Next Act Theatre presents: CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION

By Mary Boyle

For their final production of their 35th season, Next Act Theatre in Milwaukee chose a play that embodies the magic of acting.  A "love letter to the theatre", CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION by Annie Baker (Body Awareness, Uncle Vanya, The Antipodes) will most certainly resonate with anyone who’s ever taken a theatre class or anyone who loves live theatre; but, more importantly, the play demonstrates, at its most basic level, how theatre connects people and why that is so important.

Directed by Cody Estle, Circle Mirror Transformation follows five people from Shirley, Vermont who have signed up for an adult acting class at the local community center over the summer.  Marty (Tami Workentin), the teacher, is also the co-executive director of the community center.  Marty is joined by her husband, James (Mark Ulrich); Schultz (Reese Madigan), a recently divorced carpenter who makes artistic chairs; Theresa (Elyse Edelman), a single woman who is new to the community and still recovering from a difficult breakup; and, Lauren (Chloe Attalla), a high school sophomore who hopes to get the lead in West Side Story at her school in the fall.

As the class goes through the standard repertoire of embarrassing and awkward acting exercises, the audience, in the forced empathy that is live theatre, must feel as uncomfortable as one would imagine an adult acting class at a rec center could be, while exploring emotions, sharing memories, and revealing private thoughts and secrets to virtual strangers.  Gradually, the class begins to sync – to be fully present without judgement or projection – which allows them to connect, both with themselves and each other.  Who needs therapy when you could take an acting class?

Tami Workentin is pure brilliance – this may be the best role I’ve ever seen her in – and Chloe Attalla holds her own in her debut performance alongside a cast of Milwaukee’s finest.  Perfectly (and locally) cast and executed, from costumes to set, Circle Mirror Transformation is alternatingly humorous and heartbreaking, but mostly humorous; moreover, it’s a master class in the struggles of being human and the healing power of theatre that simply must be experienced.

CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION runs through May 18th at the artistic home of Next Act Theatre, located at 255 S. Water Street in Milwaukee.  Tickets may be purchased by calling (414) 278-0765 or online at www.nextact.org.
 
Live your own real-life CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION with adult acting masterclasses offered by the Milwaukee Rep at Next Act Theatre! Sign up for Intro to Acting on May 19, Discovering Shakespeare on May 21, or both. Register here! (Ticketholders get a 10 percent discount on either class! Check your email for the discount code!)

Next Act Theatre recently announced their 2025/26 Season!  Join them for the Wisconsin Premieres of SANCTUARY CITY by Martyna Majok, BOSWELL By Marie Kohler, SWING STATE By Rebecca Gilman, and the U.S. Premiere of DINNER WITH THE DUCHESS By Nick Green.
 
About Next Act Theatre
Since 1990, Next Act Theatre has been engaging the hearts and minds of audiences with intimate, compelling productions intended to stimulate thought, foster the exchange of ideas, and promote the development of new perspectives and understanding.  Next Act believes that stories work best when they involve characters in the midst of a struggle or a quest. Audiences identify with them, becoming emotionally and intellectually invested. The character’s situation, tragedy or triumph becomes the audiences’ to endure, mourn or celebrate. The theatre proves itself, then, as essential to the nourishment of our human spirit by bringing us together to examine, experience and explore the human condition, perhaps coming away with knowledge and perspective that only a good story can deliver.