For better or worse

It seems very appropriate that the last show slated for production at Varscona Theatre is Shadow Theatre’s co-production of Circle Mirror Transformation.

The Varscona is about to undergo a $6-million renovation that would ultimately turn a decrepit old theatre into an enviable gem.

Change is also a big theme in American playwright Annie Baker’s script about a collection of strangers enrolled in a “creative drama” class.

They are average Joes – the class leader, a recently divorced carpenter, a high school teenager, a former actress and the group leader’s husband.

“It’s really about people in transformation at a point in their lives. They’re taking big risks in taking this class because a lot is revealed about them. But they are also people on the cusp of transformation. It’s about stops and starts in our lives,” says director John Hudson.

Marty teaches theatre games and has members pose as trees and beds. They perform emotional scenes using limited sounds. They pretend to be one another, write deep dark secrets anonymously and sit in a circle listening to confessions.

“Marty’s only taught children’s classes and doesn’t realize how this will translate for adults and the chain reaction it sparks.”

But as relationships develop throughout the summer, the silly games Marty introduces trigger real life drama and participants get more than they bargained for.

A show that has wowed audiences, Circle Mirror Transformation is an absorbing comedy that won the Obie Award for Outstanding New American Play in 2010.

“She has a highly impressive resume coming out of the gates and she’s been very successful.”

And Hudson is clearly delighted at mounting the second Baker production following last season’s hit Body Awareness.

He describes Baker as a “subtle” but “dense” writer.

“She will pack in the most loaded dialogue and with eight lines will totally transform a story. She even has pauses that are packed with meaning.”

The strangers involved in this deep stuff are Marty (Coralie Cairns), the instructor and her husband James (Dave Brindle), two former California hippies.

“Their marriage is not crumbling at the beginning, but the cracks get wider and wider as the play progresses.”

Then there’s Schultz (Declan O’Reilly), a lonely divorced guy, Theresa (Lora Brovold), a former actress who just moved into this small Vermont town, and Lauren (Makaela Cochrane), a teenager who can’t decide whether she prefers theatre or veterinary school.

“Lauren has the most poignant dead-on lines. She’s the one who calls everything.”

Hudson encourages anyone who needs a good laugh to drop by.

“It encompasses so much of life. There is beautiful laugh-out-loud comedy and then there are warm heart-felt moments. It’s a special piece of theatre. It draws you in. You’re not quite sure where you’re going but you get hooked by the characters.”

Circle Mirror Transformation runs Jan. 14 to Feb. 1.