Sick of the cold this winter? Well Middlebury Actors Workshop has a staged reading that’s sure to heat things up. On Sunday, Feb. 25, MAW presents “Sex with Strangers” by Laura Eason, the third in the Cutting Edge series of four staged readings.
This series shares the bold, clever work of some of the most dynamic young writers to hit the New York scene in the last five to 10 years.  Each play enjoyed a successful run in a boundary-pushing Off-Broadway theater and each play speaks to our contemporary moment.
When youngish prodigy sex blogger Ethan tracks down his idol, the gifted but unsung 40-ish novelist Olivia, he finds they each crave what the other has. As attraction turns to sex and they inch closer to getting what they want, both confront the dark side of ambition and the trouble of reinventing oneself when the past is only a click away.
The playwright explores the question of Internet technology versus old-school paper books. She questions the tensions within and between writers as they cope with feeling under appreciated versus overhyped. The characters explore a range of feelings about success and failure and how that under and over inflates our sense of self-worth.
Arresting, involving and shrewdly self-aware, the play veers into cynical territory by exploring the barriers to entry that foster gender inequality in the arts.
The local cast includes Karen Lefkoe and Benjamin Wiggins; Frankie Dunleavy reads stage directions and Rebecca Strum directs the reading.
Yes, this play has adult language. Plan accordingly. The reading begins at 4 p.m. in the Byers Studio (downstairs at Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater).  Suggested donation: $10.