MISTAKEN CHARITY Plays The Walking Fish Theater 5/6

B. Someday Productions presents a world premiere original black comedy written and directed by Philadelphia playwright Stan Heleva. Based on the writings of Mary Wilkins Freeman and Sarah Orne Jewett, MISTAKEN CHARITY will premiere at the Walking Fish Theatre in Kensington, Philadelphia at 8pm on Friday, May 6, 2011. Tickets are $20.00 General Admission. Specials & Discounts available! Press Opening Friday, May 6th.

MISTAKEN CHARITY shows us the endearing adventures of two elderly, impoverished and handicapped women who are forced from their home by "well-meaning" neighbors and get ticked off! The performances will feature Michelle Pauls as Harriet Shattuck and Marcia Hepps as her twin sister Charlotte. This show for all ages is witty and endearing. These ancient women impart modern day truths about aging and how we regard our elderly. The larger-than-life characters are your grandmother!

Picture it, Maine 1906...

Stan Heleva, Director, thinks in addition to peeing themselves silly, he hopes audiences walk away from the show pondering questions such as "Is it ever wrong to be charitable? Are our charitable acts designed to make others feel better or make ourselves feel better? Can an act of charity be a tool of oppression? What responsibility do we have to our needy neighbors? How does an aging person choose between comfort and independence? What do we do with our old people? Suppose they don't want our help? Suppose they refuse?

This is a world premiere with two woman playing characters possibly as old as 185 years old, living in a coastal town in Maine. HEATHER COLE, the movement coordinator helped Pauls & Hepps transform into women twice their age. Cole spoke of how she incorporated Heleva's vision by "playing with the rhythms of the body - going from the head to the toes. Knowing what to do to exaggerate the movement but still keep it comedic."

MARCIA HEPPS, "Fell in love with Charlotte!" Stan Heleva saw the energy she brought to the character and cast her as Charlotte even though she was originally brought in to coach dialects. The two leads have learned a coastal Maine dialect from over 100 years ago. Hepps says what helps is to "break down rhythms and sound changes in the language." She said it was hard to find research about the accent because "many dialects are becoming homogenized and lost because we are no longer isolated."

NINA MORAN, the makeup designer faced with the daunting task of aging the female characters 50 years said the harder part was "Making the lines look real." She researched old age makeup on You Tube and worked on a past production the Walking Fish Theatre, Gravedigger with her father, Playwright Mark Borkowski.

MISTAKEN CHARITY, will open on Friday, May 6, 2011. Performances for MISTAKEN CHARITY will be held at the Walking Fish Theatre, located in Kensington/Fishtown, at 2509 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19125. For more information, or to RSVP groups of ten or more, please call 215-427-9255. Ticket prices are just $20.00 for General Admission. $16.00 discount rate for Students/Seniors. www.bsomeday.org

Performance dates:
Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, May 3, 4 & 5 @ 7pm - Pay what you can PREVIEWS
Friday, May 6 @ 8pm is Opening Night
Saturday, May 7 @ 8pm
Wednesday, May 11 @ 7pm - Pay what you can.
Thursday, May 11 @ 7pm. Talk Back after the show
Friday, May 13 @ 8pm
Saturday, May 14 @ 2pm and 8pm
Wednesday, May 18 @ 7pm - Pay what you can.
Thursday, May 19 @ 7pm
Friday, May 20 @ 8pm
closes Saturday, May 21 @ 8pm.

MISTAKEN CHARITY will run at the Walking Fish Theatre, located in the burgeoning arts corridor in the Kensington/Fishtown area of Philadelphia at 2509 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19125. www.bsomeday.org

On Monday, April 18, 10:00am to 11:30am, B. Someday Productions, the professional theatre company of Fishtown/Kensington, will offer a FREE acting workshop at Penn Home, 1401 East Susquehanna Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19125, for the residents, their families and community members. The workshop will be a sort of "Open Rehearsal" with the audience of Penn Home residents, family members, employees and the community. The workshop is open to the public and free of charge.
CAST:
Michelle Pauls (Harriet Chattuck) is managing artistic director of B. Someday Productions at the Walking Fish Theatre where she also runs the educational outreach including the Barrymore Award-winning program Of Mythic Proportions. Recent acting credits include The Exonerated, Twilight's Child, The Good Puppet of Szechwan, Fuddy Meers, Entertaining Mr Sloane, Adventures in the Skin Trade, The Rocky Horror Puppet Show, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Electra and more. She has worked with Curio Theatre, City Theater, Little Fish Theatre Cooperative, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia Theatre Company, and B. Someday. Directing credits include Mutilation of St Barbara, Rat-tat-tat, Gender Defenders and Fractured Fairy Tales.

Marcia Hepps (Charlotte Shattuck, Dialect Coach) has acted from sea to shining sea; from The Sundance Institute in Utah to Bread and Puppet Theatre in Vermont. She has studied at the Royal Academy of Arts in London and has a BFA from Barnard College, Columbia University and an MFA from Brandeis University. She is currently teaching at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Jody Gross (Mrs. Simmonds) a new Philadelphian originally from Wisconsin- where she was a member of Eau Claire's Bare Bones Theatre Company. This will be her second onstage performance with B. Someday Productions at the Walking Fish Theatre since first appearing in the Fall 2009 production of The Good Puppet of Szechwan.

LOCATION:
The Walking Fish Theatre
2509 Frankford Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19125
215-427-9255 (WALK)

Ticket prices are $20.00 for General Admission; $16.00 Students/Seniors, and 20% of all proceeds will go towards B. Someday Productions educational excellence program. Please call 215-427-9255 (WALK) for more information, or to RSVP groups of ten or more. Get Tickets online at our WEBSITE: www.bsomeday.org B. Someday Productions is proud to celebrate the Arts & Aging Program! For Discounted Senior Information use code ENGAGE11 for Mistaken Charity running May 3-21, 2011 at the Walking Fish Theatre: 2509 Frankford Avenue Regular Price: $20.00 Discounted Price: $12.00. Redeem online, in person or by phone. Tuesday,

Ticket Specials:
• Wednesday & Thursday, May 3, 4 & 5 @ 7pm - PAY WHAT YOU CAN PREVIEWS!
• Friday, May 6 @ 8pm is OPENING NIGHT
• Every Wednesday is always Pay What You Can Night
• "Bring a Senior Night" on Thursdays or Fridays: Pay Regular Ticket Price and Bring a Senior for FREE!
• There will be Two Educational Talk Backs with Cast & Crew Saturday May 14th at 2:00 pm and Wednesday May 18th at 7:00 pm

Press Night is Friday, May 6, 2011 8pm at the Walking Fish Theatre. For PRESS inquiries or comps, please contact Sara Painter at 610-348-0441 or email sara@sarapainter.com

B. Someday Productions is an 18 -year old organization dedicated to educational excellence and bringing quality theatrical productions to Philadelphia. For further information, call 215.427.9255 Or visit our website at www.bsomeday.org

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