Bangkok Community Theatre (BCT) will be staging Circle Mirror Transformation, a new production that questions your idea of what acting actually is, at Bluebox Studio, from Thursday to Saturday and Nov 9-11 at 7.30pm. It is the BCT's fifth production of the year.
Based on the award-winning modern play of the same title by American playwright Annie Baker, the story is set in the small town of Shirley, Vermont, where five strangers gather in a dance studio to embark on a unique journey together in a creative drama class for adults. Baker's comic drama won the "Best New American Play" at the prestigious Obie Awards in 2010 and continues to impress audiences around the world with its thought-provoking insights into the twists and turns of learning the art of acting.
Taught by Marty, their free-spirited and supportive leader, the group -- Schultz, a recently divorced, emotionally vulnerable carpenter; Teresa, an earnest and vibrant former actress; James, Marty's quiet and genial husband; and Lauren, a reserved and self-conscious high schooler -- move through a series of acting exercises, ranging from the heartbreaking to the ridiculous.
The play opens as Marty, an ageing hippie drama teacher, begins teaching her very first adult drama class, prompting many opportunities for self-expression. The students are all strangers to one another and while each character dedicates themselves to learning the craft of acting, they also find themselves exploring aspects of their lives that lead to individual paths of self-discovery.
In this one small room, through these few seemingly trivial games, however, quiet wars are waged, emotional wounds are nursed, and healing is finally, slowly, able to begin.
The play features a cast of five including entrepreneur and actress, Caitlin Lee Chullasapya as Teresa; Jeremy Wang as Schultz; professional actor and BCT newcomer Stephen Thomas as Marty's husband James; long-standing BCT performer Bonnie Zellerbach as Marty; and 17-year old Shreshta Gupta as the youngest member of the handpicked cast as Lauren.
Directed by Cian Green, the Bangkok version of this quiet masterpiece of Baker by the English-language community theatre group will take the audience on a transcendent journey through the mundane into the profound, making them question what it is to act and how people go about learning how to do it.
Tickets cost 500 baht. Bluebox Studio is at M Theatre, New Phetchaburi Road.
Visit bangkokcommunitytheatre.com or email info@bangkokcommunitytheatre.com.
