The Aviary Creative Team for Staged Reading of Montgomery Sutton's ADVENT

The Aviary announces the creative team for its staged reading of Advent by Montgomery Sutton, the inaugural entry in the organization's Hatchlings play reading series.

Ruth Cantrell (director) is Emeritus Professor of Theatre at New Mexico State University. In 2002 she received the state of New Mexico's highest arts award, the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. She has plays published by YouthPLAYS. Since returning to her hometown, she has had two one acts, Amaryllis and The Swing produced in Teco's New Play Competition, 2012, and 2103, respectively. This past November, her play, Remnants of a Dream was given a staged reading by the Lone Star Theater Company in NYC. Ruth is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and Actor's Equity Association.

Ian Ferguson (Dan) is a Dallas based actor from Amarillo, TX. Ian has appeared on professional stages across Dallas, including: Kitchen Dog Theater (The Arsonists), Second Thought Theatre (Booth), Theatre Three (On The Eve, Present Laughter, The Farnsworth Invention), Water Tower Theatre (Honky, The Lieutenant of Inishmore), Echo Theatre ([SIC], The Lucky Chance), Shakespeare Dallas (The Winter's Tale, Twelfth Night), and more. Ian holds a B.A. in Theatre Performance from West Texas A&M University.

Marla Jo Kelly (Katy) is a graduate of Texas ­­Wesleyan University with a degree in Theatre Arts. Most recently, she portrayed Babe Secoli in Contemporary Theatre's production of Working: A Musical. Favorite roles include Leelio in Outcry Theatre's production of Circus Tracks, Anne Page in Shakespeare Dallas' production of The Merry Wives of Windsor, TX. Young Margot DeCosta in Theatre Three's production of Look What's Happened to Pixie DeCosta!, and Nora in Contemporary Theatre's production of Brighton Beach Memoirs.

Ian Mead Moore (stage directions) is very happy to be a part of Advent. By day, he's chained to a desk somewhere in the shadowy confines of the Dallas Government District in order to finance a nasty theatre habit on nights and weekends. Recent credits include Wait Until Dark at CTD and the US premiere of Soho Cinders at Uptown Players. His disassociated voice can also be heard on several FUNimation series.

Travis Stuebing (Zachary) is the former Artistic Director of Sundown Collaborative Theatre. With Sundown he acted many times, some roles include Wallace in Women & Wallace, Pussy in pool (no water) and Doug in Gruesome Playground Injuries. Since moving to Dallas he has acted with Second Thought Theatre, Teatro Dallas, Audacity Theatre Lab and was part of a vast ensemble of local actors for #1MPF at Kitchen Dog Theatre. This summer he reprised his role as Young Avi in As We Lie Still, which was selected as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival.

Montgomery Sutton (playwright) Plays include Your Colonel (Metropolitan Playhouse, NYC), Ruins, Moonlight Gospel (EBE Ensemble, NYC), and Patience (PUP Fest, Dallas). Training: Primary Stages' ESPA - Cusi Cram, Kara Lee Corthron, Brooke Berman, Edwin Sanchez, and Josh Hecht: NYU - Steven Drukman. Acting: Metropolitan Playhouse, Second Thought Theatre, Undermain Theatre, American Bard, White Horse Theatre Company, Theatre Three, Casa Manana, Circle Theatre, Watertower Theatre, FringeNYC, Gallery Players, Uptown Players, Shakespeare Dallas, and Dallas Children's Theater. Recognitions: DFW Critics Forum Award; New York Innovative Theater Award nominee. montgomerysutton.com

The Aviary fosters and develops new dramatic writing through readings, workshops, and continued professional training, focusing exclusively on the playwright and creative process to create a home where voices new and old can explore, experiment, and grow to expand and enrich the impact of the Dallas cultural scene. Through our weekly Free Range series, we provide emerging playwrights a space to experiment with new material supported by local actors in a casual environment. With our Hatchlings series, we partner with non-traditional venues and organizations to mount staged readings of new work, fostering new collaborations not only for playwrights but for local actors, artists, and audiences. For more information, visit www.aviarydallas.com.

500X Gallery is the oldest artist-run cooperative gallery in Texas, and this season a new cast of emerging artists will be showcasing an array of traditional and contemporary art. From photography, printmaking, textile and painting to installation, video, performance and conceptual art, the works investigate a variety of content and formal concerns. Members of 500X have ties to and have collaborated with other artist groups such as Art Conspiracy, aphophenia underground, Deep Ellum Windows, Hatch Show Print, Homecoming! Committee, Performance SW, The Junior Ward, and Wild Pony Editions. They work in the community as educators, coaches, professionals, and mentors and are involved with institutions such as the Dallas Museum of Art, UNT, UTD, UTA, Tarleton State University, Collin College, Dallas Public Library, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Gallery Project in Detroit, Urban Outfitters, and Transit Bike Company. www.500x.org

In Advent, two brothers isolate themselves within the walk-in freezer of a West-Texas superstore to escape an inexplicable catastrophe that threatens to eradicate human life. When another survivor appears at their doorstep, the brothers are put to the test as grief, evangelism, and elemental survival uproot the core of their fragile new world and their own true natures. The one night only event will be held at 7pm on December 21, 2014 at 500x Gallery (500 Exposition Avenue). Tickets are free but limited and may be reserved in advance by sending an email to aviarydallas@gmail.com or calling (469) 616-0359.

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