To Kendra, it’s the fanciest night of the year. To everyone else, it’s the worst birthday party they’ve ever been to. Not because of the secrets, lies, or tragedy, but because of the lack of alcohol and the inadequate entertainment.
Characters
RICHARD SAQUA☛
It's Richard's birthday and the gathering at his newly acquired mansion is going exquisitely. He loves nothing more than to celebrate his own existence, and it's even better when others do it. What a great party! Come by and wish Richard a Happy Birthday! And you might find some surprises along the way...
EMILY BEHOL☛
Emily is Richard’s best friend and he totally knows it because they were inseparable in their criminology lecture. She also wants to get to know Richard better and is so honored to be invited to this party and meet the other important people in his life.
☚ BRYNNLEIGH MACKENZIE
Brynnleigh definitely has more interesting places to be than this party. She likes classical music, reading, Pulp Fiction and not much else. There has never been a time where she was not the smartest person in the room. She may very well be a genius, but you’ll never get close enough to her to know for sure.
KURT GUTTEVON☛
Kurt Guttevon is first and foremost a baker. He owns and runs his own bakery, Kurt's Kitchen, and also produces a series of online baking videos under the same name. He smiles a lot, and he finds it goes right along with his love for dressing up and going to social events (who else is going to taste his food?), but what he doesn't love is anyone with the gall to disrespect the art of cooking - let alone the food he crafts himself.
JETT JEREMY JOHNSON☛
Jett is that guy who’s always just kind of around, showing up at times when you’re not sure he should be. He’s just unassuming enough that it’s a little weird, but not enough that it becomes worrisome. Which might be how he wants it to be.
☚ KENDRA BOULETTE
Kendra is the Stepford Wife from hell. Vain, loud, and completely unaware of herself, she is more invested in the tartines she made than the well-being of her fiancé. Her secret compassion for the few who earn it is probably her best-kept secret.
☚ VERONICA ANSIA
Veronica is anxious. All of the time. She needs way too many generic-brand, high-strength anxiety reducers in order to function. She’s also quite the party girl, which is exactly why Richard invited her to his birthday party. Well, that and the fact that he’s her drug dealer. That’s supposed to be kept on the down-low, though, so don’t tell anyone.
☚ PETRA BENÉT
*Please read with an English accent* Petra Benét, truly an illustrious character. What is there to say about Petra? She’s you, she’s me, she’s everyone, she’s an enigma. No one knows who Petra is, or really rather why Petra is. But for some reason everyone is drawn by her amazing talents and skills. Where is Petra from? That’s for her to know, and only her. You can never find out. Petra has been honing her craft since 1967 and she’s only gotten better with age.
☚ LIAM O'SÉITÉIR
Liam's never dedicated much time or effort to anything other than his full-life job of cleaning pools for those lucky enough to have pools. He's not quite sure who he is or why he's here with all of these important people, but he'll ride things out until the almighty screenwriters find a greater purpose for his character.
VIRGINIA BOULETTE ☛
Virginia Boulette is a rich brunette bitch from Greenwich just trying to get out of her older sister’s big blonde shadow. You can find her rolling her eyes and making snide comments under her breath in her free time.
☚ WYATT WHITE
Wyatt is a colleague of Richards and a member of Alpha Kappa Psi. Wyatt comes from self proclaimed “humble upbringings” in Chappaqua, New York. When he isn’t at the office, you can find him practicing tennis at the nearest court or shopping for his next outfit at Drake’s.
GUNHILD VON OBERHAUSEN☛
There are a lot scary things in this world, but nothing as mysterious as Gunhild. Or at least that’s what she thinks. A punk rock, no nonsense pyromaniac ready to hex the next person who rubs her the wrong way, Gunhild spends most of her time alone with her demons. With so many secrets, what else could she be hiding?
Directors' Statement
ROXY ARECCO
Co-directing Filthy Rich with Bree and Andrew was one of the greatest pleasures of my life. Not only was it a dream to work alongside two of my closest friends, it was an incredible experience directing such a talented, hard-working, and hilarious group of actors. I can’t wait for everyone to see this special thing that we’ve created!
