SEX WITH STRANGERS Opens Tonight at Detroit Public Theatre

Continuing its inaugural season, Detroit Public Theatre will heat up the late winter & early spring nights as it presents SEX WITH STRANGERS, running tonight, March 9, through April 3, 2016.

Tickets ($35-$60) for performances at the Robert A. and Maggie Allesee Rehearsal Hall inside the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center are on sale now online at www.detroitpublictheatre.org by phone at (313) 576-5111 or in person at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra box office.

When star sex blogger and memoirist Ethan tracks down his idol, the gifted but obscure novelist Olivia, he finds they each crave what the other possesses. As attraction turns to sex, and they inch closer to getting what they want, both must confront the dark side of ambition and the near impossibility of reinventing oneself when the past is only a click away.

SEX WITH STRANGERS, by Laura Eason, examines social identity and how we define ourselves as artists and humans. It features Hallie Bee Bard and Matt Lockwood and is directed by Frannie Shepherd-Bates.

Suggested for mature audiences, SEX WITH STRANGERS will preview Wednesday & Thursday March 9 & 10 at 8:00pm with an official opening Friday, March 11 at 6:00pm. Other performances will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00pm, Sundays at 2:00pm and a special Wednesday matinee at 2:00pm on March 16. Tickets ($35-$60) are on sale now at www.detroitpublictheatre.org, by phone at (313) 576-6111 or in person at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra box office.

All performances take place at The Robert A. and Maggie Allesee Rehearsal Hall inside the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, 3711 Woodward Avenue, Detroit MI 48201. Tickets (35-$60) are available now online at www.detroitpublictheatre.org, by phone at (313) 567-5111 or in person at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra box office. Senior and Student discounts are available in person at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra box office.

*Opening Nights at Detroit Public Theatre begin at 6:00 pm with a champagne pre-glow welcome and the performance. The show is followed by delicious appetizers courtesy of Union Joints and a cash bar. Please consider joining us for these special events that allow you to celebrate the play, mingle with the artists, and eat, drink, and be merry!

Detroit Public Theatre's mission is to produce world-class plays and programs with world-class writers, directors, actors and designers in the heart of Midtown's thriving cultural district. The company produces bold plays that are relevant to Detroit audiences and illuminates the joys, thrills and challenges of our shared human experience.

Founded by Courtney Burkett, Sarah Winkler and Sara Clare Corporandy, Detroit Public Theatre is bolstered with board and advisory members including theatre luminaries from across the nation and Detroit. These include Nina Essman, general manager of the 2015 Tony Award-winning musical Fun Home and GM and Executive Producer of Wicked; Christopher Burney, associate director of New York City's Second Stage Theatre; and Tony Award nominated actors Kathleen Chalfant, Detroit-born Celia Keenan-Bolger and many more. Burkett is formerly the director of theatre programs for Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit and co-founder of Breathe Art Theatre Project; Winkler is a recent transplant from New York where she was a producer and ensemble member of the award-winning Off-Broadway theatre company, Epic Theatre Ensemble; and in addition to founding Detroit Public Theatre, Corporandy has served as Managing Director for Pig Iron Theater Company in Philadelphia and also current serves as the Managing Director of Chautauqua Theatre Company in Southwestern New York.

"It has been truly affirming to see the support DPT has already received from audiences, donors, and the artists themselves; we cannot wait to bring them even more of the kind of entertainment they have come to expect, as well as to exceed their expectations." says Corporandy. With support from many of Michigan's theatre and civic leaders, Detroit Public Theatre will strive to bring more local and national attention to the work of the area's brilliant theatre community. "We have an incredible opportunity to bring Detroit in league with cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago, Minneapolis, Cleveland and Washington, DC, with a great regional theatre that contributes to our culture and artistic vibrancy," states Burkett. "Our area has an extraordinary pool of Michigan-trained theatre talent and a very sophisticated audience." Winkler adds, "We want to keep more artists and audiences here at home rather than losing them to New York, Chicago, and elsewhere."

The Detroit Public Theatre staff also includes Director of Programs Frannie Shepherd-Bates. Shepherd-Bates was the Founding Artistic Director of Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company, which will dissolved in 2015 as DPT absorbed its successful Shakespeare in Prison program.

Subscription packages for the 2016-17 Season will be available soon. To sign up to receive advance notice of the new season email info@detroitpublictheatre.org. Group ticket discounts are also available for groups of 10 or more by calling (313) 974-7918. Visit www.detroitpublictheatre.org for more information on subscriptions and group sales. Detroit Public Theatre is a non-profit organization producing world-class plays and programs with world-class writers, directors, actors and designers in the heart of Midtown Detroit's thriving cultural district. Fearless, fresh and made in Detroit, the company's productions illuminate the thrills, joys and challenges of our shared human experience. More information on Detroit Public Theatre and its productions, programs and tickets is available online at www.detroitpublictheatre.org or by calling (313) 974-7918.

Frannie Shepherd Bates (Director): Frannie is Director of Programs and Shakespeare in Prison for Detroit Public Theatre. She co-founded Magenta Giraffe Theatre Company of Detroit in 2008 and served on staff for nearly six years, founding Shakespeare in Prison in 2012. Since 2011, she has been mentored by Curt Tofteland, founder of Shakespeare Behind Bars, and she spoke on panels at the first annual Shakespeare in Prisons Conference in 2013 and Art X Detroit in 2015. Frannie is the education director for Water Works Theatre Company and serves on the advisory board of Upper Peninsula Shakespeare Festival. She has directed productions and staged readings for MGT, Shakespeare in Detroit, Planet Ant Theatre, Jewish Ensemble Theatre, Water Works Theatre Company, the Abreact, Michigan Opera Theatre Children's Chorus, and the Roeper School. She has taught, directed, and/or coached for Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, Matrix Theatre Company, and Royal Oak High School. Frannie has been recognized for her work as an artist and arts advocate by the Wilde Awards and CBS Detroit, and she accepted an Arts Achievement Award on behalf of MGT from WSU's Department of Theatre and Dance. Frannie graduated from Wayne State University with a BFA in theatre (acting) in 2006.

Hallie Bee Bard (Olivia): Hallie earned her BA from Alma College and was a Purple Rose Theatre Company apprentice. She has taught acting to youth in Metro Detroit as a theatre artist with All The World's A Stage and Water Works Theatre Company, and she served on the board of the Michigan Youth Theater (now Full Impact Theater). She has worked with several professional theatres in southeast Michigan and works seasonally as an actor at Greenfield Village at The Henry Ford. Hallie last played Helena in Tipping Point Theatre's production of A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur.

Matt Lockwood (Ethan):Matt Lockwood's most recent stage work includes playing Matt in Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead and The Young Soldier in Last of the Boys, both with Magenta Giraffe Theatre Co. in Detroit. During his time away from theatre, Matt was involved in numerous film/TV projects, most notably starring as the drug-addled Bobby in the gritty Detroit drama "Misled". He will also be seen playing the role of Shaun in the soon to be released drama "Madtown," starring Milo Ventimiglia, and as Eddie in the comedy "The Pickle Recipe." Matt is a graduate of the acting program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in NYC, and he studied extensively at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute.