Written By Aphra Behn

Aphra Behn is wildly recognized as the first professional female playwright. Born in 1640, she was a key part of restoration theater. By 1666 she was introduced to The Royal Court. Not long after,  became a spy for Charles the second of England. After working undercover in Antwerp, she returned to England, where it is unclear if she was ever paid for her services. She might have gone to debtors prison. It is then she began her work as a playwright. She is also know for her plays The Rover, The False Count and The Young King

​

 Virginia Woolf lauded her in A Room of One's Own, saying "All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn which is, most scandalously but rather appropriately, in Westminster Abbey, for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds."

Benjamin Culpepper as Doctor Baliardo 

 Benjamin Daniel Culpepper is a Texan transplant and Barrow Group/HB Studio Alumni. Off-Broadway Credits include Christian in Cyrano, and Bigthana in Queen Esther’s Dilemma. Other New York Theatre Credits include John in Whom Shall I Send, Daddy Warbucks in Aynnie, and Scott in Zusman. He has starred in numerous student and short films across the Tri-State Area including “A Piece of Her.” Love and Thanks to his parents, God, and wonderful wife Kaitlynn. 

Julia Ragusa as the voice of Jervern

 Julia Ragusa is a Boston based soprano/actor/dancer with her Bachelor of Arts in Music and Theatre Arts from Gordon College. Additionally, she studied at Fordham University’s Summer Musical Theatre Intensive at Lincoln Center where she also received dance training at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Her professional experience includes Bridget Bishop in Cry Innocent: The People Vs. Bridget Bishop (History Alive Inc.), The Baker in Witch Cakes: The Musical  (Providence Fringe Festival), and being a vocal company member of the College Light Opera Company.  Her college experience includes Henrietta Leavitt in Silent Sky, Rosa Bud in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and her cabaret The Collective Experience.  

Samantha Nugent as Scaramouch

Samantha Nugent is an LA-born, NYC-raised actor and comedian. She graduated from SUNY Oneonta with a BS in Theater in 2015,and soon after became a founder, writer, and performer for Loop Troupe where she graced the stages of The Vineyard, The PIT, The Producer's Club and more. She had just closed the world premier of Soul Survivor at the Player's Theatre before the pandemic, and can be seen in several viral videos on the CoupleThing facebook page. She can also be seen in The Serengeti Rules, an Emmy Award-winning nature documentary! Samantha is thrilled and thankful for this opportunity!

Directed by Holly Payne-Strange

Holly Payne-Strange  is a London born, NYC based, award winning director. Most recently, she was the resident director at Fireside Mystery Theater for the past three years. Fireside is a podcast, which the New York Times recently named as one of the best five podcasts to bring theater into your home. Before that, she directed "The Other Side of the Sky" With Rising Sun Productions, which was selected for a short encore performance to showcase the best of their work that season. She is particularly proud of her work on Love, Genius, and a Walk, which toured across London. This is not her first foray into Zoom theater, having most recently directed "Susan B!" Her work has been recommended by multiple sources, including; The Wall Street Journal, Channel 7 news, North Shore magazine and many more.  She is also a passionate language learner.

 Cate Benioff as Bellemante

Cate Benioff (she/her) is excited to be joining the cast of The Emperor of the Moon. Hailing from sunny Golden, Colorado, Cate studied in rainy London where she graduated with a BA in Theatre from Guildford School of Acting and a Musical Theatre Diploma from Laine Theatre Arts. During quarantine, she has been keeping busy performing in Zoom plays and working on her own creative projects. Pre-pandemic she was thrilled to make her off-Broadway debut in the new immersive musical Lost in the Disco (Angel Orensanz Foundation). Her London credits include: Becky in the new musical Unicorn (The Other Palace), Samantha in Side Dishes (The Union Theatre), and lead vocalist in Memorial (The Barbican). Regional stateside credits include: Tricia, u/s Cassie, A Chorus Line (Algonquin Arts Theatre). She would like to thank her incredibly supportive family and friends for always believing in her.

Elijah Manning as Charmante

 Elijah Manning is a graduate of AMDA, and has been working in theaters all around CT. Most recently he was seen in Black Irish at the Hartford Fringe Festival. Some other credits include Simeon in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, at the Ivoryton Playhouse, Danny in Water Without Berries at the Ivoryton Playhouse, Victor in Hour Farther with the Emerson Theater Collaborative, and Grandaddy Pete/ensemble in The Mark directed by John Haddon.   

 Produced by Bringing up the House

Bringing up the house is a registered  charity dedicated to  changing lives. This is done  in two ways; theatre and housing. 

​

Theatre changes lives in a radical and tangible way, art feeds the soul and stimulates the mind, giving meaning and hope. This the “heart step”.

​

Being housed in a respectful and honorable way is essential. This is the base that everyone’s lives are built upon.  This the “nest step”. 

​

Step by step we combine art and homes to develop love, strength and stability.

​

Change, one person at a time, one animal at a time, one story at a time. 

​

Recent productions include  Love, Genius and A walk, (Touring London), Women in Shakespeare (Unruly collective) and Pariaah, or The Outcast (audio version)

 Rachel Marie Kemp as Elaria

 Rachel Marie Kemp is a native of the Adirondack Mountains who now lives in New York City where she has performed in cabarets, Off-Broadway, and at venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to the Brooklyn Dodgers' MCU Stadium. She earned a BA from Hunter College in Dance and Music and is a graduate of The Barrow Group Professional Acting Program. Rachel is also a long-time company member of Pendragon Theatre, where her favorite performances include Athena, Pride & Prejudice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Baskerville, and The Seagull.

Ray K. Soeun as Cinthio

Ray K. Soeun (he/they) is a proud, queer, first-generation Cambodian-American, and for those of

you who are interested, he is a Capricorn. He was born and raised in Massachusetts, just north of

Boston, but regretfully has no Boston accent. Ray is NYC-based, having made the move after

graduating from Hofstra University this past May with a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Performance.

He is also a former Apprentice of Williamstown Theatre Festival. Favorite credits include:

Man/Dave in Big Happy Days (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Achilles in Troilus & Cressida

(Hofstra University), and Victor Prynne in Private Lives (Hofstra University). Ray sends love

and thanks to his friends & family for their support and sends no love or thanks to Miss ‘Rona.

 Sara Cuozzo-Gonzalez as Kelper and Galileus

 Sara Cuozzo-Gonzalez is an actor, singer, and teacher living in NYC. In 2019, she graduated from NYU Tisch with a BFA in Theater (Stella Adler Studio) and a minor in producing. She was a member of the Hangar Theater Lab Company and toured across America as Rusty/Shiny Gold in Artspower's The Little Engine That Could. She made her NYC theatre debut earlier this year in two shows at the same time: the immersive original musical, Ybor City and Truffles! dinner theater. Sara also recently wrapped her first feature film, Dominoes. Sara also teaches ESL online and coaches non-native English speakers in American accent acquisition.

Assistant Directed by Tyler Nowakowski

Tyler Nowakowski is an actor/director based in Massachusetts.  Assistant directing credits include: Murder in the Studio (The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory) and The Grapes of Wrath (Connecticut Repertory Theatre). 

Acting credits include: Christopher in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Connecticut Repertory Theatre), Jeremy in Potters Wheel (Theater for the New City), and various ensemble roles in Henry IV Part II and Henry VIII (The Show Must Go Online). 

This spring, Tyler will graduate with his BFA in Acting from the University of Connecticut, where he will be co-directing an original production titled Journey from the Sun during his final semester.​