The Flea Premieres AMERICAN SEXY 1/15-2/22/11

The Flea Theater presents the New York Premiere of Trista Baldwin's AMERICAN SEXY January 15 - February 22

In the fall of 2010, The Flea Theater welcomed four young theater artists to join Artistic Director Jim Simpson at the helm as resident directors. Working behind the scenes as apprentices, these four up-and-coming directors stage managed The Flea's fall season, all the while exploring new texts and plays with The Flea's resident acting
company, The Bats. Now, The Flea Theater is proud to support the directorial debut of Mia Walker with the New York Premiere of AMERICAN SEXY by Trista Baldwin, featuring members of The Bats. Previews begin January 15, with opening night slated for Saturday, January 29.

A searing exploration of sexuality in the digital age, AMERICAN SEXY follows four college students en route to a carefree fling in Sin City, when an unexpected stop at the Grand Canyon reveals depths that none of them are prepared for. On the edge of one of America's most magnificent vistas, relationships rattle and bonds break, creating
rifts as wide and relentless as the canyon itself.

"AMERICAN SEXY is one of the most haunting premieres to come down the pike in a long time," says Simpson. "As always, The Flea is excited to introduce to New York audiences gripping new works and performances via the ever electrifying Bats."

The production stars Satomi Blair, Veracity Butcher, Seth Moore, Scot Morse, Briana Pozner, Ian Quinlan, Nicky Schmidlein, and Ron Washington. The design team includes Kate Sinclair Foster (set), Joe Chapman (lighting), Katie Hartsoe (costumes), and Colin Whitley (sound).

Trista Baldwin's plays include SAND (Women's Project), FORGETTING (PlayLabs, Workhaus Collective), CHICKS WITH DICKS and the award winning PATTY RED PANTS. A recipient of two Jerome Fellowships and a McKnight Advancement Grant, Trista Baldwin's work has been developed
and produced by companies including The Guthrie, Women's Project, The Lark, New Georges, Bay Area Playwrights' Foundation, Bricolage, Perishable Theater, Hypothetical Theatre Company, La Mama, HERE, Urban Stages, Synchronicity, Live Girls!, Eternal Spiral Project, The Red Eye, Bloomington Playwrights' Project, Circle X, The Empty Space Theatre and National New Play Network.

Currently in development is MESUJIKA DOE a bi-lingual, cross cultural piece created collaboratively with Tokyo theatre artist Shirotama Hitsujiya of Yubiwa Hotel. Workshops of MESUJIKA DOE have been presented by
Saison's Morishta studios in Tokyo, Japan and The Playwrights' Center of Minneapolis. Work culminates in premieres in San Francisco and Tokyo beginning May 2012. Other upcoming international productions include the Chilean premiere of the original DOE in the 2011 Santiago
a Mil festival. A native of the woods of Washington State, and sometime-New Yorker, she currently makes her home in Minneapolis,
where she teaches playwriting and screenwriting at SCSU, is a co-founder of the Workhaus Collective, a Core Alum of The Playwrights'Center, and mother of Ila. Her work is published by Heinemann and Playscripts.

Mia Walker hails from Washington, D.C. She recently graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard University, where she studied under Diane Paulus at the American Repertory Theater. Mia has trained at The Berkshire Theatre Festival, American Conservatory Theater, NYU Tisch,
and Vassar Powerhouse. Mia will be assistant directing for Ms. Paulus in ART's upcoming production of PROMETHUES BOUND (book by Steven Sater, music by Serj Tankian).

The Flea Theater, under Artistic Director Jim Simpson and Producing Director Carol Ostrow, is one of New York's leading off-off-Broadway companies. Winner of a Special Drama Desk Award for outstanding achievement, Obie Awards and an Otto for political theater, The Flea has presented nearly 100 plays and numerous dance and live music
performances since its inception in 1996. Past productions include the premieres of Anne Nelson's The Guys; six plays by A.R. Gurney (Post Mortem, O Jerusalem, Screenplay, Mrs. Farnsworth, A Light Lunch and Office Hours); Mac Wellman's Cellophane and Two September; Roger Rosenblatt's Ashley Montana Goes Ashore... and The Oldsmobiles;
Elizabeth Swados' JABU and Kaspar Hauser; Karen Finley's Return of the Chocolate Smeared Woman; Adam Rapp's Bingo with the Indians; Will Eno'sOh, The Humanity and other exclamations; Dawn by Thomas Bradshaw; The Great Recession, Jonathan Reynolds' Girls in Trouble, Bathsheba
Doran's Parents' Evening, and most recently the holiday hit Looking at Christmas by Steven Banks.

AMERICAN SEXY runs January 15 - February 22, Thursdays and Saturdays at 9pm, and Sundays and Mondays at 7pm, with an added performance Tuesday, February 22 at 7pm. The Flea is located at 41 White Street between Church and Broadway, three blocks south of Canal, close to the A/C/E, N/R/Q, 6, J/M/Z and 1 subway lines. Tickets are $20 and are
available by calling 212-352-3101 or online at www.theflea.org.