Holland Productions presents THE MISTAKES MADELINE MADE

Currently celebrating its 5th season, Holland Productions proudly presents the Boston premiere of THE MISTAKES MADELINE MADE, a twisted and hilarious story by acclaimed playwright Elizabeth Meriwether, November 26 - December 4 at The Factory Theatre, 791 Tremont St., South End. Press opening is Saturday, November 27 at 8 p.m. For tickets or more information, visit www.hollandproductions.org.

The Mistakes Madeline Made tells the story of a young girl, Edna, who develops Ablutophobia, the fear of bathing. Struggling with a soul-crushing job as a personal assistant and the traumatic death of her older brother, she wages a furious and funny war against all things complacent, pampered, and clean. As Edna's smell starts to overwhelm her co-workers and many casual lovers, the play raises the questions: Is dirty living a political act? And is clean living even possible in these times of unrest? An unlikely story of love and dirty people.

"MISTAKES is a sharp and shameless story of one woman's crusade to redefine how we remember," says Director Krista D'Agostino. "Ms. Meriwether's absurd, yet relatable play allows us to consider the violently funny results of what happens when our most private memories cease to exist solely in our minds and collide head-on with reality (and those in it)."

"Crisply assured style and brainy content... Meriwether's gift as a playwright is her ability to take what is familiar and real and view it through the distorted lens of absurdism. MISTAKES takes a good hard look at how the world appears to a generation of smart young kids. From a safe distance, the picture is savagely funny. But when you get close enough, it looks like hell." -Variety.

"The wounded characters reveal themselves to each other and to us via startling emotional juxtapositions; quietly disquieting confessions of pathos and loss are scattered among their oddball interactions. Every element of this production coheres into a successful whole." -OffOffOnline.

THE CAST & CREATIVE TEAM

Elizabeth Meriwether (Playwright) Ms. Meriwether's The Mistakes Madeline Made was originally produced by Naked Angels Theater and was subsequently produced at Yale Repertory Theatre. Her other plays include Heddatron, an adaptation of Hedda Gabler featuring live robots which was produced by Les Freres Corbusier and will receive its Chicago premiere at the Steppenwolf Theatre in 2011; Nicky Goes Goth, which was first produced in 2004 in the New York Fringe Festival; and Oliver, which will be workshopped by the Vineyard Theatre. Ms. Meriwether is currently working on commissions from the Yale Repertory Theatre, Ars Nova, and Manhattan Theatre Club.

"Ms. Meriwether's plays are a collage of loopy observations and seeming non sequiturs that almost imperceptibly assemble into bigger-picture emotional stories of pain and loneliness." - The New York Times.

Krista D'Agostino (Director) cofounded Holland Productions in 2006. Since then she has directed numerous productions for the company including Paula Vogel's The Baltimore Waltz, Naomi Iizuka's Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls, and JorDan Harrison's KID SIMPLE: A Radio Play in the Flesh. She has served as producer on all HP productions including the near sold-out run of the Boston premiere of Sarah Ruhl's Melancholy Play. She has also directed for The Williamstown Theatre Festival Workshop, Harvard University, Boston Actors Theater, Another Country Productions, and The Boston Theatre Marathon.

"In the smart and sensitive directorial hands of Krista D'Agostino...the youthful Holland Productions delivers an energetic, bare-bones version of Paula Vogel's witty elegy." - EDGE Boston (The Baltimore Waltz).

"Under Krista D'Agostino's direction, this group of strangers... or at any rate, strange individuals... gels into one of the best ensembles to hit the stage this season." - EDGE Boston (Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls).

The cast of The Mistakes Madeline Made includes Paige Clark (12 Angry Jurors, Counter-Productions) as Edna; Emily Culver (Halfway House Club, Holland Productions) as Beth; Nate Gundy (Family Stories, Whistler in the Dark) as Jake/Drake/Blake; Bob Mussett (Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls, Holland Productions and Mud, Factory Theatre) as Wilson; and Victor Shopov (Enron and Farragut North, Zeitgeist Stage) as Buddy.

Scenic design by Sean Cote (The Overwhelming and After the Quake, Company One); costume design by Mikey DiLoreto (Happy Medium Theatre); and light design by Molly Ballerstein (Happy Medium Theatre).

DATES/TICKET INFORMATION:

The Mistakes Madeline Made will run November 26th-December 4th at The Factory Theatre, 791 Tremont St., South End, Boston.

Thursday-Saturday performances at 8 pm, with Sunday the 28 at 3 p.m.
(Friday, November 26 at 8 p.m. is a PAID PREVIEW)

Tickets are $15 full price, $13 students/seniors and can be purchased online at theatermania.com. Cash only at the door.

NOV. 29 BENEFIT PERFORMANCE WITH DRESS FOR SUCCESS BOSTON

On Monday, November 29 at 8 p.m., Holland Productions will present a special performance of The Mistakes Madeline Made, benefiting Dress for Success Boston. Dress for Success Boston promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.

"All too often we, like protagonist of the play, focus on the annoyances or drudgeries of our jobs, and take our employment and paychecks for granted," says Director of Development, Lydia Anderson. "Dress for Success Boston knows that employment can be essential, not just for survival, but for a woman's self-worth."

At this special performance, audience members can purchase a discounted ticket of $5 with the donation of a piece of office-appropriate jewelry. Regularly priced tickets are also available, and profits that evening will be split with Dress for Success Boston. For more information about Dress for Success Boston, please visit their website at www.dressforsuccess.org/boston/.

Monday, November 29 at 8 p.m.
The Factory Theatre
$15/$13 regular/student & senior admission
$5 admission with jewelry donation

ABOUT HOLLAND PRODUCTIONS:
Holland Productions was founded in 2006 by three Boston College graduates looking to empower imagination and promote the female voice at its most dynamic. The company opened at The Factory Theatre with co-founding member Emily Dendinger's Swimming After Dark. Since then, Holland Productions has continued to produce contemporary plays by both female and male playwrights which feature substantial and challenging roles for women that embrace the complexity of reality.

"Our mission is twofold: to both portray the intricacies of the female voice and to create work where everyone, from actor to audience, can bring individual experiences to explore," says Producing Artistic Director Krista D'Agostino. This idea is supported by one of the most defining aspects of Holland Productions - its selection of quirky, whimsical, mind-warping plays. "We're drawn to scripts that reignite that childlike sense of discovery," says D'Agostino. "Specifically, those that position the audience somewhere between entertained viewer and active participant." Most notably, the company has produced Paula Vogel's The Baltimore Waltz, Naomi Iizuka's Aloha Say The Pretty Girls, JorDan Harrison's KID SIMPLE: A Radio Play in the Flesh (co-produced with The Factory Theatre), and in early 2010, the Boston professional premiere of Sarah Ruhl's Melancholy Play (Directed by Eliot Norton nominated M. Bevin O'Gara).

The Mistakes Madeline Made will launch the company into its 5th season. In July of 2011, Holland Productions will welcome the return of Playwright-in-Residence, Emily Dendinger, with her new play Hideous Progeny. This witty and salacious portrayal of Mary Shelley and her peers will mark Holland's debut at The Boston Playwrights' Theatre.

For more information please visit: www.hollandproductions.org or www.thefactorytheatre.org.