CINDY BAER - Producer/Director
Cindy grew up in Brockton, MA, and began her career as an actress with the Boston Children’s Theatre at the age of 14. By the age of 22, she had performed in 19 stage plays, including “The Diary of Anne Frank,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Biloxi Blues,” “Candide” and Jack Neary's “Ask a Nice Girl” before moving to Los Angeles in 1992. At 23, Cindy combined her theatrical ability with a keen business sense to create Daizy the Clown and Company, one of the most highly regarded children’s entertainment companies in the L.A. area, which she sold in January 2001. During that time, she performed roles in several plays, including Essie in The Pasadena Shakespeare Company's critically acclaimed production of “You Can't Take It With You,” and Jill in the 30th anniversary production of Leonard Gershe's “Butterflies are Free” at the Matrix Theatre in Hollywood (which she also produced). Her film credits include roles in Eclipse, Liberating Dorothy, Grown-ups and of course a cameo in Purgatory House. In 2000, Cindy co-founded the Mosaic Theatre Company, a California non-profit public-benefit corporation. Believing that acting saved her own life as a child, she is passionate to get kids excited about creating art, music and theatre, as an alternative to negative outlets.When Cindy joined The Big Sisters of Los Angeles Program (an organization that pairs at-risk girls with female mentors), and met her then 11-year-old “little sister” and screenwriter-to-be, Celeste Davis, little did they know then that their lives together would soon create a feature film called Purgatory House. This is Cindy’s debut as a feature director.

CELESTE DAVIS - Screenwriter/"Silver Strand"
Celeste received an award for creative writing at the age of 10, and has been writing ever since. By the time she turned 13, Celeste had lost interest in her schoolwork. She went from one school to another trying to find a place where she felt like she belonged. She also struggled with all of the relationships in her life. Drugs were everywhere, and seemed a tempting escape. With alcoholism in her family, she tried to avoid drinking and drugs, as she ached to connect with something. At the age of 13, she began to write Purgatory House, a screenplay which mirrored her own life in certain ways by portraying her challenges to fit in, process peer pressure, find meaning for her life, and create a relationship with herself and a Higher Power. When Celeste turned 14 and landed herself in a teen runaway shelter, she felt lost. That’s when the decision came to produce Purgatory House as a movie. With "Big Sister" Cindy Baer as her mentor, Celeste completed her first feature-length screenplay only a few weeks later. Celeste made her acting debut as the lead character Silver Strand at the age of 15. Now it appears that Celeste may be the youngest sole credited screenwriter to have a feature produced.

JIM HANKS - "Saint James"
When Jim read for the role of Saint James, the whole Purgatory House team breathed a collective sigh of relief. Every part had been cast, except this crucial one. Hundreds of actors had auditioned to play these challenging dual characters, and we were beginning to get worried we would not find the right actor to pull it off. But then Jim came in and nailed it. Some of Jim's other credits include guest starring roles on "Jag", "Lois and Clark" and "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch". Film credits include SWING, BABY GENIUSES and THE POLAR EXPRESS. And yes...Jim is every bit as talented as his older brother Tom!

JOHNNY PACAR - "Sam"
Johnny is quickly making a name for himself as the newest teen heart-throb! Girls from around the country write to us inquiring about this talented actor who stars in the Disney Original Movie NOW YOU SEE IT. Johnny is also set to star in a new NBC series called "Flight 29 Down" which is scheduled to air beginning October 1. Other credits include recurring roles on the TV shows "American Dreams" and "Boston Public". Johnny had only been living in Los Angeles for three months when we cast him to play our "Sam", and he's been working steadily ever since! If you are a fan of Johnny's, we have a surprise for you... Click here to view a special fan page with news pics, an exclusive video interview, and updates from Johnny himself.

DEVIN WITT - "Atticis"
John Devin Witt discovered his love for acting when he landed the a lead in his school play in junior high. Two years later, his supportive family packed up their bags and moved then 14-year-old Devin to Hollywood to pursue his goal of becoming a working actor. In this short time, he landed the lead roles in the feature IT'S A SECRET, and in the short film CHOWDER. He's also appeared in several music videos, including April's "The Beat Goes On" and Joe Arthur's "History."

CHRISTOPHER S. NIBLEY - Director of Photography
Chris has been a Director of Photography in Los Angeles, specializing in visual effects, for over 20 years. He has shot over 300 television commercials and music videos. His more than 30 motion pictures credits include: THE ADDAMS FAMILY, DEUCE BIGALOW, PREDATOR 2, THE BABE, THE SANTA CLAUSE, A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 5, L.A. STORY and MARS ATTACKS! Chris has shot award winning music videos for ZZ Top, Fleetwood Mac and David Bowie.

TRACI GLODERY - Associate Producer/Location Manager/Caterer
Traci graduated from UCLA in 2000 with a BFA in Studio Arts. While attending UCLA she studied film and television extensively, and considers it her minor. She worked as a Production Office Intern at Via Rosa Productions. After college she immediately started working as a Production Coordinator at Pearson Television in Santa Monica, and shortly after was promoted to Associate Producer. Projects she worked on while at Via Rosa include: ONE FINE DAY, A THOUSAND ACRES, and DEEP END OF THE OCEAN.

MATTHEW IRVING - Associate Producer
Matthew has been the Director of Photography on numerous award-winning folms including THE MAGIC OF MARCIANO (starring Nastassja Kindki ans Robert Forser), and GROOVE–a smash indie hit–that was one of the first acquisitions at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. His most recent credits include Miramax's DALTRY CALHOUN (executive produced by Quentin Tarantino, starring Juliette Lewis and Johnny Knoxville), and Lion's Gate's WAITING (starring Ryan Reynolds, Justin Long, and Luis Guzman). Irving was named one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film" by Filmmaker Magazine. He is a graduate of Stanford University, and earned his MFA
in the film production program at USC's School of Cinema & Television.

