Also on the performing arts schedule is the spring 1212 Play, Circle Mirror Transformation, directed by performing arts faculty member Eleza Kort. The play stars Abigail Foster (II), Pierce Wilson (II), Ariane DesRosiers (II), Livia Wood (II) and Bryan Hanly (I), and the stage manager is Jocelyn Sabin (II).
Circle Mirror Transformation, written by Annie Baker, is about a creative drama class in a small Vermont town. Eleza chose the Studio Theater for a venue because of the intimacy of the space. “The play follows the characters as they take the class,” Eleza says. “We slowly learn more about them, relationships are built and broken, and vulnerabilities are exposed.”
Annie Baker is “known for writing small, yet universal, stories,” says Eleza. The cast has worked on building connections with one another to develop multi-dimensional characters whose day-to-day interactions reflect larger issues in the world.
“We’ve spent a lot of time in the rehearsal process building a bond between the actors,” she says. “We took time to share personal stories, and even engage in the same activities that the characters do in the play. The result has been a close-knit cast that is willing to take risks and be vulnerable. It’s been amazing.”
Circle Mirror Transformation opens Thursday, May 3, at 7:30 p.m. at the Studio Theater in the Kellner Performing Arts Center. It runs Friday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, May 5, at 7 p.m.