Southeast Asian Premiere of MATT AND BEN Runs this Weekend, 2/7-8

Manila, Philippines, February 7, 2014--Dulaang Kalay ("The Woman in Black") stages the Southeast Asian premiere of 2002 Best in Fringe (NYC) MATT & BEN, written by Mindy Kaling ("The Mindy Project," "The Office") and Brenda Withers ("The Office") from today, February 7, until tomorrow, February 8, at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. at PETA Theater Center's Studios A and B.

This production, directed by Karina Gaite, stars Quina Baterna as Matt Damon and Nicole Nequinto as Ben Affleck.

Central Square Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts describes the play as follows: When "Good Will Hunting" captured the 1998 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay before one billion television viewers, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck rocketed from struggling young actors to household names and icons of hard-earned success. They had made their own way, penning a script with roles for themselves that forever changed their lives. Hometown boys who had made the big time, Damon and Affleck became Boston's --and the nation's --"Matt & Ben."

Fast-forward to the summer of 2001. Recent Dartmouth College graduates Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers are camped out in their apartment in Astoria, New York trying to beat the heatwave outside. They notice that Ben Affleck's face is on the cover of almost every tabloid on the newsstands or in their mailbox. Immersing themselves in the gossip, they realize with curiosity that Damon and Affleck had not shown screenwriting promise before "Good Will Hunting." So how did they do it? Around this skepticism they begin to improvise the plot for their own artistic vehicle, featuring Kaling as Ben and Withers as Matt.

MATT & BEN had its world premiere at the New York Fringe Festival in 2002, where it won Best in Fringe (Best Overall Production). In 2003, it began a successful Off-Broadway run, where it was named one of Time Magazine's "Top Ten Theatrical Events," was on Rolling Stone's "Hot List", and was the only play invited to appear at the HBO-sponsored U.S. Comedy and Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado. Since then, the play has been produced around the U.S. and abroad.

For tickets (PhP150-250) to MATT & BEN in Manila, call Aldo Cuervo at (63) 906 403 7461.

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Mindy Kaling (playwright) graduated from Dartmouth College in 2001. She has appeared in movies "The 40 Year Old Virgin" (2005), "Night at the Museum" (2009), and "No Strings Attached" (2011). She was a writer, co-executive producer, and actor on NBC's critically acclaimed television show "The Office," for which she has won a Writers Guild Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a 2006 Emmy Award.

Brenda Withers (playwright) grew up in Long Island, New York, and graduated from Dartmouth College in 2000. She has appeared on television shows "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" and "The Office." Theater credits include "Pride and Prejudice" (Jane), "Crimes of the Heart" (Chick Boyle), and "The Philadelphia Story" (Tracy Lord). Withers is company member and playwright at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre (WHAT) in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.

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