Talking Over Tea
Kimberly Shimer, Writer
One should never show up late to the theatre, but Kimberly Shimer turned 50 before she began pursuing a newly discovered passion for playwriting. Employed as the director of communications for Villanova University’s College of Engineering, to fill the void of an empty nest Kimberly enrolled in a graduate program in Villanova’s theatre department. There, she fell in love with playwriting having learned from professor and accomplished playwright Michael Hollinger.
“A Ghost of a Chance,” Kimberly’s first play, received a July 2020 Zoom production as a finalist in FutureFest at Dayton Playhouse and was selected for Rising Stars 2020 at Southwest Theatre Productions. In July 2021, it received a staged reading as a selection for Cincinnati LAB Theatre’s New Works Festival.
In the past year, Kimberly has written two more full-length plays: “Eden 2.0” and “Dear Elsie: Kafka’s Letters from a Lost Doll,” which received a staged reading in August 2021 as part of Ragged Edge Theatre’s New Works Festival. In June 2021, “Talking Over Tea,” her first 10-minute play, was virtually produced by Arts After Hours (Lynn, MA), winning its 10-Minute Play Contest. It was also selected for “A Light in Dark Places” in Los Angeles and “Unspoken” at Breaking Waves Theatre in Guam, both of which will be performed in September 2021.
The mother of two young adults, Kimberly lives with her husband Rob and two dogs in Media, PA.
Devon M. Schwartz, Director
Devon M. Schwartz is thrilled to be joining A Light in Dark Places for a fourth time. He directed Janielle Kastner’s “Feed Me” in the festival’s inaugural production and Owen Conway’s “Good Radio” in year three, then acted in 2020’s online reading series. He is excited to see the endeavor return to the Adler after so many years associated with the space.
Devon has directed nearly 30 plays over the years, as well as numerous short films and other projects. He relocated to Los Angeles from New York with “Mortal Coil,” an award-winning drama he produced here at the Stella Adler Theater and directed at various venues.
Favorite NYC directing credits are Henry Becque’s "Woman of Paris" for Chain Lightning Theatre, the world premieres of Steven Fechter's “Intimacies” for EST’s OctoberFest, “Night Travel” at the Trilogy Theatre, and “Enter Attendant Disguised or What You Willy” at Expanded Arts and Theatre-Studio Inc.
Since moving to LA, directing highlights include "Who Made Robert DeNiro King of America" by Jason Katims, “The Straight Bozo” by Tim McNeil, "Raised in Captivity" by Nicky Silver, and Julianne Grossman’s critically acclaimed “From Bonkers to Botox,” which was chosen to be part of HBO’s U.S. Comedy Festival in Aspen.
Devon is also a writer and working actor, making guest appearances on numerous TV series such as "House," “Monk,” and "Without a Trace." He is probably best known for his recurring role as Bill on the hit CW show “Gilmore Girls.” More recently he played a smug defense attorney on BET’s “Rebel,” a corrupt Assistant D.A. on “NCIS:LA” and played opposite Lily Tomlin on “Grace and Frankie.”
Meet the Cast
Bonnie McNeil, Joan
Bonnie McNeil is a proud graduate of the Stella Adler Academy of Acting Los Angeles where she studied under Joanne Linville. Bonnie was recently seen in Hamlet (directed by Tim McNeil), Isaac Babel and the Black Sea (also directed by Tim McNeil). She was nominated by Drama Critic’s Circle for playing Mabel in Supernova at the Elephant Theater. She was seen at the Adler performing in Timothy McNeil’s The Charm of Making, directed by Milton Justice. She also played Martha, opposite her husband Tim, in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, directed by Mark Ruffalo. As part of Page 93 Theater Company, she played Billye Brown in the world premiere of Margaret, directed by Mr. Ruffalo, at the Hudson Backstage. Other Page 93 credits include Hamlet, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, A Stye in the Eye, For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls, and Happy Birthday Wanda June. Under Milton Justice’s direction she performed with TheCompany in A Private View, Misalliance, Entertaining Mr. Sloane, and the world premiere of Jack Heifner’s Heartbreak, originating the role of Karen. Other stage credits include The Seagull, Blue Streak, Me and My Friend, Three Sisters, Top Girls, and Mothers and Daughters. Television credits include: Seinfeld, The X-Files, and others. She can be seen in the prize winning Sundance film Sympathy for Delicious, directed by Mark Ruffalo, and written by Christopher Thornton.
She also can be seen in Anything, directed by Timothy McNeil, with Maura Tierney and Matt Bomer. Bonnie was also in Dead Women Walking, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2018. She has been a proud member of the faculty at the Stella Adler Academy of Acting Los Angeles, teaching since 2012.
Heather Marie Roberts, Jill
Heather is excited to be back on stage after her longest hiatus since the age of 9! Theatre Credits: Disasteroid!,Mr. Burns: a post-electric play, and Deadly, Sacred Fools; Wigfield and Lear/Loman, 2019 Hollywood Fringe Festival; Romeo and Juliet, Henry V, All's Well That Ends Well, Love's Labour's Lost, and Richard II, Tennessee Shakespeare Company; The Skin of Our Teeth, The Ghost Sonata, Harry Potter Hamlet, and The Queen Family's Very Special Holiday Special, The Actors' Gang; Twelfth Night, a Noise Within; Dead Man's CellPhone, International City Theatre; Mame, The 5th Avenue Theatre; and All’s Well That Ends Well, Seattle Shakespeare Company.
