Griot Theatre presents the Poignant AN ACCIDENT

When Artistic Director Malik B. El-Amin first saw a reading of acclaimed playwright Lydia Stryk's hard-hitting drama An Accident, it resonated with him and he knew this was a show Griot Theatre had to produce.

"I was struck by the intimacy that violence and tragedy can create between two people," El-Amin said. "What obligations do I assume when I've wronged someone? What is my obligation to forgive when I've been wronged?"

Those questions are at the heart of Griot's production of An Accident, playing Oct. 5-29 at the Lounge Theatre in Hollywood. An Accident follows the story of a woman who is struck by a car, leaving her severely injured and with little memory of her past. Her sole visitor is the man who hit her. Critically acclaimed, this powerful drama explores how small decisions can change the course of a life and how the body and mind heal in unexpected ways.

"My goal is to get inside the experience of trauma recovery," said director Kate Jopson. "where fear and boredom battle for dominance; a minute can be an eternity and days can disappear like seconds. Recovery isn't a simple, sentimental story of will-power and 'stick-to-it-ness.' It's messy. My hope is that this story will cause people to question that everyone's recovery should follow the same path."

Jopson is the Associate Artistic Director of Circle X Theatre Co. and has directed plays for Santa Cruz Shakespeare, Greenway Court Theatre, Coeurage Theatre Co, as well as La Jolla Playhouse's site-specific Without Walls Festival among others.

This is Griot's first time producing a play from Stryk, a Berlin-based playwright whose work has been produced across the United States, Germany and Canada including at the Denver Center Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Victory Gardens, HB Studios, The Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Magic Theatre and 7 Stages. She is the recipient of a Berrilla Kerr Playwright Award and a Rella Lossy Playwriting Award and is an artistic associate at the English Theater Berlin.

An Accident runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Captioned performances for guests with hearing loss will take place on October 15 and October 21. There will be a talkback after the October 22 show. The show also features nudity and patrons must be 18 and older to attend. More information can be found at www.griottheatre.org.

An Accident follows the story of a woman who is struck by a car, leaving her severely injured and with little memory of her past. Her sole visitor is the man who hit her. Critically acclaimed, this powerful drama explores how small decisions can change the course of a life and how the body and mind heal in unexpected ways.

DATE AND TIME:

October 5-29

Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Sundays at 3 p.m.

*Captioned performances on Oct. 15 and Oct. 21

*Talkback after Oct. 22 performance

The Lounge Theatre

6201 Santa Monica Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90038

TICKET PRICES: General Admission: $25, Seniors: $17.50 *Nudity, only patrons 18 and over will be admitted.

For further information, please call: (323) 205-6642

For tickets - http://anaccident.brownpapertickets.com

For more information - www.griottheatre.org