Press Release Contact: 
Sommer Schoch, [email protected] or (859) 322-2739

Flashback Theater Co. (FbTC) stays true to its mission of exploring theater with its production of Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker. Set in a dance studio, the play’s ensemble of characters meet at a six-week theater workshop and slowly reveal their true selves.

FbTC’s production of Circle will open on November 7th for a limited run of 4 performances over two weekends. The production will be held at the Carnegie Community Arts Center, where FbTC’s inaugural production of Last Train to Nibroc was held last February.

Producing Artistic Director Sommer Schoch believes this play will be a new experience for the local audience of theater-goers. “This isn’t the standard fairy-tale plot line that many audiences here are used to. It is less about getting to the happy ending and more about exploring how we build relationships and manage our own personal happiness.” Couple that with an intimate setting similar to that of And the Tide and audiences will soon realize that Flashback Theater Co. is regularly offering something new for Somerset altogether.

Cast members Amber Frangos, Haylea Barker, Alexa Zajkowski, Gregory Blair, and James Rose take on the challenging work of bringing complicated and intricate characters to the stage in a believable way.

“This is not the standard one note character play. The entire cast is transforming their character in clear view of the audience and the other cast members. It is a group dynamic play; all of the characters are reliant on the events of the other characters and how they react to them,” says Amber Frangos about taking on the role of Marty, the teacher of the drama workshop all the characters are in.

Greg Blair (playing James) adds, “The audience should expect a ride emotionally in many ways during the performance and after they leave the performance. … This play is different from others I have been in in the way it will be performed and the very nature of the story. As an actor and an audience [member], one must delve into each character.”

This production of Circle Mirror Transformation will be produced in the round at the Carnegie Community Arts Center downtown. “In the round” means audience members will be seated on all side of the playing space.

The play won the 2010 Obie Award for Best New American Play. Playwright Annie Baker has found success with several plays in the past few years. Her most recent work includes The Flick, which won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and John, which premiered at Signature Theatre Company in July of this year.

FbTC is thankful for the financial support of funders and would like to recognize 2015-16 Season Sponsors: ABA, LLC and Lee’s Ford Marina for their support of FbTC’s production of theater that speaks to the soul, and Dopp Co. for their support of Circle Mirror Transformation specifically.

CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION
by Annie Baker
November 7-15, 2015 (Saturdays at 7:30, Sundays at 2:00)
Carnegie Community Arts Center

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 in which we see, with hilarious detail and clarity, the antic sadness of a motley quintet.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Annie Baker grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts. Her full-length plays include John (currently in an extended run at the Signature Theatre), The Flick (Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Susan Smith Blackburn Award, Obie Award for Playwriting), Circle Mirror Transformation (Playwrights Horizons, Obie Award for Best New American Play, Drama Desk nomination for Best New American Play), The Aliens (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Obie Award for Best New American Play), Body Awareness (Atlantic Theater Company, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for Best Play/Emerging Playwright), and an adaptation of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya (Soho Rep, Drama Desk nomination for Best Revival), for which she also designed the costumes. Her plays have been produced at over 150 theaters throughout the U.S., and have been produced internationally in over a dozen countries. Other recent honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, American Academy of Arts and Letters Award, Hull-Warriner Award, Steinberg Award, and the Cullman Fellowship at the New York Public Library.

HOW TO PURCHASE TICKETS
Tickets for the 2015 fall shows can now be purchased online by going to: www.flashbacktheater.co and clicking “Buy Tickets”. Reservations may also be made in person at Carnegie Community Arts Center or by phone at (859) 322-2739.

Tickets not paid for in advance will be held at will call. Tickets held at will call will be released 10 minutes prior to curtain if not picked up. Exchanges may be made anytime prior to the date of the original ticket with no fee by calling (859) 322-2739.

Circle Mirror includes in depth character study that is unapologetic of human nature, including minimal mature language and suggestive themes unsuitable for children under 14.