Ellipse Theatre Community (ETC) will present its latest production, the award-winning Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker, with seven performances touring throughout Central Oregon on select dates from September 2 to September 18.
Winner of the Obie Award for Best New American Play and hailed by critics as “absorbing, unblinking and sharply funny” (The New York Times), Circle Mirror Transformation follows an unlikely group of five strangers who have signed up for an ‘Introduction to Acting’ course. Over the course of six weeks, the class cycles through a series of theatre games. They have “conversations” using only words such as “goulash” and “ack-mak.” They create stories using one word at a time. They take turns pretending they are each other. They anonymously write secrets on slips of paper to be read aloud randomly. Yet, as silly as these exercises may seem, the group finds themselves uncovering truths about their own lives and each other. The class becomes a group therapy session as they delve into family dynamics, love lives and finding meaning in life.
ETC President, Craig Brauner, directs this production as part of ETC’s on-going road show program which seeks to make theatre and the arts accessible across Central Oregon. Audiences can catch one of the six performances of Circle Mirror Transformation as it tours through Bend, Sunriver, Prineville, Redmond and Sisters. For Brauner, he has been a fan of this play since it first premiered in 2010. “It really is the perfect play,” he says. “It has moments that are laugh-out-loud funny, as well as moments that will really touch and move you. I’m excited to finally be sharing this story with our community.”
Cast members include Hilda Beltran, Joshua Billeter, Audrey Rink, Sophie Schmidt, and Steve Walker with original piano composition provided by pianist and composer Paula Dryer. General admission tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance by visiting etcbend.org/tickets. For tour locations and show details, please visit etcbend.org/season. Circle Mirror Transformation is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection (dramatists.com).
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