Photo Flash: Matrix Theatre Presents Professional World Premiere of Satirical Comedy INTENTIONS

Matrix Theatre Company continues its 2016 - 2017 Mainstage Season with the professional world premiere of Abbey Fenbert's satirical comedy, Intentions, opening February 3 and running through February 26. The production runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM and Sundays at 3PM. All performances are presented at Matrix Theatre Company, located at 2730 Bagley Avenue in the heart of Mexicantown. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors and may be purchased in advance or, if available, at the door. Group rates are also available. For further information or to purchase tickets, visit www.matrixtheatre.org or call (313) 967-0599.

Fenbert's laugh-out-loud comedy centers around the people of Tillerman House, an intentional community located on the outskirts of Chicago. If something's not sustainable, local, shade-grown, fair-trade, and cruelty-free, Nell, one of the community's founders, is sure to right it - until Leif comes along. Can the collective's fragile ecosystem sustain an ex-frat bro who doesn't know a 'zine from a Zen garden? Intentions examines the lengths to which we go, and the lies we tell, for both our principles and our desires.

"We are absolutely thrilled to produce the professional world premiere of this beautiful and witty play," said, Molly McMahon of Detroit, director of Intentions and Development and Communications Manager for Matrix. "Ms. Fenbert's work has provided a wonderful opportunity for us to bring a well-crafted and entertaining story to life, as well as explore important ideas relevant to our current social context. The top-notch cast and production team we've assembled are eager to delight audiences with Matrix's production of this outstanding new work."

Intentions stars Samer Ajluni (Farmington Hills) as Gabe, Emily Harpe (Detroit) as Lou, Siena Hassett (Grosse Pointe Park) as Nell, Artun Kircali (Ann Arbor) as Leif, and Sam Moltmaker (Hamtramck) as Maya. The production team includes Sarah Drum (Westland), Valerie Frawley (Hamtramck), Christina Killmar (Harrison Twp), Lauren Montgomery (Dearborn), Amy Schneider (Detroit), and Christa Tausney (Orion).

Playwright, Abbey Fenbert is a Detroit native and holds an MFA in Playwriting from Boston University and a BA from NYU. Her original plays have been produced and developed by Boston Playwrights' Theatre, the Boston Theater Marathon, the KNOW Theatre, the Berkshire Playwrights' Lab, the Playwrights Center of Minneapolis and the Vagrancy. She's received multiple honors from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, including the 2013 Mark Twain Prize for Comic Playwriting. Her short dramatic works are published in anthologies from Smith & Kraus and her humor writing has been featured online at The Toast, The Offing, American Theatre Magazine and McSweeney's Internet Tendency. Fenbert is currently based in Los Angeles, where she is Co-Literary Manager of the Vagrancy Theatre Company.

The final dress rehearsal on Thursday, February 2 is a "Pay What You Can" performance. Beginning this season in order to help eliminate the barrier between audiences and live theatre, patrons can choose to pay whatever amount they want at the door to see the preview show of Intentions. Tickets will be available that evening only on a first-come-first-served basis and cannot be purchased or reserved in advance. Doors open at 7:30PM for the 8PM performance.

About Matrix Theatre Company

Celebrating more than 25 years as a non-profit community-based theatre, Matrix Theatre Company is located in southwest Detroit and uses the transformative power of theatre to change lives, build community and foster social justice. Go to matrixtheatre.org for further information. Matrix Theatre Company's Mainstage Season is sponsored by O'Brien Construction Company and MGM Grand Detroit, and is funded in part by Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts, The Kresge Foundation, and The Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Foundation.

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