Chapter One: The Bells

**"Chapter One: The Bells"** is the first episode of Shipwrecked Comedy's second largest published series, *Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner Party*. The episode introduces the all of the dinner guests and the game afoot.

## Plot

Edgar Allan Poe and Lenore are sitting at a large dinner table across from eachother. They have sent out all the invitations and are nervously awaiting their guests arrival. Someone knocks on the door. The guests arrive one by one: Ernest Hemingway, Louisa May Alcott, Mary Shelley, Charlotte Brontë, Oscar Wilde, HG Wells, Emily Dickinson, George Eliot, and Fyodor Dostoevsky. As they arrive, Poe and Lenore greatfully take their presents and usher them into the dining room.

Once they are all seated, Edgar explains that Agatha Christie is coming but running late, as are Annabel Lee and her plus one, Eddie Dantes. Everyone is given character cards for the murder mystery game, but many of them appear unhappy with their assigned roles and attempt to trade. However, Poe quickly puts a stop to this because the cards were all assigned for important reasons. To please the guests, Lenore brings out a red herring soup for them to eat. The guests talk amongst themselves as Poe continues reading the rules.

Then, Annabel Lee arrives with Eddie, a banker, who explains that they are late because he was volunteering and helping out and generally being a great guy. Some guests appear impressed, but Poe is simply jealous. When he tries to continue the game, Mary Shelley stands up and announces that she has something to say. Suddenly, the room goes dark. Everyone gasps. When the lights come back on, Eddie is lying face down in his soup.

## Credits

### Cast

* Sean Persaud as Edgar Allan Poe
* Sinéad Persaud as Lenore
* Mary Kate Wiles as Annabel Lee
* Sarah Grace Hart as Emily Dickinson
* Whitney Avalon as Mary Shelley
* Ashley Clements as Charlotte Brontë
* Tom DeTrinis as Oscar Wilde
* Ryan Garcia as Eddie Dantes
* Lauren Lopez as George Eliot
* Tara Perry as Louisa May Alcott
* Joey Richter as Ernest Hemingway
* Blake Silver as HG Wells
* Clayton Snyder as Fyodor Dostoevsky

### Crew

* Production Designer: Katie Moest
* Art Director: Kim Brunner
* Composer: Dylan Glatthorn
* Sound Design: Justin Lee Dixon
* Editor: Raymond Fraser
* Director of Photography: Alex Gallitano
* Assistant Director: Wes Middleton
* Executive Producers: Gregg Gibbons & April Morris
* Shipwrecked Comedy Producers: Sean Persaud, Sinéad Persaud, Mary Kate Wiles, & Sarah Grace Hart
* American Black Market Producers: Brent Madison & Ryan M. Murphy
* Gaffer: Devin Hassan & Zach Ziedman
* First Assistant Camera: Allan Chavarria & Daniel De Menezes
* Key Grip: Sebastian Johnson & James Sowka
* Wardrobe: Sarah Grace Hart, Sinéad Persaud, & Mary Kate Wiles
* Hair & Makeup: Morgan McDonnell
* Script Supervisor: Taylor Brogan
* Grip/Swing: Nick Leucking & Jamie Gonçalves
* Assistant Hair & Makeup: Keely Williams
* Logo, Animation, Thumbnail & Endscreen: David Cater
* Site Rep: Darlena Roberts
* BTS: Christopher Higgins
* Production Assistants: Tia Workman, Oriana Scafidi, Stacy Baker, Kelly Baker, Kelsey Geller, Erin Wert, Delaney Peterson, Caitlin Olsen, Ilana Elroi, Jennifer Richee
* Camera Services: Neinhuis Camera Services, Inc.
* Catering: Boyz in the Kitchen

## Production

Chapter One was filmed in parts over the 10 days in May of 2016 spent at Sunny Gables. To substitute alcohol in the scenes, they used apple juice and grape juice. Additonally, the "red herring" soup was actually very watered down tomato soup. Becuase of evaporation, they actually had to refill the soup bowls. To know other general details about production, you can read the production section of *Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner Party*.

## Trivia

* After the credits scene, Dostoevsky and Annabel appear to be mourning Eddie (who is no longer face down in the soup). And, Oscar appears to be laughing at the fact that Eddie's card had read "Orangatang."
* The entrance of the guests was split filmed on the first and last day which made it very sentimental.
* In the dining room scenes, there were not enough seats for everyone to sit. So, they had to move the chairs depending on the shot.
* Chapter one is the first (and only) Shipwrecked Comedy video to pass 400k views.