currently teaches at the Aquila/Morong Studio for Actors. Sandra Kuker PR (Publicist) Her 3-decade background in Music, Film & Television and Theatre has created a client list of diversity and successful campaigns. Sandra’s experience also includes chartering ships for theme cruises, casting for Film and Television, as well as the Reality Television and Scripted Television & Documentary's.