DISTRACTIONS AT THE CRASH SITE Comes to Theatre of NOTE in May

The west coast premiere of DISTRACTIONS AT THE CRASH SITE: Short Plays by Steve Yockey, directed by Ryan Bergmann, will preview on Wednesday, May 1 at 8pm; opens on Thursday, May 2 at 8pm (press opening) and will run through Saturday, June 1 at Theatre of NOTE, 1517 N Cahuenga Blvd (just north of Sunset) in Hollywood. 

Come delve into the wondrous, twisted mind of Steve Yockey in this evening of short works full of intimate little stories told on a very big, very bold scale. Simple, everyday problems collide with the most bizarre spectacle!  Whether it’s deadly space debris, a blood-spattered chorus or a man literally called to save the world, what constitutes “normal” is forever in question. It’s a dark, hilarious, potentially gruesome and beautifully moving ride.  We’d hate for you to miss out on all the fun!  

A long-time contributor to the Los Angeles theatre community, Yockey’s critically-acclaimed west coast premiere of Mercury recently concluded its smash hit run at the Road Theatre. On the small screen, he received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for his work on HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant, and is the creator/showrunner of Netflix’ highly anticipated DeadBoy Detectives, debuting on April 25.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Comments Director Ryan Bergmann, “Few writers make me more excited to work in theatre than Steve Yockey.  He has such a powerful and unique approach to the worlds he creates for the stage.  They always feel so true and grounded right before they slap you upside the head and knock you on your bum and then they throw you right back into truth with your head spinning, forcing you to see the world from a whole new perspective. Yockey’s gift for magical realism is, in my opinion, unrivaled and this collection of short plays is a perfect example of his ridiculous talents. Hilarious, disturbing, bizarre, beautiful, powerful, gruesome, moving, chilling and honest are just a tiny fraction of the terms used to describe Steve’s work. Whether laughing, crying or screaming, no one ever walks away bored from a Steve Yockey play..and we’re doing seven of them!”

 ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM 

STEVE YOCKEY (Playwright) is a Los Angeles-based writer. His plays Bellwether, Pluto, Afterlife, Octopus, Large Animal Games, Subculture, Cartoon, Very Still & Hard to See, Blackberry Winter, The Thrush & The Woodpecker, The Fisherman’s Wife, Wolves, Disassembly, and Niagara Falls are published and licensed by Concord Theatricals. He holds an MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Steve recently adapted the NYT Times Bestseller The Maidby Nita Prose into a film for Universal and is working on the horror comedy Violent Shimizu Wants Revenge for Sister Studio. In television, he was a Co-Executive Producer on the series Supernatural and is the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated creator/showrunner of HBO Max’s darkly comedic thriller The Flight Attendant. He is also the creator/showrunner of Netflix’s Dead Boy Detectives, adapted from the cult Vertigo/DC comic books.

Ryan Bergmann (Director) is a Los Angeles-based theatrical director and producer and Executive Director of Mixed eMotion Theatrix.  He has spent over two decades devoted to promoting and growing the arts community in and around the Los Angeles area and beyond.  He specializes in new works and developing theatre arts that foster communication and acceptance of all communities.  In 2015 Ryan and his partner in crime, Janet Roston, proudly established Mixed eMotion Theatrix with the dream of bringing the magic and joys of theatre, dance and multimedia to all communities throughout the world to further acceptance and growth within us all.  A selection of his directorial work includes Mutt House, The Musical(Kirk Douglas Theatre), Die Mommie Die! (Kirk Douglas Theatre), Die Mommie Die! (Celebration Theatre), Niagara Falls (Theatre of NOTE), Bronies! The Musical (LA Fringe, Best Musical Winner), revolver (Celebration Theatre), and The Real Housekeepers of Studio City (LA Fringe, Best of Fringe Winner).  Some of Ryan’s recent producing work includes: Gatsby Redux (The Brand in Glendale, CA), Gatsby Redux (The Muckenthaler Center in Fullerton, CA), So Now You Know (multiple locations), Anaïs, A Dance Opera (Avignon, France, International Theatre Festival in Morocco, etc), Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera (King King), The Next Fairy Tale (Celebration Theatre), and BASH’d: A Gay Rap Opera (Celebration Theatre). 

Lisa Clifton, Kirsten Vangsness & NIALL SULCER (Producers) The producing trio has numerous theatrical productions under their belts. In 2023, Vangsness and Sulcer produced the premiere of Nimrod by Phinneas Kiyomura at NOTE; it won three Stage Raw Theater Awards. Last year, Sulcer also produced the premiere of Kill Shelter by Ashley Rose Wellman; it won the 2023 award for "Best Production" from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle. Clifton most recently produced Jacqueline Wright's play Driving Wilde at NOTE.

ABOUT THE CAST AND DESIGN TEAM

The cast of DISTRACTIONS AT THE CRASH SITE features (in alphabetical order): 

Lisa Clifton, Krista Conti, Henry Cruz, Cat Davis, Grace Eboigbe, Sierra Marcks, Ron Morehouse, Trevor Olsen, Gabby Sanalitro, and Joel Scher.  Rebecca Light will understudy.

The DISTRACTIONS AT THE CRASH SITE design team features Scenic Design by Amanda Knehans, Lighting and Sound Design by Matt Richter, Costume Design by Mariah Harrison, Mask Design by Emory Royston, Fight Coordination by Celina Surniak, and Graphic Design by Michelle Hanzelova. 

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