East Falls’ historic Old Academy Players continues celebrating its 95th season by presenting CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION, the hilarious yet subtly profound comedy written by award winning American playwright Annie Baker and directed by Loretta Lucy Miller. The play is produced by Christopher Wunder and Nancy Frick with Janine Lieberman as stage manager/tech person. Show dates are: January 12, 13, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, and 28, 2018; Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM, Sundays at 2:00 PM.
The very accomplished 36 year old Annnie Baker grew up in Amherst , Massachusetts. Her full-length plays include: JOHN at Signature Theatre, THE FLICK at Playwrights Horizons (Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Hull-Warriner Award, Susan Smith Blackburn Price, Obie Award for Playwriting), CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION at Playwrights Horizons (Obie Award for Best New American Play, Drama Desk nomination for Best New American Play), THE ALIENS at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater (Obie Award for Best New American Play), BODY AWARENESS at Atlantic Theater Company (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for Best Play/Emerging Playwright), and an adaptation of Chekhov’s UNCLE VANYA at Soho Rep (Drama Desk nomination for Best Revival), for which she also designed the costumes. Her plays have been produced at over 150 theatres throughout the U.S., and have been produced internationally in over a dozen countries. Other recent honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, Steinberg Playwright Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters Award, and the Cullman Fellowship at the New York Public Library. She is a Residency Five playwright at the Signature Theatre.
Synopsis: Set in Vermont four New Englanders take a six-week creative drama class. Playing nonsensical theatrical games, the students and teacher grow and develop in ways that everyday conversation cannot express. The diorama shows that much of what is conveyed is not spoken, but hilarious and subtle body language, facial expression, and the eyes, reflect the course of enlightenment and understanding.
The stellar cast members include: Jennifer Shorstein as Theresa, Joseph Tranchitella as James, Maya Knell as Lauren, Sarah Labov as Marty, and J. Doyle as Schultz.
Reviewers comment: “That rare piece of theatre that is excellent in every respect, CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION is must-see theatre, especially if you enjoy a play that is quiet, subtle, and unassumingly profound.” ~ Theatre is easy, [www.theasy.com]; “…orchestrated with a subtlety and unfailing naturalness that make the play’s small revelations disarming and unexpected. The characterizations display a miniaturist attention to detail that goes down to the bone…Baker is never blind to their weaknesses and faults, yet regards them all with a warm, empathetic eye.” ~ Variety; and “Baker is a writer whose plays have a quiet, hypnotic charm, a grace and humor. She’s able to take ordinary, low-key situations–a small-town acting class, guys wasting time in an alley behind a cafe–and fill them with gentle comedy, generosity of spirit and an eye (and ear) for the foibles that make us all so hopelessly human.” ~ Village Voice.
Old Academy Players, a member of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, is a non-profit community theater located at 3544 Indian Queen Lane in East Falls (Philadelphia), the urban village on the Schuylkill River. Constructed in 1819, the Old Academy building has been the OAP home since 1932. Old Academy Players has provided continuous community theater since 1923 and featured the acting debuts of both Grace Kelly and Robert Prosky.
Old Academy welcomes groups! If you have 15 or more in your party, you can take advantage of group discount pricing. Parking for all performances is free. Individual tickets are $20 each. Tickets may now be purchased online at www.oldacademyplayers.org. Tickets may also be reserved by calling 215-843-1109. For more information, visit the theater’s website at www.oldacademyplayers.org.
Theater/Organization Old Academy Players
Theater/Organization Website: https://oldacademyplayers.org/
Theater/Organization Address: 3544 Indian Queen Lane Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19129 (Map It)
Theater/Organization Phone: (215) 843-1109
