All become extraneous to the do-it-yourself creativity and faux self-help spiritualism-cum-acting lessons offered by the well-meant but self-involved would-be theatre guru, Marty. Research Playwrights, Librettists, Composers and Lyricists. Birney plays Schultzs mercurial mood swings convincingly; even his sudden, menacing aggression seems justified when his rage boils up out of nowhere in the midst of his objective exercise with Theresa. During the past two years, weve watched as the collective breath grows dangerous. Really, it would be hard to do a play set in an acting class if it were otherwise. Go see it. $36-$57. "Circle Mirror Transformation" performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. through May 12 at The Blue Slipper Theatre, 113 E. Callender St. in Livingston. I knew I wanted the characters to deliver monologues as each other.Eventually I realized that the fun of the play is the fact that it's confined to this dull, windowless little space. CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION received irs World Premiere at Playwrights Horizons in New York City on October 13, 2009. Gain full access to show guides, character breakdowns, auditions, monologues and more! The exercise is meant to foster trust and good listening skills. And why I'm so stubborn! The cast was as follows: Reed Birney et Friedman Deirdre O'Connell Tracee Chimo Heidi Schreck LAUREN THERESA CHARACTERS MARTY, 55 JAMES, 60 SCHULTZ, 48 THERESA, 35 LAUREN, 16 PLACE A windowless dance studio in the town of Shirley, Vermont. "Circle Mirror Transformation," a new comedy by the young writer Annie Baker presented by Playwrights Horizons, is the kind of unheralded gem that sends people into the streets babbling and bright . Sign up today to unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. SHIRLEY, VERMONT Shirley, Vermont is a fictional place, the product of what . 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, & May 1, 2021 at 8:00PM Apr. If the actors made any verbal missteps this past Sunday, all were subsumed in Baker's hyperreal script, with its copious share . Several times, they lie on their backs on the studio floor trying to count collectively but consecutively to ten without stepping on one anothers numbers. Circle Mirror Transformation was developed, in part, with the assistance of the Sundance Institute Theatre . The two shy members, Schultz and Lauren both open up and become full participants in the group. . Annie Baker has established herself with a naturalistic stream of plays, including the trilogy taking place in the town of Shirley, Vermont, of which this play is a member. Set in Vermont, the play tells the story of four New Englanders who enroll in a community center drama course. By Elyse Sommer. Harry A. The characters are all vivid, sometimes painfully awkward in their need to get therapy or human attachment from their hobby. It demonstrates well how different rendering of words and movement yield very different sense of meaning and emotional response for the viewer. Now living in L.A., she writes. Like that moment in the last Narnia where theyre all dead and in heaven looking out at the places and people theyve been. Required fields are marked *. Annie Bakers play is an absolute feast. It seems normal with important revelations all leading up until that final jab at the end. is_confirmation;if(is_form){jQuery('#gform_wrapper_17').html(form_content.html());if(form_content.hasClass('gform_validation_error')){jQuery('#gform_wrapper_17').addClass('gform_validation_error');} else {jQuery('#gform_wrapper_17').removeClass('gform_validation_error');}setTimeout( function() { /* delay the scroll by 50 milliseconds to fix a bug in chrome */ jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery('#gform_wrapper_17').offset().top); }, 50 );if(window['gformInitDatepicker']) {gformInitDatepicker();}if(window['gformInitPriceFields']) {gformInitPriceFields();}var current_page = jQuery('#gform_source_page_number_17').val();gformInitSpinner( 17, 'https://littlevillagemag.com/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms-asdf111aasdfffs-nope/images/spinner.gif' );jQuery(document).trigger('gform_page_loaded', [17, current_page]);window['gf_submitting_17'] = false;}else if(!is_redirect){var confirmation_content = jQuery(this).contents().find('.GF_AJAX_POSTBACK').html();if(!confirmation_content){confirmation_content = contents;}setTimeout(function(){jQuery('#gform_wrapper_17').replaceWith(confirmation_content);jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery('#gf_17').offset().top);jQuery(document).trigger('gform_confirmation_loaded', [17]);window['gf_submitting_17'] = false;}, 50);}else{jQuery('#gform_17').append(contents);if(window['gformRedirect']) {gformRedirect();}}jQuery(document).trigger('gform_post_render', [17, current_page]);} );} );