Seen and Heard: REP's Circle Mirror Transformation

Friday was a bit of a whirlwind day. I had meetings all morning, accepted a new job offer at lunch, spent the afternoon bowling with my work mates, and then met Cathy and Arjay for dinner and a night at the theater. We met at Beasley's Chicken and Honey and got caught up over chicken biscuits, pork shoulder meatloaf, and fried flounder. Few people make me laugh as much as the Hineks - so dinner was a blast.

On another note, Arjay and I will be reunited at Lulu (along with Lucas, Kevin, Jennifer, and Patrick). Cathy graciously gave her permission for Arjay and I to resume our "work husband" relationship, although Arjay admitted that he has been cheating on me with someone else. I told him that I could be up for a "work threesome...just saying." I am sure that if Arjay likes him that we will all soon be sharing laughs together around the lunch table.

After dinner, we had a quick drink at Foundation where we ran into Seth (an ex-Peoplefluent employee) and his wife. Then it was upstairs to Raleigh Ensemble Players Theatre to see Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker.

This award-winning play is part of a trilogy of plays that take place in a small New England town. The action in this piece occurs in a dance studio where a teacher, her husband, and three students participate in a six week amateur actor's workshop.The play is presented in six sections - each representing a portion of a workshop experience. Over time as the characters relax and embrace the workshop exercises, the audience begins to learn little snippets about each character. Since there is so little direct information shared, the audience is forced to piece together each character's personality in order to discover their flaws.

This work, while appearing to move along briskly from scene to scene, actually lulls the viewer into a false sense of security. The characters at the beginning of the play fit the expected stereotypes, but they do not evolve in expected directions. As such, when the dirty laundry is finally aired, there remains some small doubt as to whose laundry is on display. It is not until the surprisingly forthright final scene do you realize that the characters who appeared to be the most damaged at the beginning, actually come out of the experience with the most hopeful futures.

As usual, for REP, the casting was perfect, the acting was spot-on, and the direction was outstanding. The most striking aspect of this production was the simple, bare, elegant staging. I particularly liked the way that the wall of mirrors reflected the actor's reactions as well as those of the audience. While you were watching the actors, subconsciously you are were also watching/seeing yourself.


Last season, REP spent their entire season making me cry - sometimes with joy and sometimes with shared sorrow. So far this season, they have made me examine my prejudices and expectations. I am eager to see what they have in store for the remainder of the 2012 season.

There are three more performances scheduled for this production (March 2-4). I highly recommend it for an evening of enjoyable, entertaining, and touching theater. Click here for more information and reservations.