BREE FLECK
Usually having three directors on one project would make your head spin, but somehow Andrew, Roxanne, and I made it work. Granted it’s probably because were best friends and have the same sense of humor. But regardless, it was an amazing feat we accomplished and I am so proud of the content we have created. I am so grateful to everyone who helped create Filthy Rich, and I cannot wait for the hilarity to ensue.
ANDREW GILLESPIE
I had such an incredible experience co-directing Filthy Rich with my besties Brenda and Roxanne, two unparalleled artists and the best collaborators in the world. Directing has been a passion of mine since the 10th grade when I directed my first one-act play, and throughout college where I was taught by some of the best in the business at Stonestreet Studios, and I am so thankful to 239 Arts for giving me the opportunity to explore that passion further. These actors are second to none and everyone who’s helped us from Alex and Erica to Billy and Mary are top-shelf creators and artists and I can’t thank them enough for lending their talents to our little labor of love. I can’t wait to share this project that is completely, one-hundred percent ours with the world and to get started on the next one!
Executive Producers
BILLY BARBER has an extensive list of composing credits, including themes for CBS’ Face the Nation, Mystery Science Theatre 3000, and a twenty year theme for All My Children. He has two Emmys, seven Emmy nominations and three BMI awards.
He played keyboards and was the main writer for the Warner Bros. group Flim & the BBs, earning two Grammy nominations and three albums on the top ten Billboard Jazz charts. As a songwriter he has penned a number one record for the Oak Ridge Boys and songs for Ray Charles, among others.
He is also a dedicated filmmaker, and has written and directed several music videos and short films.
MARY BARBER was a Director of Interest Rate Sales in the financial securities sector for thirty years. She has had a life-long passion for the arts, and is an avid gardener, chef, and supportive mother.
ST. MALACHY'S was founded in 1902. While the neighborhood has witnessed many changes throughout the course of the past century, St. Malachy’s remains today an active, integral part of this most unique, most dynamic community. With the construction of The Actors’ Chapel below the main church in 1920, St. Malachy’s became a haven of worship for those in the entertainment business. Notable events include the wedding of Douglas Fairbanks and Joan Crawford, and the funeral Mass of Rudolph Valentino. George M. Cohan, Spencer Tracy, Perry Como, and Bob and Dolores Hope all worshipped at St. Malachy’s.
Over the decades, the ebb and flow of the times, good and bad, have had an impact on the parish. As late as 1968, over 16,000 people monthly attended Mass at St. Malachy’s, and on opening nights, many actors, writers, and producers came to light candles for the success of their shows. But sweeping change came again. Madison Square Garden moved away and the night clubs closed. The neighborhood became unstable. Theatre people and tourists feared lingering in the area and stopped visiting St. Malachy’s. The Church and its people were suffering, and vandalism and theft were weekly occurrences. But in 1976, Father George W. Moore was assigned to St. Malachy’s, setting into motion a new wave of far-reaching change. A pastoral-team concept was initiated, which included not only priests and sisters, but also a group of caring lay men and women of all faiths. Their mission was to renew the long-standing tradition of St. Malachy’s: ministering to the neighborhood. One of the outstanding accomplishments of their efforts was the 1977 establishment of Encore Community Services, which to this day, dynamically serves the needs of our senior citizens.
In recent years, St. Malachy’s has continued Fr. Moore’s vision of the Church serving its community, with its parish registry surging and the increasing demand for all sacraments as evidence of a spiritually passionate community. With its unique demographic of local Hell’s Kitchen residents, performing artists, and tourists, St. Malachy’s remains a place where “Catholics can always come home” and where people of all backgrounds are welcome. St. Malachy’s is ever a symbol of faith, hope and love, living the Gospel message in the hustle and bustle of New York’s Theatre District.
STONESTREET STUDIOS is celebrating 27 years as a New York City based fully operative, multi-purpose, visual motion picture production studio, founded by Alyssa Rallo Bennett and Gary O. Bennett, director/writer/producer team. Stonestreet’s work ranges from award-winning socially speculative feature films such as Rain Without Thunder (Starring Jeff Daniels, Linda Hunt, Steve Zahn) and The Pack aka Smoking Non-Smoking (Luci Arnaz, Elizabeth Moss), to pilots, web series and Micro-Movies released internationally and on Stonestreet’s growing platforms.
