Dark Horse Theatre Company Presents CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFOMATION

Dark Horse Theatre Company presents the Fauquier Premiere of Obie Award winning play Circle Mirror Transformation, written by Annie Baker and directed by Allison Turkel.

A riveting journey told through the course of an adult creative drama class, this dramatic comedy centers on the emotional complexities between relationships. We are lead through heartbreak, humor, and embarrassing secrets by a cast of five phenomenal actors, each taking us carefully through their own character's journey of learning and healing. Everyone has their baggage; but it takes a theatre class to bring that baggage out, unpack it and put it away where it belongs.

The plays revolves around a six-week drama class, in which teacher Marty (Carole Preston) eagerly leads her students through a series of theater exercises. We open with the counting game, which proves to be much more difficult than anticipated. Each exercise requires vulnerability and openness, something Marty's husband James (Randall Kish) is not an expert at. While performing a first-person monologue from the perspective of Marty, James reveals his nervousness and frustrations through frequent pauses and backtracking, but he pushes through.

Recently arrived from New York, Theresa (Meredith Garagiola) is more eager and attracts awkward carpenter, Schultz (Ken Gilfillan).

A romance emerges - will it last? As Theresa and Schultz deal with their relationship, Marty and James work through the problems in theirs. Exercises such as scene sculpting reveal that James's worry about his daughter greatly affects his marriage with Marty, and that they are hiding resentments that are forced out through these theatre games. Aspiring actor and high school junior Lauren (Sophia Manicone) often is sullen and hiding in plain view. Yet, each exercise, reveals more and more of her tense family dynamics and impatience with the class. Week by week, we see the curtain begin to fall as each character is confronted with their own desires, fears, and weaknesses.

Circle Mirror Transformation looks closely inside the lives of these five people, and how these "simple" exercises can bring out the best, and the worst, in oneself. A hard-hitting, heartfelt, and funny production, this play will move the audience to root for the character with whom they empathize and leave with these human questions: What are my secrets? Are they exposed in my relationships with other people, how do I accept my foibles and still grow? And how do we even begin to heal?

Wonderfully directed by Allison Turkel and Stage Managed by Peyton Johnston, Dark Horse Theatre's production of Circle Mirror Transformation will be performed at ArtsHerndon, located at 750 Center Street, Herndon, VA 20170, and Grace in the Plains, located at 6507 Main St, The Plains, VA 20198. ArtsHerndon will run Friday night, April 29th, and Saturday night April 30th both at 8:00 p.m. Grace in the Plains will run Friday and Saturday nights from May 6th to May 14th at 8:00 p.m.

Tickets are $20 general admission and $15 for students or military members with ID. More information and online tickets can be found at darkhorseva.com/shows.

To post a comment, you must register and login.