Dark Tales Playbill
Dark Tales Told on a Cold Autumn Eve
By Jim Dalglish
Directed by Jennifer Kangas & Jim Dalglish
Produced in Partnership with The Academy of Performing Arts, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, Cotuit Center for the Arts, and The Provincetown Inn.
Important Notes:
Water-based fog effects and strobe lights will be used during this performance.
Dark Tales Told on a Cold Autumn Eve is approximately 110 minutes in duration. There will be no intermission.
Please silence personal devices before the show begins.
No recording of any kind is permitted during the show.
Dark Tales contains strong language and adult themes. The play is recommended for mature audiences.
Please show your appreciation of our performers by contributing to the Actors Boxes located on the lobby bar and in the stairwell on the second floor of the the theater.
Four Venues…
Academy of Performing Arts (APA)
120 Main Street, Orleans, MA 02653
October 3, 4, 10, 11
(Fridays & Saturdays at 7:00pm)
Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater (WHAT)
2357 State Highway Route 6, Wellfleet, MA 02667
October 16, 17, 18, 19
(Thursday - Saturday at 7:00pm, Sunday at 4:00pm)
Cotuit Center for the Arts (CCftA)
4404 Falmouth Rd, Cotuit, MA 02635
October 23, 24, 25, 26
(Thursday - Saturday at 7:00pm, Sunday at 1:30pm)
Tickets to the CCftA shows will be available soon.
The Provincetown Inn
1 Commercial St, Provincetown, MA 02657
October 29 & 30
(Wednesday & Thursday at 7:00pm)
Creative Team
Jim Dalglish – Playwright / Co-director / Helltown Players Producing Artistic Director
Jennifer Kangas – Co-Director / Lighting Design / Stage Manager / Board Operator
Geof Newton – Sound Design
Jackie Reeves – Poster Art
Academy of Performing Arts Team
Judy Hamer – Producing Artistic Director
Missy Potash – Box Office Manager
Mark Roderick – Set Construction
Nicholas Dorr – Scenic Design
Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater Team
Christopher Ostrom – Producing Artistic Director
Nicholas Ward – Managing Director
Cotuit Center for the Arts Team
David Kuehn – Executive Director
Kim Baker – Director of Operations
Jason Mellon – Patron and Community Connections Manager
Provincetown Inn Team
Tyler Smittle – General Manager
Cast…
Tate Seidewand – Sam Smith
Geof Newton – The Fisherman
Bonnie Fairbanks – Maria
Samantha McMahon & Denise Page – May
Samantha - Oct. 3, 4 (APA); Oct. 16 (WHAT); Oct. 23, 24, 26 (CCftA); Oct. 29 (Ptown)
Denise - Oct. 10, 11 (APA); Oct. 17, 18, 19 (WHAT); Oct. 25 (CCftA); Oct. 30 (Ptown)
Jacob Rabold – Tony
Ian Ryan – Elliot
Matt Whelan – Dale
Dahlia Viprino – Lorelie
Sara Shatzel Fitzpatrick – Madame X
Shepard Potash – Mattie (voice)
Playwright’s Note:
I’ve always wanted to tell stories set on Cape Cod — stories that draw from its landscape, its people, and its shadowy past. With Dark Tales Told on a Cold Autumn Eve, I set out to create an immersive experience where audiences could feel transported back in time. I wanted to blend original storytelling with reimagined legends of Old Cape Cod — and in doing so, illuminate the way this region’s unique history continues to shape its present.
But how best to tell these tales?
I decided on a blend: legends, myths, tall tales, allegory, contemporary horror, and even a dash of political satire disguised as Grand Guignol. These stories feature pirates, witches, politicos, Pilgrims, mooncussers, and even selkies — yes, I became a bit obsessed with Scottish selkie myths and had to include them. They’re set in evocative Cape Cod locations: Samuel Smith’s Tavern, P’town Harbor, White Cedar Swamp, Horseleech Pond, the Nauset Moors, the Barnstable Jail, Chatham Bars Inn, and even a certain compound in Hyannis Port.
Before I wrote a word, I spent months researching Cape Cod history — poring over its ghost stories, legends, and the fragments of culture that time has nearly erased. I also drew on my years of living on the Cape and my own sense of what makes this sand spit so singular.
