Circle Mirror Transformation focuses on a small group of people working through acting exercises and discovering human life, such as it is.

By Sarah Stortz
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In today’s acting class, Marty will teach you stage presence, voice, and self-reflection when Riverside Theater showcases its next show, Circle Mirror Transformation, on Friday evening.

Taking place in small town New England, the play follows Marty, an acting teacher, and four dysfunctional students attending her Adult Creative Drama class. Participants include a carpenter struggling with a divorce, a shy high-school student, a former actress, and Marty’s husband.

The play will open at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Riverside Theater, 213 N. Gilbert St., and will run through Nov. 5.

Through Marty’s acting exercises, the students end up riding an emotional roller coaster, exploring their individual problems while learning to form another character.

Since its release in 2009, the play has achieved a large amount of success, including winning the Obie Award for Best New American Play that same year.

During the process of putting the Riverside show together, director Angie Toomsen said she was thrilled to work with a piece created by playwright Annie Baker.

“In daily life, we don’t exactly say what we feel. We don’t know how to articulate how we feel [Baker] has a very clear, almost mathematical sense of how to write what we all feel,” Toomsen said. “I’ve seen her work in New York, and I was completely sucked in by the actors and stories. It feels like she puts in the natural awkwardness of modern communication.”

Toomsen said she hopes the audience will break down their barrier while watching the show.

“I hope the audience are touched by the humanity of these characters,” Toomsen said. “These are some of the finest actors in the area. It’s been a joyful process to work together to figure out how to work with this material.”

Circle Mirror Transformation

When: Friday-Nov. 5; Thursday-Saturday 7:30 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m.

Where: Riverside Theater, 213 N. Gilbert

Cost: $12-$30