Celebration Theatre Presents Steve Yockey's MERCURY as Part of 'Celebrating New Works' Series on 5/17

CELEBRATION THEATRE presents as part of its New Works Reading Series, MERCURY by Steve Yockey, directed by Ryan Bergmann and performing one night only on Tuesday, May 17 at the West Hollywood City Chambers, 625 N. San Vicente in West Hollywood.

This pitch black comedy has an illicit affair, a couple hanging on by a thread, bears at the window, and an adorable missing dog named Mr. Bundles. No one's happy, people stop being nice, and blood spills in a story that mashes up violent myth and ideas about "good neighbors" to explore what happens when the mercury rises.

STEVE YOCKEY (Playwright) is a Los Angeles based writer with work produced throughout the country, Europe, and Asia. His plays Afterlife, Octopus, Large Animal Games, CARTOON, Subculture, Very Still & Hard to See, The Fisherman's Wife, Wolves, Disassembly, and Niagara Falls & Other Plays are published and available from Samuel French. His new play Blackberry Winter will open this season at Salt Lake Acting Company, Actor's Express, Out of Hand, Capital Stage, New Rep, Forum Theatre, Oregon Contemporary Theatre, and Kitchen Dog. He was one of two writers selected for the US/Australia playwright exchange sponsored by National New Play Network and Playwriting Australia. Steve holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He currently contributes issues to the Zenescope comic book series Grimm Tales of Terror and writes for MTV's Scream.

RYAN BERGMANN (Director) has been a proud member of the thriving LA theatre scene for 15 years as an actor, director and producer. Recent directing highlights include Niagara Falls (Theatre of NOTE), Bronies: The Musical (LA Fringe, Best Musical), revolver (Celebration Theatre), The Real Housekeepers of Studio City (LA Fringe); Recent AD Highlights include Dream Boy (Celebration Theatre), BootyCandy (Celebration Theatre), Psyche (The Greenway Theater), Wolves (Celebration Theatre), Justin Love (Celebration Theatre, LADCC Award, Best Production; World Premiere), A Little Midsummer Night's Dream (Los Angeles Rock Opera Company), The Color Purple (Celebration Theatre; Ovation Award, Best Musical in an Intimate Theatre along with five other Ovation Awards). Recent Producing Highlights: Push Play 3 (LA Rock Opera), The Next Fairy Tale (Celebration Theatre), BASH'd: A Gay Rap Opera (Celebration Theatre), A Little Midsummer Night's Dream (LA Rock Opera), Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera (LA Rock Opera).

The cast of Mercury will feature: Katie Locke O'Brien, Julanne Chidi Hill, MaryAnn Welshans, Katherine Skelton, Huntley Woods, Nathan Mohebbi and Nathan Frizzell.

Admission is free... with donations gratefully accepted.

Celebrating New Works is produced by Celebration Theatre's Literary Director Nathan Frizzell.

Celebration Theatre is headed by its Co-Artistic Directors Michael Matthews and Michael A. Shepperd, along with its Executive Director Michael C. Kricfalusi.