In Some Dark Valley: The Testimony of Reverend Brand

Stage Raw RECOMMENDED!

Moving Arts Presents In Some Dark Valley: The Testimony of Reverend Brand, a highly acclaimed solo performance for theatre, written and performed by Robert Bailey, directed by Billy Siegenfeld. The first of EIGHT performances begin August 16th at Moving Arts in Atwater Village.

One moonlit night, Reverend Brand, a fiery 19th century circuit preacher, emerges from the shadowy mountains of Appalachia and our collective history to weave a tale of religious fervor set against a landscape scarred by war, poverty and disease… a story that also shines a light on rare moments of tender and resilient redemption. Robert Bailey’s solo performance grapples with the inevitable clash between an unyielding vision of moral rectitude and the tragic personal destruction it leaves in its wake. Embodying multiple characters while also singing gorgeous traditional songs handed down through generations of Southerners, Bailey transports the audience to a land and era that is haunting and illuminating in its relevance to today.

In Some Dark Valley premiered at the Hollywood Fringe Festival 2024 where it won the Best of the Fringe TVO Award and the 2024 LA Gem Award for Outstanding Dramatic Performer (male). Bailey has performed the 65-minute show in Santa Cruz, San Diego and at Pacific Resident Theatre. This August his journey continues as a morally challenged circuit preacher from 1870’s Appalachia. Traditional songs of the type passed down through generations play a crucial role in the performance and are, in many ways, its catalyst.

“Finely crafted… delightfully dark but there is also humor and outstanding storytelling through finely etched characters… a powerful and highly entertaining show that takes full advantage of the lights and sound design to draw you into a musty, backwoods world.”
Dan Ruth, LA Hidden Gems

Friday, September 12, 2025 8:00 PM | Saturday, September 13, 2025 8:00 PM | Friday, September 19, 2025 8:00 PM & Saturday, September 20, 2025 8:00 PM

Robert Bailey was awarded a Samuel Arnold Fellowship upon graduation from Brown University to work with renowned theatrical innovator Jerzy Grotowski at the Polish Laboratory Theatre in Wroclaw. He subsequently became a founding member, actor, director and teacher at the Washington Theatre Laboratory. After relocating to New York, he was associated with Circle Repertory Company, Ensemble Studio Theatre, American Place Theatre, the Williamstown Theatre Festival and the Actors Studio, often working on first productions of new plays and garnering praise from the New York Times and the Village Voice.

In Los Angeles, he earned critical acclaim for his direction of John Bishop’s Borderline (winner of six DramaLogue Awards), Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation of The Turn of the Screw, Eugene O’Neill’s A Touch of the Poet and Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero; and for his performances as an actor in Frank Wedekind’s Lulu, J.T. Rogers’ Madagascar, David Rabe’s A Question of Mercy, and Charles L. Mee’s Big Love. Robert Bailey has been on the faculty of the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts since 2010.

Director Billy Siegenfeld is the founder, artistic director, writer, choreographer, and musical arranger of the theatre company Jump Rhythm®; a Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence in the Department of Theatre at Northwestern University; an author of essays, plays, and a forthcoming book titled How to Make Gravity Our New Best Friend by Standing Down (Not Up!) Straight.

His creative work and teaching focus on building speech, song, and rhythm-charged movement out of gravity-directed relaxation, guided by his invention, the scientifically-fact-based holistic concept Standing Down Straight® (SDS). His two-character play with song and dance, Fortitude or and Gentleness, premiered at the Mark O’Donnell Theater in New York City in 2023. It now tours in the United States and abroad, accompanied by workshops in SDS.

He received a B.A. in literature from Brown University and an M.A in writing about jazz music and dance from New York University’s Gallatin Division. He received an Emmy® Award for his choreography and performance in the documentary, Jump Rhythm Jazz Project: Getting There. He acted, danced, and sang in off-off-off-Broadway shows as well as in the Broadway production of Singin’ in the Rain. www.jumprhythm.org