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Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Alliance Repertory Theatre Company presents “Circle Mirror Transformation” by Annie Baker

Circle Mirror Transformation
by Annie Baker

WHEN: May 31st thru June 15th. Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Thursday, June 13th at 8pm, and Sunday, June 9th at 3pm.
WHERE: Lower level MONDO, 426 Springfield Avenue in Summit.
For reservations, email us at visit www.alliancerep.org or email Mondo at info@mondosummit.com.

In a small town in Vermont, five strangers embark on a unique journey lead by a free-spirited and supportive instructor Marty (Lauri MacMillan). The weekly adult acting class is comprised of a recently divorced, carpenter named Schultz (Jason Kruk), a vibrant former actress Teresa (Jackie Jacobi), Marty’s quiet husband James (Glen D. Post) and Lauren (Brooke Stephenson), a self-conscious high schooler. Through a series of seemingly trivial acting exercises, quiet wars are waged, emotional wounds are nursed and healing is finally, and slowly, able to begin. Playwright Annie Baker takes the audience on a transcendent journey through the mundane into the profound.

“It seems so simple—strangers performing theatre games, but the reality turns out to be moving, revealing, and ultimately life-changing, for all the characters,” says Director John A.C. Kennedy. “And these remarkably talented actors bring so much of their own honest selves to the roles that one cannot help but be personally impacted.”

What critics have said about Baker’s piece: "By the play's end we seem to see to the very bottom of these souls, and feel how the artificial intimacy of the acting class has shaped their lives in substantial ways.”—NY Times.

"[Circle Mirror] is about real people exploring their lives through tiny leaps of faith and creativity." —BackStage.

"Baker develops her characters slowly through their interactions each week in class, which is the only place [the audience sees] them. Naturally, their real, offstage lives gradually infiltrate the classroom, revealing insights and transformations both humorous and heartbreaking." —Associated Press.