About B. Someday Productions

Michelle Pauls, Managing Artistic Director

Stan Heleva, Producing Artistic Director/Resident Playwright

Organizational Background

B. Someday Productions was founded in 1993 by published poets T. H. Cornell and Stan Heleva, in order to provide more exposure to performance poetry, and at the same time to expand and redefine the field by incorporating the work of theatre professionals and musicians. The first collaborative work of Heleva and Cornell, the avant-garde verse-drama Gloria Uber Alles, produced at the Shubin Theatre (40 seats) in the fall of that year, met with critical success and is considered a seminal work in the field.

In Spring of 1995, B. Someday Productions became a non-permanent "New Beginnings" division of Resources for Human Development. Soon after, Heleva and Cornell were joined by theatre professional Michelle Pauls and set about broadening their collaborative and audience bases, as well as their name recognition. Over the next two years they produced several one-act cross-disciplinary works, including Masterpiece Da Da (Painted Bride Arts Center, Nov. '95), Tabby Lends a Hand (Painted Bride, Jan. '96), and The Rise and Fall of the Very First Reich (P-CAN Poetry Jam, Manayunk Arts Center, Jun. '97); as well as the long-running poetry/music/ performance ensemble Edgar Allen & The Poettes. In Sept. 1997 they produced the one-act plays Robert DeNiro Knows (by Pauls, directed by Heleva), and Cappuccino and Regret (by Heleva, directed by Pauls) on the same bill as part of the inaugural Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Their next full-length production, the Pauls-Heleva collaboration Spells and Incantations, was a surprise hit at the second-annual Philadelphia Fringe Festival, in September 1998.

During Spring 1999, B. Someday Productions produced a three-week run of Heleva's original Catholic hillbilly tragedy Sacraments, directed by Pauls, at 2nd Stage at the Adrienne. Called "a savory blend of Sam Shepard and Deliverance," (Philadelphia Weekly), with "drive and energy [that] holds the interest of the audience," (Philadelphia Inquirer). Nathan Lerner of Star Publications said "Heleva does an uncanny job of injecting humor into a fundamentally dark view of the human condition."

In Autumn of 1999, B. Someday Productions was commissioned by the Montgomery County Cultural Center in Norristown to mount a new production of Heleva's Cappuccino and Regret which he also directed, starring Pauls. The three-week run proved another critical success: "This thoroughly engaging romantic comedy seduces [with] it's lighthearted tone, tenderly manicured rhythms and straightforward storyline," (Times Herald) and "Heleva directs his own play and brings it credibly to life. . . and keep[s] the audience interested," (Philadelphia Inquirer). During the same time, B. Someday Productions produced the Edgar Allen and The Poettes musical playlet Straddling the Millennial Divide at the third annual Philadelphia Fringe Festival.

In July of 2000, B. Someday Productions announced its status as a resident company at 2nd Stage at the Adrienne, joining forces with the producing arm of 2nd Stage, Theater Catalyst. The responsibilities of residency included producing two main-stage productions per year and to produce several shorter, experimental pieces suitable for the new cabaret theatre adjacent to The Adrienne. Also in 2000, B. Someday Productions presented Good Country People by Heleva based on a story by the American writer Flannery O’Connor. Good Country People, starring Pauls, Ellen Tobie, and William J. McKeon III, and directed by Dennis Smeltzer, played at the 2000 Philadelphia Fringe Festival to capacity houses for all seven shows. B. Someday Productions was also invited to tour Good Country People to Ursinus College where it was overwhelmingly received by students, faculty and community members.

Marjorie Goldman, actor and educator, joined B. Someday Productions as Education Director in October 2000. She spearheaded the fledgling educational outreach component, Reflections Theatre, a socio-dramatic improvisational program under B. Someday Productions. She came to the project with many years teaching on the high school and college level as well as extensive socio-drama facilitation and improvisation experience.

In January 2001 B. Someday presented Hamlet at the Brick Playhouse. The staging was a contemporary interpretation of the classic play focusing on modern and timeless issues: spinning news to benefit personal interests, abuse of wealth and power, and what it means to be a woman in a man's world. Directed by Jeremy Chacon, Hamlet featured stylized choreographed movement and inventive handheld lighting, and played to capacity houses. In May 2001 the company presented the world premiere of Grendl Cain, a full-length play by Heleva. Grendl Cain tells the story of Grendl and his mother, living in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, many years after Beowulf. It is a clash between the old and the new, traditions and pragmatism, told in a variety of language styles and physicalities. During summer 2001, B. Someday Productions received its articles of incorporation and filed for its own 501.c.(3) status. August 2001 found B. Someday producing, in New York City, the short play Seasick by Vivian Green for the 26th Annual Off-off Broadway short play festival sponsored by Samuel French publishers. In the autumn of 2001, B. Someday mounted a new production of Good Country People for a full run at the Shubin Theatre. Complete with a mostly new cast, Heleva directing and musical accompaniment by John "Kimbo" Kim on fiddle GCP wowed the audiences once again. Closing out the year 2001, B. Someday produced a new Heleva adaptation for several voices, A Child’s Christmas in Wales, based on the story by Dylan Thomas. The reading was presented with traditional Welsh holiday songs at the Spruce Hill Community Center in West Philadelphia.