For creative inspiration, I turned to the masters: Edgar Allan Poe, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Saki, Hawthorne — and to modern voices like Conor McPherson. I listened to old radio plays and contemporary ghost story podcasts from Ireland and the UK. All of it helped me explore how traditional narrative can come alive in a theatrical setting.
My aim? To frighten, shock, educate, provoke — and maybe even titillate. To give audiences a five-ticket rollercoaster ride they won’t soon forget.
- Jim Dalglish
Bios:
Jim Dalglish — Playwright / Co-director / Founder Helltown Players
Jim is a playwright, director, filmmaker, and producer with more than 30 plays and films to his credit. These works have been produced and screened around the world and have won awards in New York, Boston, London, and Dublin. A few of his plays have been anthologized in best play collections. Jim has directed more than two dozen theatrical productions, six of which he also independently produced. He has been employed by a variety of theaters in New England as a managing director, marketing director, and box office manager. Jim has a master’s degree in creative writing/ playwriting from Brown University. His thesis advisor was Paula Vogel. He works as the Director of User Experience Research & Strategy at OHO Interactive, where his clients include Harvard University, Yale University, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont, CIEE, and others. Jim is also the Founder/President of Helltown Players, the Cape’s newest theatre collaborative. When he isn’t busy writing, directing, or producing plays and films, he and his husband Rob Phelps enjoy sailing Delphina – their 17-foot O’Day Daysailer – along the sheltered harbors of New England.
For more about Jim and to read and download his plays: www.jimdalglish.com
Jennifer Kangas - Co-Director / Lighting Designer
Jennifer has a B.A. in Education and 20+ years of teaching music and coaching. Along with teaching music K-6, she directed several musicals. Most recently she directed Oliver! at the Academy Playhouse (APA) and was musical director for Nauset Regional High School’s performance of Drowsy Chaperone and the APA’s Winnie the Pooh, Red Riding Hood, Lion King, Kids, Into the Woods, Jr. and Little Mermaid, Jr. She performed with the Champlain Valley Oratorio Society, the Octavio Singers, Cape Cod Opera Company, and in many productions at The Academy Playhouse, Chatham Drama Guild, Harwich Junior Theater/Cape Cod Theater Company, Eventide Theater and Cotuit Center for the Arts. She is currently the resident light and sound designer at APA. When not involved in the theater arts or spending time with family, Jennifer enjoys travelling around the world (from the Arctic to Antarctica, Australia to Africa and everywhere in between). She is a licensed massage therapist, using gentle touch to help ease chronic and acute pain at Kangas Myofascial Massage in Chatham.
Geof Newton — The Fisherman / Sound Design
Regularly appearing both on and behind stages across Cape Cod, Geof is thrilled to be revisiting Jim’s Dark Tales, this time as a member of the cast! Stage and screen credits: Noah - The Rainmaker (Sandwich Arts Alliance), Perun - Skazki: A Spell of Ice and Snow (Boston Center for the Arts), Leonato - Much Ado About Nothing (The Little Shakespeare Festival - NYC), Montague D’Ysquith Navarro - A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Academy of Performing Arts, Orleans), Leo Clark - Leading Ladies (Chatham Drama Guild), Lloyd the Bartender - N0S4A2 (AMC), sound/music for Jim Dalglish’s Dark Tales Told On A Cold Autumn Eve (Cotuit Center for the Arts/wherever you’re currently sitting), lighting design - Rock of Ages (Barnstable Comedy Club), and sound/music for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (Tilden Arts Center). Thanks to Bean and Ellen for all your love and support and to this wonderful cast and production crew and to Jim and Jen for dragging Dark Tales back into the light!
Jackie Reeves - Poster Art
Jackie Reeves is a Cape Cod based artist best known for her multidisciplinary artwork that blends figurative and abstract elements through mixed media paintings, animation and large-scale installations.