JAMES W. THOMPSON, JR. - Production Designer
Jim is a design graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego and has designed over 40 shows for stage, television, Film and amusement parks. Some recent clients included: The Kennedy Center; Washington DC. "Dreams" Directed by Debbie Allen. "The Amazing Brain Show" at The California Science Center, Royal Caribbean International Cruise Line. Paramount, Kraft General Foods International and "Cory The Clown show" which will air on Public Television this coming spring. Films to be released soon included SCREAM QUEEN and CHAT ROOM. Jim is one of only six students this year accepted into the Production Designer program at American Film Institute.

TOR RAMSEY- Production Consultant
Tor is a professional writer and director who moved from North Carolina to Los Angeles in 1998. He is currently in pre-production for the feature GYPSIES, TRAMPS AND BAIL JUMPERS, which we wrote, and will direct. In 2000, he directed the feature CHILDREN OF THE LIVING DEAD (by producer Joseph Wolfe of the HALLOWEEN movies). In 1999 he wrote, produced and directed the 35mm feature, URBAN MYTHOLOGY, and also wrote and directed a segment of E: Talk Soup. He has written 14 full length screenplays, 42 shorts, 1 novel, and 6 half hour episodes for the spec pilot "White Chick and the Haole Crew", 2 of which were produced. He directed "Parts of Lloyd" in 1998, and "My wife comes when I call her" 1999.

KATRINA GOURLEY - Casting Director
Katrina is a co-founder of The Mosaic Theatre Company in Los Angeles. She is also the Secretary on the Board of Directors. Most recently she performed the lead in Mosaic's first official production, "Troy Story: The Wedding" at the NoHo Theatre Arts Festival. Katrina received her B.A. in Arts and Humanities with a concentration in Theatre from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. There she starred in "Romeo and Juliet", "Conduct of Life" and a female version of "Waiting for Godot". Katrina was the resident costume designer for the student directed and produced cabaret program. Katrina is an Elementary Educator, and performs a children's show regularly all over the Los Angeles area. Recent film credits include: VAMPIRE HUNTERS CLUB and SAWTOOTH.

LARISA STOW - Singer/Songwriter
Larisa was named "Outstanding Female Singer/Song-Writer of the year" by the Los Angeles Music Awards. She has opened for such popular bands as OMD, Berlin, Joan Jett and Sheila E. She recently teamed up with legendary producer David Tickle and Digital Theater Systems (DTS), to create "Moment by Moment", a compilation of 10 original compositions by Larisa. This is the first-ever music recording created in the same 5.1-channel surround format used for major motion pictures. The release of this "Moment by Moment" DVD-A containing a new video of her song "Heaven" debuted in January 2001, and is now the top selling DTS Entertainment Label DVD-A to date. Larisa was listed as one of Music Connection's "Top 20 Demo Reviews" of 2000, and also won special recognition as a top 20 finalist (from thousands of submissions) for the Los Angeles Lilith Fair Acoustic Talent Search.

DAVID POWELL - Music Supervisor
David is President of The Music Bridge. Since 1992, The Music Bridge has provided music clearance, licensing, supervision and consultation services to the film, television and recording industries. Recent credits include: HOME OF THE BRAVE (premiering at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival), AMANDLA! A REVOLUTION IN FOUR PART HARMONY (Sundance 2002), THE SMOKERS, EXTREME HONOR, FAUST, BOSSA NOVA, and The World Festival of Sacred Music -THE AMERICAS.

JOHN SWIHART - Composer
John's probably most well known for his work as the composer for the indie smash hit NAPOLEAN DYNAMITE directed by Jared Hess. Some other credits include: Scott Lew's BICKFORD SCHMEKLER'S COOL IDEAS, MALL COP (starring Kathleen Robertson, Nick Searcy), Lewis Helfer's LIFE ON THE EDGE (Mark Blum, Tovah Feldshuh), and Max Makowski's ONE LAST DANCE (Harvey Keitel.)

3 DOGZ CREATIVE INC. - Graphic Design
Dave Gouveia with partners Chris Elkerton and Roberta Judge (and their canines) came together to create a dynamic up and coming company called 3 Dogz Creative, Inc. Joined together by their passion for design and exceptional collective vision, 3 Dogz offers a range of strong talents - and a discernible difference. Based in Toronto, Canada, they provide a large variety of design services including corporate identities and communications, advertising, environmental signage, marketing and promotional materials, and website design. Some current clientele include Visa International, The National Film Board of Canada, IMAX, The White Ribbon Campaign, Canadian recording artist Jane Siberry and Alliance Atlantis.

CATALOG.COM - Website Host
Catalog.com is an extremely affordable and reliable website host. For only $40/year, they provide everything needed to get your new website up and running, including; the domain name, a website builder, 100MB storage, free hosting, 5 GB of transfer per month, webmail, web statistics, and lots more! They also have easy-to-use web support. On top of providing a great service, this company also cares about the community. When our website began getting a high volume of hits, Calalog.com generously agreed to sponsor the overages. We've used their services for years, and don't believe you will find a better web host than them!

EYEDEAS.NET
Eyedeas.net is a professional Internet company with a wide range of skills, knowledge and services. Owned by Michael A. Fulcher and located just south of Boston MA, Eyedeas offers expertise in Website design, marketing & promotion. Some current clientele include Polaroid Inc., Outpost.com, and Fitsite.com.