Distraction Theatre Company strives to bring bold and thought provoking-theatre to Nashville. With a focus on producing new works, Distraction hopes to give new artists a voice, while providing the community with fresh, fun, live theatre.
Past, Present & Future
Distraction Theatre Company was born of a dedication to creating community. As founders, we dreamt of a place where all ideas are explored, all people are welcome, and all things are possible. We chose to make that dream a reality by building a theatre because, as Oscar Wilde said, we "regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being."
The story of Distraction Theatre began in a small town in Oklahoma with a population of 5,000 and a name no one can pronounce. Company founders, Randall Pike, Amber Buker, and Katy Plummer met in a high school drama class. They forged a friendship as they found their calling, through years of training, competing, and performing on the stage.
After high school, they each set off on adventures that took them to bigger and better places. Randall honed his craft as an actor, director, and theatre technician in Kansas and Oklahoma. Amber worked to put herself through law school in Oregon. Katy studied arts management and communications in Tulsa. While the theatre was not the sole focus for all of them, it never left their hearts. Little did they know, the skills they were acquiring would prepare them for their next adventure.
Randall, Amber, and Katy eventually found that something was missing from their adult lives. Several things, actually. Passion, challenge, community, commitment. After years of floating around adulthood, they longed for purpose. So they came back to the one thing that had always brought them joy: the theatre.
The founders chose Nashville as their destination. Nashville is a city with soul. It is a city that appreciates art. It is a city that is busting at the seams with growth of all kinds and, despite all of that excitement, it isn’t that different than Oklahoma. Most important, Nashville is ready for the theatre that the founders want to bring to it. The group made pilgrimages to Nashville and, in January of 2015, made it their home.
Distraction hopes to begin staging new, original content with its first sketch comedy show this spring. Once we have solidified the partnerships we need to stage a full show, we plan to open our first season of provocative, boundary pushing performances. Our hope is to stage a handful of full-length productions with an eclectic mix of genres as well as several sketch shows in our first 12 months. In addition, we will work to stage our first full-length original work from a new artist, and create a program for developing original scripts.
In addition to traditional stage play, Distraction intends to host a podcast that will help to build up the theatre community in Nashville as a whole. We intend to interview local theatre professionals with hopes of fostering supportive relationships where we can work together to meet shared goals. We also will feature musicians, and visual artists to show support for artists of all kinds and to grow a space where we can turn to each other for ideas and inspiration.
Distraction plans to create great work, in addition to encouraging the same from others. We hope that our mission will not only drive our company, but will also help create a community that inspires others to be their best as well.
CONTACT US
email: distractiontheatre@gmail.com
address: P.O. Box 68483, Nashville, TN 37206
phone: 615-440-1270
WAYS TO GET YOUR DISTRACTION FIX
SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook – facebook.com/distractiontheatre
Twitter – @distractiontc
Instagram – @distractiontc
ON STAGE
Sketch Comedy
Improv
Original Plays
Theatre Staples Re-imagined
ONLINE
Podcast
Original Video Content
Blog/Vlog