Circle Mirror Transformation

A SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. TITLE

Circle Mirror Transformation

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  3w, 2m

Annie Baker

When four lost New Englanders who enroll in Marty’s six-week-long community-center drama class begin to experiment with harmless games, hearts are quietly torn apart, and tiny wars of epic proportions are waged and won.

Image: 2009 Playwrights Horizons Production (Joan Marcus)

Circle Mirror Transformation

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 2m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades

  • Winner! 2009 Obie Award for Best New American Play
    Nominee: Two 2009 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Play

Details

Summary

When four lost New Englanders who enroll in Marty’s six-week-long community-center drama class begin to experiment with harmless games, hearts are quietly torn apart, and tiny wars of epic proportions are waged and won. A beautifully crafted diorama, a petri dish revealing, with hilarious detail and clarity, the antic sadness of a motley quintet.

History

Circle Mirror Transformation premiered Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons on October 13, 2009. Directed by Sam Gold, the production featured Reed Birney, Peter Friedman, Deidre O'Connell, Tracee Chimo and Heidi Schreck.

Keywords
Performing Groups
MARTY – 55
JAMES – 60
SCHULTZ – 48
THERESA – 35
LAUREN – 16
  • Time Period Present Day
  • Setting

    A windowless dance studio in Shirley, Vermont. Summertime.

  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Additional Features No Intermission
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)

Media

“Reverberates with seduction and sorrow… the play’s final scene is devastatingly gentle.” – Village Voice

“Annie Baker's play is an absolute feast. Circle Mirror Transformation is the kind of unheralded gem that sends people into the streets babbling and bright-eyed with the desire to spread the word.” – The New York Times

“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

“Smartly, sneakily, Baker gives us the rare theatercentric play that's not self-obsessed.” – BackStage

Photos

  • Circle Mirror Transformation

    Image: 2009 Playwrights Horizons Production (Joan Marcus)

  • Circle Mirror Transformation

    Image: 2009 Playwrights Horizons Production (Joan Marcus)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:
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Authors

Annie Baker

Annie Baker
Annie Baker's full-length plays include The Flick (Playwrights Horizons, OBIE Award for Playwriting, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize), Circle Mirror Transformation (Playwrights Horizons, OBIE Award for Best New American Play, Drama Desk nomination for Best Play), The Aliens (Ratt ...
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