Bonnie Fairbanks – Maria
Bonnie is thrilled to reprise the role of Maria Hallett in “Dark Tales” for the Helltown Players; she originally appeared in the role in the 2018 world premiere at Cotuit Center for the Arts. This marks Bonnie’s fifth time partnering with founder/director/playwright Jim Dalglish and third performance with Helltown, having appeared as Alice B. Toklas in “Portraiture” (May 2025), as well as in “Little Devils I” as Mary in “Double D”. She also performed the role of Principal Edwards in the video-drama “Teacher of the Year” (2021) – another world premiere, and both written by Jim.
Bonnie has also regularly appeared in productions at the Falmouth Theatre Guild, Eventide Theater Co., the Woods Hole Theater Company, and Cape Rep. Recent performances include Emma Arkadina in “Stupid Fucking Bird” (Cotuit, 2024), Marty in “Grease” (Cotuit, 2023), Mrs Martini in “It’s a Wonderful Life, the Musical” (FTG, 2023), and Theresa in “Circle Mirror Transformation” (Cotuit, 2022), among others.
Bonnie’s performance is dedicated, as always, to The Parentals.
Samantha McMahon – May
Samantha is delighted to be returning for this production of Dark Tales! She previously portrayed “Madame X” in the debut of the show in 2018, and is thrilled to be taking on a new role. She has been performing for 20 years, with favorite roles including The Emcee in Cabaret, Go to Hell Kitty in Chicago, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet and Pamela/Margaret/Annabella in The 39 Steps. Samantha resides on the Cape, where she is a high school Theater and English teacher.
Denise Page — May
Denise is thrilled to be making her debut with The Helltown Players for this production of Dark Tales! Recent and favorite stage credits include: Lindsay in Godspell (APA); Rose in Gypsy (APA for which she was also Assistant Director); Nancy in Oliver! (APA); Mrs. Gibbs in Our Town (Cape Rep Theater); Miss Hannigan in Annie (APA), Ado Annie in Oklahoma! (APA). Denise is an acting teacher at the Academy of Performing Arts and performs at various concerts on the lower and outer cape, including the ‘Great Music on Sundays at Five’ series in Provincetown. A native of Provincetown, she currently resides in Wellfleet with her amazing family of the human and pet variety and fun fact - has ancestry dating back to the Mayflower!
Jacob Rabold — Tony
Jacob is incredibly excited to be involved with his first Helltown Players production with such an amazing group of fellow actors and an outstanding crew. His previous credits include Tom Sawyer (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer) at Acting Out Theatre, the Velveteen Rabbit (The Velveteen Rabbit) at Boston Children’s Theatre, Fyedka (Fiddler on the Roof) at Cotuit Center for the Arts, and most recently Sebastian (Twelfth Night) at the Academy of Performing Arts. He wants to give a big thank you to his family for always supporting his acting endeavors and to Jim and Jen for inviting him to be a part of this fantastic project. You can see him perform later this fall as Race in Newsies at Cotuit Center for the Arts.
Ian Ryan — Elliot
Ian Ryan is a Cape Cod–based actor, playwright, director, and producer whose work spans more than two decades of regional and community theatre. As a performer, he has appeared in over twenty-five productions, including roles such as Babette in La Cage aux Folles, Schultz in Circle Mirror Transformation, and Ralph in Our Country’s Good (CapeRep). His play 19DEF, first developed in Cape Rep’s Playwriting Lab, was later produced by Helltown Players and invited to the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival. Ian also co-directed the award-winning Lines in the Sand with Jim Dalglish, which has been staged in Massachusetts, Dublin, and New York. As Secretary/Treasurer and Trustee of Helltown Players, he champions new works by writers with ties to Cape Cod, fostering collaborative and inclusive storytelling while continuing to develop his own practice across acting, writing, and directing.
Tate Seidewant — Samual Smith
Tate is a Cape Cod native who received a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Theatre from the University of Tampa. He is excited to make his debut in community theatre with the help from Jim and Jennifer on this wonderful yet dark production. Tate developed a love for acting after being a background character for a feature film that was shot on Cape Cod during his early years of high school. His first role in theatre was Pepper in Mamma Mia! during his senior year at Nauset Regional High. He is excited to further his acting career in the future!
