Tiny wars of epic proportion at Playcrafters

Playcrafters Barn Theatre will present the QC premiere of “Circle Mirror Transformation” by Annie Baker, directed by Mike Turczynski, beginning Friday, Aug. 18.

The show will run August 18-20 and 24, 26-27 at the Barn Theatre, 4950 35^th Ave., Moline.

In Shirley, Vermont, Marty (an acting teacher) holds an “Adult Creative Drama” class at the local community center. The people who sign up for the class are Schultz, a recently divorced carpenter; Lauren, a reserved high school junior; Theresa, a former actress; and Marty’s husband James, according to a synopsis.

Marty takes the “students” through various acting and dramatic exercises; they act like trees, beds, and baseball gloves.

In one exercise, they act as one another and tell their life stories. As a possible romance begins, each of the group slowly reveal themselves. Hearts are quietly torn apart, and tiny wars of epic proportions are waged and won. This is a beautifully crafted diorama — a petri-dish in which we see, with hilarious detail and clarity, the antic sadness of a motley quintet, the Playcrafters release says.

A New York Times reviewer called the 2009 play “absorbing, unblinking and sharply funny” and wrote: “The artificiality of the acting games just emphasizes the naturalness of the characters’ real lives and feelings. Group members pose as trees, beds and baseball gloves. They perform emotional scenes using only the words goulash and ak-mak.”

“They write deep, dark secrets (anonymously) on scraps of paper and listen, sitting in a circle on the floor, as the confessions are read aloud.”

The Playcrafters cast features Eric Teeter, Adrienne Jane, Lance Maynard, Celeaciya (CeCe) Olvera, and Bez Lancial-McMullen.

Performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday & Saturday (the first weekend) and at 7:30 on Thursday & Saturday (the second weekend) and a 3 p.m. matinee on both Sundays.

Tickets ($15, $13 for military and seniors) are available on the Playcrafters website HERE or by calling 309-762-0330. Tickets (general admission only) will also be for sale at the door while available).