Artist Profile by Emily Mostyn-Brown

All actors have that one show that sticks with us no matter where we go and when given an opportunity to tell it again we jump at the chance. That show for me is "Dark of the Moon". It was my first college show and I'll never forget it for many reasons. It was a little unknown show that as I moved on in life I realized instantly bonded those who had the opportunity to work on it in their formative years but also because of the director, Doc Johnson. Doc loved this show because he grew up in the Appalachians and he believed in the truth and honesty that existed in it. I never expected to see a production of the show ever again till I was given the opportunity to retell the story from another perspective.

I remember going into audition thinking that if I could just be a witch I would be happy, the part that alluded me in college. I also thought no one would be able to tell this story the way Doc did. At the callbacks I was shocked and excited to be reading for Barbara Allen but remember Blake Bradford, the director, saying that if you had done the show in the past forget everything about it as this production would be much different. I instantly felt sad. I mean if you weren't honest about the lives of this community what kind of hokey show would this be. My fear was soon squelched and I couldn't have been happier to work with Blake and Phare Play.

Our first day of rehearsal Blake said that unlike most performances of this show we were going to be true to these people and not make fun of their lives. While the words may seem silly or hokey they were their words and thus they were important. I fell in love with working with Blake at that moment.

Blake kept true to his word. He managed to create a heartfelt story in a very small space with a lot of actors and bring the life and music of the Appalachians to fruition.

The culture of those who grew up in the Appalachians is based around blue grass music. Because of this Blake wanted to make sure that he had real blue grass musicians in the show, most of whom had never acted before. However, Blake helped them go beyond what even they thought they were capable of and this was wonderful to see and experience. This was also one of my first times singing on stage and I was quite a bit nervous but in the end Blake had me teaching others to sing "The Ballad of Barbara Allen", something I didn't think was possible.

This play happened to come at a major turning point in my life and without the support of Blake and Phare Play traveling down the path of "Dark of the Moon" would have been a very difficult process. Through out the rehearsal process and performances he was there not only as a director but also as a friend. I soon discovered that Phare Play was not just a theatre company but also a community and a family.

"Dark of the Moon" still sticks with me and will forever and I now have not only Doc, but also Blake and Phare Play to thank for that.