Miami Theater Center Presents HATE! AN AMERICAN LOVE STORY, 2/8

Miami Theater Center announces the upcoming performances of Miami native Christina Alexander's world premiere, Hate! An American Love Story. Performances take place on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 P.M, February 8 through Feb. 23 at Miami Theater Center's SandBox, located at 9816 NE 2^nd Ave. Tickets are $20 and group rates are available. To purchase, call 305-751-9550 or visit www.mtcmiami.org.

Alexander's edgy work delves into stories of love in America and the country's struggle to understand that different doesn't mean wrong. One actor - Ms. Alexander - plays eight characters who deliver 16 monologues in a multimedia work that offers varied perspectives of who and what define love in America.

The work will be presented in MTC's 70-person black box theater, the SandBox. "It has been so exciting to develop Hate! in MTC's SandBox. It's such an intimate venue - it invites the audience into my realm, so I can really engage, explore, and blur boundaries with them," said Alexander. "My new work explores so many different emotions. Portraying this incredible range through the course of the evening really allows me to connect with the audience, to react to their emotions, and to take the work even further."

The SandBox Series, a program of MTCperformance, nurtures innovative contemporary artists by extending MTC's commitment to quality, rigor, and high production values to individual artists. Artists selected for MTC's SandBox Series receive a cash stipend and in-depth individual professional support. "By focusing on artists individually and providing them with professional production values and enough time to experiment and produce new work, the Miami Theater Center is meaningfully cultivating contemporary talent," said Stephanie Ansin, MTC's Artistic Director. Each SandBox Series artist is provided with three weeks of rehearsal and three weeks of performances, or 75 hours, of individual time in MTC's SandBox, a 70-person black box theater. Additionally, MTC provides 25 hours of MTC's top-quality industry production and technical support, as well as marketing and public relations support provided by MTC's communications team.

Hate! An American Love Story runs Feb. 8, 2012 through Feb. 23, 2013 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm. All performances are at Miami Theater Center's SandBox, located at 9816 NE 2^nd Ave, Miami Shores, FL 33138. Tickets are $20 and group rates are available. Call 305-751-9550 or visit www.mtcmiami.org to purchase tickets.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Stephanie Ansin, MTC produces classical and contemporary works that entertain and educate audiences of all ages and abilities. MTC programs include MTCplayground, which produces theater, camps, and programs for children; MTCperformance, innovative theater, dance and music for adults; MTCtraining, professional training for all aspects of the performing arts, and MTCfilm, independent, foreign, family & art films presented in partnership with O Cinema. For more information, call 305-751-9550 or visit www.mtcmiami.org.

Christina Alexander is a Miami native educated in the Miami-Dade County Public School System. She is a NWSA grad and holds degrees from the University of Miami and Barry University. Her performing credits include Harlem Duet (Billie/She/Her), Dreamgirls (Lorrell), Mahalia (Mahalia), A Woman Called Truth (Sojourner Truth), Little Shop of Horrors (Ronette), Gem of the Ocean (Aunt Ester), I Just Stopped By to See the Man (Della), Joe Turner's Come and Gone (Martha Pentecost) and Beehive (Christina). In 2012, Ms. Alexander was named Best Actress by the Miami New Times.