Actors Theatre of Louisville Continues Season with CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION

Artistic Director Les Waters and Managing Director Kevin E. Moore are thrilled to continue Actors Theatre's 2016-2017 Brown-Forman Series with Annie Baker's Circle Mirror Transformation, directed by Associate Artistic Director Meredith McDonough. The cast will feature: Jeff Hayenga (Harvey and The Man Who Came to Dinner at Roundabout Theatre), Tonye Patano (Slide Glide the Slippery Slope at Actors Theatre), Jeanna Phillips (Troublemaker at Berkeley Repertory Theatre), Keith Reddin (For Peter Pan on her 70th birthday at Actors Theatre), and Brenda Withers (This Random World at Actors Theatre). Circle Mirror Transformation will preview January 24 and 25, open on January 26, and run through February 12 in the Pamela Brown Auditorium as part of the Brown-Forman Series. Tickets are available online at ActorsTheatre.org, by phone at 502.584.1205, or in-person by visiting The Actors Theatre Box Office (316 West Main Street, Louisville, Ky., 40202).

In her creative drama class at the local community center, middle-aged bohemian Marty coaches an unlikely assortment of small-town Vermonters: a recently divorced carpenter, a high school junior, a former actress, and Marty's own husband. As they tackle Marty's imaginative, improvisational, and sometimes awkward theatre games, their real lives gradually infiltrate the classroom-inspiring transformations both personal and profound. Annie Baker's enormously popular comedy is a beautifully crafted, tender portrait of the tiny leaps of faith and creativity that spark unexpected insight.

Actors Theatre's production of Circle Mirror Transformation will be directed by Actors Theatre's Associate Artistic Director Meredith McDonough, who has also directed Peter and the Starcatcher, This Random World, Dot, The Last Five Years, Noises Off, The Whipping Man, brownsville song (b-side for tray) and The Delling Shore at Actors Theatre. Previously, McDonough was the director of new works at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, California, where she directed the world premiere musical Triangle, as well as Upright Grand, Auctioning the Ainsleys, Silent Sky, Now Circa Then, [title of show] and Opus (Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards: Best Director and Best Production). Other San Francisco credits include the premiere of Miss Bennett-Christmas at Pemberley and A Steady Rain at Marin Theatre Company, and The Lily's Revenge and Another Way Home at the Magic Theatre. Regionally, favorites include the U.S. premiere of NSFW, Fair Use (Steppenwolf Theatre Company), Eurydice (Williamstown Theatre Festival), The Book Club Play (Dallas Theater Center) and the Washington, D.C. premiere of the musical Summer of '42. In New York City, McDonough has developed work with Roundabout Theatre Company, Atlantic Theater Company, Keen Company and Ars Nova. She was the associate artistic director of The Orchard Project, was the new works director for the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, and currently serves on the board of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. McDonough received her B.S. from Northwestern University and her M.F.A. from University of California, San Diego.

Circle Mirror Transformation will mark the return of Keith Reddin (Schultz), who was seen during last season's Humana Festival in Sarah Ruhl's For Peter Pan on her 70th birthday; Brenda Withers (Theresa), who was also seen during last season's Humana Festival in Steven Dietz's This Random World; and Tonye Patano (Marty), who was last seen in Slide Glide the Slippery Slope, which was part of the 2003 Humana Festival. Reddin, Withers and Patano will be joined by Jeff Hayenga (James) and Jeanna Phillips (Lauren); both will be making their Actors Theatre debuts. Full cast bios are included below.

The creative team for Circle Mirror Transformation includes Scenic Design by Dane Laffrey, Costume Design by Kathleen Geldard, Lighting Design by Paul Toben, and Sound Design by Lindsay Jones.

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