SEX AND OTHER MATTERS: The Reality Show Presented March 18-April 3

The NiteStar Program (Dr. Cydelle Berlin, Executive Director/Producer) is proud to present SEX AND OTHER MATTERS: The Reality Show, for ten performances only, March 18 through April 3, 2005 at Theatre 3 in midtown Manhattan (311 West 43rd Street).

Presented in "reality show" format under the direction of Cheryl Paley, SEX AND OTHER MATTERS is written and performed by a troupe of 16 young artists and explores a myriad of social challenges faced by young adults in today's world, including sexually transmitted diseases, drugs and alcohol, depression, gay issues, safe sex, abstinence, self-esteem and awareness.

Following each performance of SEX AND OTHER MATTERS, a trained facilitator/health educator hosts a question-and-answer session between audience members and the actors, who remain in character. This critical component of the evening serves to provide audience members with the forum to discuss the issues presented, as they pertain to them, their children or grandchildren.

SEX AND OTHER MATTERS is created in collaboration with the individuals who comprise NiteStar, a unique theatre company that uses drama and peer education to help teenagers avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. These specially trained actors represent a diversity of cultures, ethnicities, socioeconomic status and sexual orientation. Performances are arresting and evocative – serving to defuse myths, heighten awareness and transform prejudices among impressionable youth. To date, NiteStar's theatre productions have reached more than one million people.

The cast of SEX AND OTHER MATTERS: The Reality Show features Kim Arzillo, Kenton Cummings, Cory Gibson, John Henke, Loreslee Hernandez, Jenna Louie, Robert Moreira, Owen Panettieri, Dream Parker, Julia Pisetsky, Amanda Schill, Mario Thelemaque, Crystal Quallo, Amanda Gloria Valdes, Ryland Shelton and Electra Yao. The production is choreographed by Paula Wilson with musical direction by Danny Rockett.

Tickets for SEX AND OTHER MATTERS: The Reality Show are $20 each, with student discounts available. Tickets are also available for purchase by calling TheatreMania.com at (212) 352-3101 or in-person at the Theatre 3 box office (311 West 43rd Street, 3rd Floor) 30 minutes prior to the start of show time (cash only). For more information, please visit www.nitestar.org.

ABOUT THE NITESTAR PROGRAM

The NiteStar Program, located at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center on West 114th Street in Manhattan, uses drama and peer education to help guide preadolescents, adolescents and young adults as they confront the many challenges of growing up in the age of AIDS. The productions, which are culturally appropriate and age-specific, seek to diffuse myths among young people, provide HIV/AIDS awareness, help youth to make informed decisions, provide options for changing attitudes and prejudices, and create opportunities for behavioral change. Unlike generations before them, today's youth face a tremendous number of challenges. They are frequently confronted with issues of sex and sexuality, domestic and teen violence, substance abuse, and multiple health threats, including teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases. New HIV infections are increasingly occurring among young people. In fact, onequarter of all new HIV infections in the United States are estimated to occur in young people under the age of 25. Clearly, young people are in tremendous need of access to confidential health services and health education that target these issues. In December 1996, Thirteen/WNET premiered "Sex and Other Matters of Life and Death," which profiled a year in the life of NiteStar. The acclaimed one-hour documentary combined intimate profiles of these young actors with engaging scenes from their performances to capture the complexities of growing up in the age of AIDS.