Stonestreet has become known as an incubator of socially conscious, character driven and culturally provocative millennial and generation Y content and talent such as Miles Teller(Whiplash, Divergent, Bleed for This), Rachel Brosnahan (House of Cards, Marvelous Mrs Maisel), Ashley Skidmore (Younger), Renee Felice Smith (NCIS), Xosha Roquemore (Mindy Project), Michaela Conlin (Bones), Connor Hines (Local Attraction) and more.
Stonestreet is also an independent film production company creating feature films, TV pilots, web series, and short form content and the Stonestreet Conservatory, the exclusive screen acting and production program of New York University Tisch School of the Arts Drama Department.
Stonestreet's films explore the passions, eccentricities, politics and humor of character driven, no holds barred stories that seek to entertain and enlighten. The Conservatory trains actors, writers, directors in the art of screen acting and filmmaking within the professional environment of an independent film studio, empowering them to become producers of their own work and careers.
Writers
ROXY ARECCO has been writing since she could hold a pencil. In elementary school, she wrote scary stories to spook her friends, in high school, she wrote articles for the school newspaper, and now she writes scripts for stage and screen. She is currently working on a play called Period Play and a series called The Gym. She needs to work on her titles.
GRACE BARBER moved into writing after she found her love of performing, but it soon became her main form of artistic expression. Grace is a composer first and a script writer second: her work will soon be featured in her Untitled Musical to be performed by the 239 Arts Collaborative!
ANNIE BYERS' greatest fear throughout her academic career was creative writing, so she decided to take her first stab at it where it would affect a dozen or so of her closest friends and their futures as actors.
CASEY YOUNG started writing when she realized she wasn’t as good at drawing as she thought she was. Her previous work includes academic papers and fanfics buried so deeply in the dark web that you will never find them. It has been a pleasure throwing around ideas for bits with these lovely writers until we found the best one.
MARIO DEL CUBO only started writing for the screen and the stage during his final years in college and created his first play with the help of 239 Arts. He hopes to produce The Second Coming in the summer of 2019. He's excited for oncoming projects and hopes to soon jot down some of his new story ideas with pen and paper.
BREE FLECK only helped co-write episode 5, but she is thrilled to have made her writing debut. She had an incredible time meeting up with the other writers and shouting out random ideas until some of them fit. Episode 5 may or may not be her favorite episode, but she promises she’s not biased.
ANDREW GILLESPIE has been writing for the screen since he finished his first feature screenplay at the seasoned age of 12. Since then he has consistently written screenplays, teleplays, play adaptations, and a whole bunch of essays before finally producing some short films he’s written including Ruff Night, Duplicity, Silence of the Bros, Rumspringa 2019, and A Vigilante’s Origin before collaborating on Filthy Rich. He is preparing to produce his first feature script, The Wolf, with 239 Arts.
AIDAN RONEY is the Elvis of this writing team. Being that he didn’t actually perform much (or any) of the physical action of writing this show. However, because of his rockstar look, charisma to match, and his occasional good ideas, we feel obligated to put his name here.
MAE RONEY is thrilled to have been able to co-write these episodes with these amazing collaborators! Mae’s dramatic writing hasn’t really seen light of day since middle school when she gave two of her cousins copies of a terrible original play (at least one copy still exists in her cousin’s drawer, and Mae constantly hopes it stays there).
JAMES WILLIAMS wrote a lot in elementary school, then came up with a truly terrible one-act in high school. Now he returns to writing with Filthy Rich, and it has helped him get started on some skits, a romcom feature called Are You Kidding Me?, and a full-length play called Fallout.
Stills
Production
Festivals
Filthy Rich has been submitted to several festivals. We've been selected by the following festival so far;
Episodes 1 & 2 (scripts): selected to be included in the festival
Saturday, August 10 2019
Special Thanks
The creation of Filthy Rich wouldn't have been possible without the helping hands of so many people. Thank you so much for all your hard work and generous donations!
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Alex Cope
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Erica Tagliarino
PRODUCERS
Stephanie Chuipek and James Byers
Susan Jeremenko Clauser
Eva and Francisco del Cubo
Vincent Battaglia
Elizabeth Bromley
Haley Griswold
Vishal Halwai
James Ireland
Caitlyn McCain
Chandler McKinney
Jessica Oliff
Alison Regan
Julia Wilde
