Photo Flash: First Look at LAST SWALLOWS at The Other Space @ The Actors Company

Elizabeth is convinced her husband Robert is at death's door, and she's determined to get the whole brood together for a final family holiday, quickly, before his bird has flown. Of course, all three kids and their spouses have their own lives, agendas and emergencies, but a few obstacles won't stop Elizabeth. Some people will do anything to defend their nest in the world premiere of Last Swallows, a modern family dramatic comedy by Cailin Harrison. Kiff Scholl directs Pandelia's Canary Yellow Company's production, opening on September 21 with a run through October 20 at the The Other Space @The Actors Company in West Hollywood. One lower-priced preview takes place on September 20.

Last Swallows is set in present day New England and framed through the contemporary scope of a diverse family including the spouses of the families' adult siblings. The retired patriarch who is happy to see life go by through binoculars birdwatching while the doting matriarch only wants her family to all be together. Harrison gets up close and personal with the dynamics of the parents, their three adult children and their spouses, with all the attendant ups and downs. Last Swallows shows how even families who love one another can be amazingly dysfunctional. As the saying goes, 'You can pick your spouse but not their family.' The play is foremost a comedy about a family bickering relentlessly about every little thing but also a drama about how life can take painful and unexpected turns.

Shaw Purnell (Villain, Deathtrap, Death of a Miner) stars as Elizabeth Whitestone, the matriarch of the family; and Bob Telford(Waiting for Grace, A Few Good Men, The Big Snake) portrays Robert Whitestone, the patriarch. Tina Van Berckelaer (Grand Guignolers de Paris, recently performed with The Porters of Hellsgate, The Theatre @Boston Court, Sacred Fools Theatre) plays the eldest child Julia Whitestone Gray, who is married with children to Edward Gray, played by Matthew Downs (roles in the films Straight Outta Compton, In Plain Sight, Timeless); Ty Mayberry (Argonautika, The Glass Menagerie, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Henry V) plays middle child Thomas Whitestone, who is happily child-free and married to bi-racial Moira Grady, played by Leilani Smith (Dancing Lessons, Flyin' West, Home); Abby Eiland (Welcome to Santa, Classy Parties which she co-wrote, and best actor at the Almeria Western Film Festival for her role in Cassidy Red) plays the youngest child, Dr. Caroline Whitestone Perry, who is in a same-sex marriage with children to Simone Perry, an Asian-American politician played by Leah Zhang (Ocean's Twelve).

"Loosely based on my husband's family, I wrote Last Swallows, first and foremost as a sort of thank you to my mother-in-law, but also because it's a universal story of family dynamics and the squabbling that comes with the territory," exclaims Harrison. "The feedback from those who have read the play is always the same, 'that's exactly my family!', completely relatable. This is a story about an outsider trying to become part of her husband's family and a mother-in-law who learns to appreciate her."