Sara Shatzel Fitzpatrick — Madame X
Sara is thrilled to be a part of this production! She is a Buffalo, NY, native, but Provincetown is her true home. Sara studied at HB Studio in NYC and played the lead in the Off Broadway production of Girl Gone at the Actors Temple. She played the lead role in Stella in The Jazz Funeral of Stella Brooks at The Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival, Sugar in Tiny Beautiful Things at the Ptown Theatre and Mildred in The Fantasticks at Ptown Theatre. She traveled to the Dublin Gay Festival to perform in Lynda Sturner's Just Say Yes. Other credits include: Kimberly Akimbo, Working!, Wonder of the World, Bingo!, Picasso at the Lapin Agile and many of Meryl Cohn's productions. Thank you, Jim, for this incredible role. Love to Kevin, Jack, Kaya and our pups: Captain and Tennille. Go Bills!
Dahlia Viprino — Lorelie
Dahlia is a performing arts student at Cape Cod Community College. They are excited to work with so many new theaters throughout the run of Dark Tales. Recent credits include Cha-Cha (Grease), Kaylee/ Alyssa U.S (The Prom), Mrs. Johnson (The Minutes), Silly Girl (Beauty and the Beast), and Kristin Holub (Night Chills). She would like to thank her boyfriend for introducing her to this show and being so patient driving her to rehearsals, and Jim for writing and directing such a wonderful show. You can look forward to seeing Dahlia perform again this winter in Newsies at CCFTA.
Matt Whelan — Dale
Matt Whelan is a performing arts major at Cape Cod Community College. He's been doing theatre for a little over a year now, credits include Kenickie in Grease, Mr. Breeding in The Minutes, Nick/Ensemble in The Prom, and Roger in Grease. You can see him next as Bunsen/Newsie in Newsies at Cotuit Center for the Arts, opening November 25th. He would like to thank his family and friends for their continued support, as well as Jim Dalglish and Jen Kangas for the incredible opportunity to work on Dark Tales!
World Premiere Production
Dark Tales Told on a Cold Autumn Eve
Written and directed by Jim Dalglish
Cotuit Center for the Arts
Black Box Theater
October 11 - 28, 2018
Production:
Playwright/Producer/Director - Jim Dalglish
Set Design - Jim Dalglish
Sound Design - Geof Newton
Lighting Design - Erin Trainor
Costume Design - Brittany Ankiewicz
Props - Jim Dalglish
Stage Manager/Technical Director - Erin Trainor
Geof Newton - Sound Designer
Cast:
Sam - Ian Ryan
The Fisherman - Cleo Zani
Maria - Bonnie Fairbanks
Tony - Brandon Prentiss
May - Diana Young
Elliot - Beau Jackett
Dale - Ian Burgess
Madame X - Samantha McMahon
Lorelei - Mikayla Boyle
Helltown Players Trustees
Jim Dalglish - Founder/Producing Artistic Director/Trustee
Ian Ryan - Secretary/Treasurer/Trustee
John Dennis Anderson - Trustee
Lynda Sturner - Trustee
Margaret Van Sant - Trustee
Meryl Cohn - Trustee Emeritus
Gary Garrison - Trustee Emeritus
Fermin Rojas - Trustee Emeritus
Helltown Players Benefactors
Helltown Players thanks the following individuals and organizations for their support. We would not have succeeded as an organization without you!
Scott Allegretti
Jerry Birdwell
Karen von Bismarck
Barbara Boone
Jadah Carroll
Maureen Condon
Meryl Cohn
Kevin Chandler
John Greiner-Ferris
Jarice Hanson
Elizabeth Hogan
Wendy Levine
Jane Macdonald
Delane & Richard Moser
Pamela Painter
Judith Partelow
Rob Phelps
Carl Pritkat
Laurence Ramin
Fermin Rojas
Patrick Riviere
Mike Syers
Victor Stein
Wenifred Watson
The Jaqueline I. Kroschwitz Fund
Joan Patchen Art and Activism Fund
Provincetown Local Cultural Council
Mass Cultural Council
Cape Cod 5
Special Thanks To…
Mass Cultural Council
Mass Cultural Council Card to Culture
Carol Sherry
Cape Cod 5
Harwich Community Center
Chatham Community Center
Rob Phelps
Ian Ryan
Mark Downey
