Darren DeBari

Darren DeBari is an actor, director, playwright, teacher, photographer and award winning screenwriter. He was founder of the Independent Film Company Mindbreak Entertainment years back and helped start the La Stada Ensemble Theater Company in 2014. In 2001 he and fellow writer and best friend Greg Wilson won the Acclaim Screenplay Contest for their work The Human Equation and came in second place for Square Pictures contest. That same year DeBari did two radio voice over commercials for Miller Lite and Southwestern Bell. From 2000 to 2003 he did camera work for the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority at the Meadowlands Racetrack, Giants Stadium, and the Continental Airlines Arena. In 2004 he freelanced for Greater Media Newspapers where he sought out and interviewed veteran actor Frank Vincent from the Martin Scorsese films Raging Bull, Goodfellas and Casino. In 2005 he co-starred in director Ian Keeney's psychological film Dark Fantasy. On May 5, 2006 he premiered his feature film The College Murders at the SoHo Art Gallery in Toms River. From March to May 2006 DeBari wrote a film column for the short lived Community Connection newspaper in Brick and Point Pleasant. On March 30, 2007 up until 2011 he judged the Ocean County Library Student Film Festival. Along the way he even hosted and was guest speaker once. On April 28, 2012 at the Ocean County Library Film Festival his short, introspective film Life Approaching Forty won Best Screenplay. DeBari has also written the screenplay for and co-starred in the film The Secret that debuted July 10, 2008 at the Clearview Cinema in Red Bank, New Jersey. In 2008 he had also become a guide and Film writer for the short lived Raisedpath.com and was quoted in Craig Detweiler's book Into the Dark: Seeing the Sacred in the Top Films of the 21st Century. From Fall 2005 to 2011 he had taught Independent Filmmaking for Ocean County College. He had also taught Acting for Film there from 2009 to 2011. DeBari also worked for Freehold Raceway where he had done camera work, simulcasting, and computer graphics from 2004 to 2009. From 2008 to 2011 he had judged a number of high school forensics competitions in Jersey. In 2011 he also judged at Thespian Fest at Kean University as well as lectured on his film experiences at Mary Harris's film class at Brookdale University. From May 2009 to June 2012 DeBari had also filmed, edited and appeared in Jazz Musician and Chef Lou Pompilio's Cooking Show La Canzona Cucina on Youtube. The locations of the show varied from PA to NJ and different restaurants. DeBari also finished the year by making three short online documentaries about the impact of Hurricane Sandy on Brick and Point Pleasant, Bay Head and Manasquan, New Jersey. As of April of 2013 DeBari has been back to work at Freehold Raceway doing Judges Tapes for the live racing show. In September his friend, mentor and playwright A.J. Ciccotelli and him collaborated on a short play called Encounters. It was performed at the historic Saint in Asbury Park for Fear Cabaret on October 13, 2013. DeBari's play The Dream of the Headless Horseman was also performed on October 25 and 26, 2013 along with five others for Fear Fest at Gallery 13 in Asbury Park. The production was produced by the Black Box Theatre and directed by Nicholas Wainwright. On November 9, 2013 DeBari hosted a Q&A at Coastal Artists Studios in Ocean Grove following writer and director Anthony Ciccotelli's play The Statue, The Corpse and Me. DeBari had shot and edited an opening and nightmare sequence which was projected during the show. It starred cast members Christine Nagy from 106.7 Lite FM and Ryan Diminick. Actor Brian O' Halloran from Kevin Smith's Clerks rounded out the cast and also participated in making the Q&A quite lively. On April 11, 2014 DeBari's play The Destruction of the American Male opened and was the first play produced by La Strada Ensemble Theater and ran four successful performances in Ocean Grove for the weekend. On May 29 and 31, 2014 DeBari also directed Landford Wilson's The Madness of Lady Bright in celebration of LGBT theatre and the 50th Anniversary of the play. The show starred Anthony Ciccotelli who also directed Robert Patrick's Heterosexuals and a book-in-hand reading of his own play called Fairy Plays that same weekend. DeBari led the discussion afterwards. DeBari completed writing his fourth play Springtime in Winter which was inspired by a weekend trip he took to Cape May in April of 2014 with his second wife. DeBari also did the front cover of Noodle Doodle Publication's Terror at the Beach which is a horror anthology of short stories. DeBari not only loves taking pictures on his cellphone but also loves shooting short films with it having completed in September and October of 2014 the films Haunted, Trapped, Loss, Ghost and The House of the Black Cat. They were shot in some of his favorite locations in Allentown, Smithville, Farmingdale, and Princeton, New Jersey. On October 23, 25 and 26 DeBari's short play about the Jersey Devil premiered in Asbury Park with 5 others for LaStrada's Chill Festival. It's titled The Devil's Playground and was directed by A. J. Ciccotelli. DeBari finished out 2014 by completing six videos with his brother Tom. They are about the history of their hometown and are titled Bricktown Memories with Tom DeBari. In January of 2015 DeBari wrote, shot and narrated a short and personal documentary about his experience and connection with film called My World In Movies. In February he wrote and shot another short personal documentary called Remembering Bricktown as well as the short film No Way Back at Freehold Racetrack. DeBari and his wife Beth created a Facebook page called Real People Eating Food in April. The page has wonderful pictures and short, concise recommendations and descriptions of the many restaurants the two have dined in along the Jersey Shore and elsewhere. In June he started a photography page on Facebook called Darren's Pictures of the many photos he has taken over the years. DeBari then directed playwright John Morrison's Divine Right for La Strada Ensemble Theater which ran two weeks at the Jersey Shore Arts Center in Ocean Grove. DeBari was proud to continue Morrison's work after his passing in 2008 and re-introduce his play to the world. DeBari shot a short film in Cape May called The Haunted Hotel in October of 2015 and finally released an older short film of his in November of 2016. The film was called Murderers Among Us and starred DeBari and actor Jeffrey Hewson. In October 2017 DeBari wrote and directed the short films The Glowing, Remember and The Revenge of the Great Pumpkin. In 2018 on April 6, 7 and 8th La Strada Ensemble Theater once again produced The Destruction of the American Male at the Jersey Shore Arts Center. This production was directed by Donna Knowlton and Evan Black and starred Anthony Ciccotelli , Christine Nagy, Eric Hackler and Alexandria Pascucci. Later in 2018 DeBari finished a fifth play called My Hour Upon the Stage which is based on his years as an Acting student at Montclair State University. Director A. J. Ciccottelli adapted and directed a short film based on DeBari's play The Devil's Playground in 2022. DeBari thoroughly enjoys writing, commenting on and discussing film on his Twitter page Darren DeBari Movie Discussion.