Steve “Yip” Vorbeck, who oversaw the painting of the Rainbow Stairs downtown, passed away recently in Eureka Springs. Yip first came to auditions for the 2017 fall performance series for Five & Dime Drama Collective. He said at the time that he had never done theater, never acted on stage in front of a live audience. He said he was looking for something new to try that might be fun where he could meet new people in the community.
His audition was amazing. His charisma and sense of comedic timing immediately were apparent. Despite his lack of experience Yip was cast in The Best Thanksgiving by Alex Mironoff, in a very challenging role as a mysterious holiday visitor who claims to channel the spirits of the family’s long dead relatives for which he played not only his own character but had to create other distinct voices with very different personalities.
Yip was an undisputed hit. He would go on to be a regular major player and star attraction for Five & Dime, an active board member, and always ab all-around cheerleader.
He appeared in all subsequent productions, including the Christmas holiday shows at the Crescent Hotel. In 2019 Yip also played a lead role as Homer, the conflicted nephew in Holiday Island Theater Guild’s production of Morning’s at Seven by Paul Osborn, directed by Elise Buchman.
With the Covid-19 pandemic cancelling live production in 2020 and 2021, Yip appeared in a 2020 special filmed Halloween reading of spooky stories produced by Eureka Springs Community Center Spooktacular Halloween! Trilogy of Terror! aired and still available on Facebook.
Yip brought warmth and laughter wherever he went and endeared himself with almost everyone he met with that friendly, flexible Bert Lahr sort of face he had. His passing is a heartbreaking loss not only for Five & Dime, but for the entire Eureka Springs community, which he so dearly loved and contributed so much to in so many ways.