In March of 2002, B. Someday, Inc. was accepted as a 501.c.(3) not-for-profit company with the IRS. In May 2002, B. Someday presented a workshop production of the first act of its newest theatre piece, A Fine Beginning at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia as part of the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia's Behind the Scenes program. TAGP sponsored this unique daylong event where 32 theatres participated in a variety of hands-on activities. The B. Someday open workshop was a smashing success with a lively audience participating in acting, directing, and asking lots of questions. In July 2002, B. Someday presented a 20-minute version of A Fine Beginning during the "Try On The Arts" festivities as part of the city-sponsored Welcome America festivities. The event will took place at the Dilworth Plaza outside of City Hall, Center City, Philadelphia on July 6.

In August 2002 Heleva and Pauls announced the birth of their daughter, Astrid Pauls Heleva. They also announced at the time they would be temporarily limited to one production per year. Soon after, they began a full tour of Child’s Christmas in Wales, with Pauls directing, traveling to senior centers, youth centers, community centers and homes for the disabled throughout the region.

In April 2003, B. Someday presented Heleva's new adaptation of Albert Camus' The Misunderstanding. This was their most successful production to date- both critically and at the box office. Heleva directed the show with Pauls starring as Martha. The Philadelphia Inquirer said: "Director Stan Heleva [had] a tone-perfect, morbidly fascinating presentation [with a] superb performance by Michelle Pauls as the play's heartless villain."

For the 2004 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, B. Someday teamed up with the Delaware Valley Pagan Network to produce The Midlife Crisis of Dyonisus by Garrison Keillor, directed by Pauls and starring Heleva. The 2005 Philadelphia Fringe Festival brought another collaboration between B. Someday and DVPN with Electra by Euripides, adapted and directed by Heleva and starring Pauls. Electra was set in a trailer park built outside on a Philadelphia street with funding help from the City's Recreation Fund.

In Spring 2006, B. Someday announced the commencement of their biggest project to date, the planned opening of their new performance venue and permanent home, Walking Fish Theatre, in the Kensington/Fishtown area.

Also on the horizon- Six Women Take On Two Gentlemen, B. Someday's all-female take on The Two Gentlemen of Verona, to open at the Walking Fish in September 2007, as well as the world premiere of Adventures in the Skin Trade. Heleva has adapted Skin Trade from short stories by Dylan Thomas that first appeared under that name in the 1930s. Skin Trade is a play in three acts, which will be performed in three different Philadelphia venues, moving the players and audience along much like a progressive dinner.

On the education front, look for B. Someday's "Professional Partnership Program" (PPP), which will pair Philadelphia students with theatre professionals for, education, apprenticeship, writing, performance and directing opportunities. B. Someday is proud to announce the pilot program of the PPP: Of Mythic Proportions, a storytelling project involving drama students from Kensington Creative and Performing Arts High School, professional artists and community organizations in Kensington with a public performance at the Walking Fish in May 2007.

B. Someday Productions is a member of the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia and the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.

Biographies

Michelle Pauls

Michelle is Managing Artistic Director of B. Someday Productions, Philadelphia. Recent acting credits include for B. Someday: Martha in The Misunderstanding, Electra, Hulga in Good Country People, Mother in Grendl Cain, Karen in Cappuccino and Regret. Also Jocasta in Oedipus for Aaron Oster, Magenta in Rocky Horror Puppet Show for Little Fish Theatre Collaborative and several roles in Love's Fire for City Theater Company. Directing credits include: for B. Someday--Stan Heleva's adaptation of A Child's Christmas in Wales, Sacraments, Cappuccino and Regret,(1997); The Midlife Crisis of Dionysus by Garrison Keillor, co-produced by DVPN, and at the Independence Seaport Museum, Immigrants. She has worked with many companies in Philadelphia and New York including Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Troma Productions, The Wilma Theater, Love Creek Productions, Iron Age, and The Brick Playhouse. Michelle spent last summer at LaMaMa Umbria Directors Symposium in Spoleto, Italy where she worked with world class directors and designers such as Anne Bogart, Joanne Akalaitis and others. She recently created an educational experience and performance piece at the Arthur Ross Gallery about 16th-18th Century maps. She is also creating the pilot project for B. Someday's Partnership Program at the Walking Fish Theatre: Of Mythic Proportions is a storytelling performance piece with students from Kensington CAPA High School. This project will culminate in a public performance in May 2007 at the Walking Fish Theatre. Michelle teaches acting and playwriting. She is also a member of Naked Feet, an ensemble-driven performance collective. Michelle's greatest achievement is her four-year old dinosaur, Astrid.

Stan Heleva

Stan is a founding member of B. Someday and serves as Producing Artistic Director and Playwright in residence. He co-authored with T. H. Cornell the very first B. Someday play Gloria Uber Alles (1994). B. Someday has produced the premiers of Stan's original plays Cappuccino and Regret (1997), Sacraments (1999) and Grendl-Cain (2001); his adaptations Good Country People (2000), The Misunderstanding (2003), Electra (2005); and the rock musicals he co-authored with Michelle Pauls The Rise and Fall of the Very First Reich (1997), Spells and Incantations (1998), Straddling the Divide (2000) and Shaking the Bush (2001), along with some others he can't quite remember. He has also toured off and on (mostly off, lately) for more than a decade with the rock band Edgar Allen and The Poettes. His current project is building the Walking Fish Theatre in Fishtown/Kensington, soon to be the permanent home of B. Someday Productions. Stan lives in Fishtown with Ms. Pauls and their daughter Astrid.