Mixed Blood Theatre Stages Distracted
by Lisa Loomer

In the United States, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) is a neurological disorder that affects five to ten percent of all children and three to six percent of all adults. Lisa Loomer’s Distracted makes its Twin Cities debut on September 26 as the first show in Mixed Blood Theatre’s 2008-09 season. Loomer’s controversial comedy centers around a mother who finds herself with a new “job”—seeking answers for her nine-year-old son’s diagnosis of ADHD. Everyone from allergists, psychiatrists, and homeopaths to teachers, neighbors, and her husband has a theory and opinion on causes and treatments.

Distracted plays September 26 – October 19 and will be directed by Mixed Blood’s artistic director and founder, Jack Reuler, assisted by Melissa Bechthold. When asked why Mixed Blood chose a play about AD/HD, Reuler said, “At Mixed Blood, discrimination is our foe and fun is our friend. People with disabilities in general and ADHD in particular, are often stigmatized and are the victims of overt and unintentional discrimination. In Distracted, professional provocateur and social satirist Lisa Loomer lets science and humor conspire to allow us to self-diagnose our own behavior and attitudes. It’s an ideal Mixed Blood offering, melding substance with style.”

Movie goers may recognize playwright Lisa Loomer’s name from her screenplay Girl, Interrupted for which Angelina Jolie won an Oscar. Loomer was a Pulitzer finalist for her play The Waiting Room. This is the third play of Loomer’s produced by Mixed Blood.

After productions at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and now Mixed Blood, the play will also be produced off-Broadway by the Roundabout Theater Company this spring in New York, starring Tony Award-winner Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City). Aislesay.com calls the play “thought provoking” with Loomer “providing a thoughtful, even disturbing look at what seems to be a growing problem in today’s society.”The LA Times praised Loomer’s “highly attuned social imagination,” calling it her “great strength as a playwright.”