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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2010 > July > 12 > Entry
Review: ‘Circle Mirror Transformation’
At the beginning of Hyde Park Theatre’s engaging and hilarious production of “Circle Mirror Transformation,” by up-and-coming playwright Annie Baker, the actors lie on the floor, trying to count to ten as a group without two people speaking at the same time.
Is it a silly game, or is it a metaphor for being in the moment and learning to be aware of the people around you?
Well, it’s both. As your drama teacher probably told you, the way people play games tells you a lot about who they are, and who they want to be.
“Circle Mirror Transformation” takes place in an adult creative drama class led by Marty (Katherine Catmull), an overly positive teacher who speaks in a soothing voice and tries to rally participants to self-understanding.
Her students are a quirky bunch. Schultz (Kenneth Wayne Bradley) is a down-to-earth guy who was recently divorced but still wears his wedding ring. Lauren (Xochitl Romero) is an out-of-place teenager who shuffles through class and wants to know when they are going to do some “real acting.” Rounding out the crew are Theresa (Rebecca Robinson), a super-enthusiastic and flirtatious actress, and James (Ken
Webster), Marty’s deadpan husband, who is clearly in the class as a favor to his wife.
Over several weeks, the characters play out their own serious interpersonal drama through exercises that range from simple (introduce a partner to the class) to more complex (have other classmates pose as a bed, a tree, and a baseball glove as they try to re-create a childhood memory). By the time Marty urges the class to “write down a secret you’ve never told anyone,” you just know things are about to implode.
This southwest premiere of “Circle Mirror Transformation,” directed by Ken Webster, is fast-paced, funny and ultimately quite moving. The ensemble is uniformly excellent, smoothly playing many layers of subtext beneath all the silliness.
Theater insiders (or anyone who’s ever taken an acting class) will absolutely love this play. Others may not get all the jokes, but are bound to still be riveted by the way the characters reveal themselves, slowly, through the process of learning to connect.
‘Circle Mirror Transformation’ continues 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays through August 7 at Hyde Park Theatre, 511 W. 43rd St. Tickets $19 on Friday and Saturday; Thursdays are pay-what-you-can. www.hydeparktheatre.org
Claire Canavan in an American-Statesman arts freelancer.
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