Review by Lanny Park
Photos by SG Atkinson
Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker is currently being performed at the Garfield Center for the Arts in Chestertown. Directed by Bonnie Hill, the assembled cast exhibits the professionalism we have come to expect from her guidance and vision.
The set is stark, as befitting a windowless room in a community center in a small town in Vermont. In front of the stage is a mylar-like mirror wall; it is actually on the floor so the audience, seated in a two row deep u-shape around the action, makes the audience more like the missing walls that see and hear all as they define the parameters of the room itself.
Dialogue is punctuated with unfinished words and sentences that drop into silence, which itself becomes as much a character as the people who inhabit the physical space.
Relationships ebb and flow within the silences as much as within the spoken words, reinforced by the incredible facial expressions of the actors that reveal more than mere words ever could. Nothing is forced or exaggerated; it does not need to be, as the audience is as close to the performers as they all are to each other.
This is an incredibly taut production. Blending the subtle humor and quiet tensions of the situations presented requires a delicate balance (to borrow a phrase), that is perfectly executed by a veteran cast. No one could have done it better.
The play runs for two more weekends, with shows on Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 and Sunday matinees at 2:00. Tickets are $20 for general admission, $15 for seniors, and $10 for students. Call 410-810-2060 for reservations.
Editor’s Note:
This weekend shows August 30-September 1st will have Phebe Wood playing the role of Lauren.
