
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
UNIQUELY DIFFERENT "CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION"

Sunday, November 13, 2011
Impressive Performances | Review | Tucson Weekly

Talent shines in play about acting
“Circle Mirror Transformation” is billed as a comedy, but it's also a heady drama about the limits of self discovery
Posted Nov 5, 2011, 10:15 am
Dave Irwin
TucsonSentinel.com
Written by Annie Baker, “Circle Mirror Transformation” won the 2010 Obie Award for Best New American Play and made a number of lists for top ten plays of 2009. It’s refreshingly unorthodox structure and setting - a rural classroom of actors playing non-actors who want to be actors - provides a meta-analysis on the nature of acting itself. It’s pure post-modern, but with a hint of quaint.
It must be said up front that portraying an amateur actor ironically requires considerable acting skill. Fortunately, this production has a balanced, talented cast that doesn’t overwhelm the intimate Invisible Theatre space. Director Betsy Kruse Craig keeps a subtle hand on the proceedings, letting the action simmer nervously until it explodes.
To call “Circle Mirror Transformation” a comedy, though probably better for marketing, is to miss more than half of its meaning. Watching five characters flay themselves to uncertain purpose is clearly tragedy. There are some laughs in particular moments, but overall, this is a cathartic work that says much about how we live our lives, questioning how truthful we are to ourselves and others.
Read the entire review here:
The cast of 'Circle Mirror Transformation' at Invisible Theatre. (Clockwise from upper right - Carrie Hill, James Henriksen, Lucille Petty, Brian Weez. Center - Molly McKasson
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Talent shines in play about acting

'Circle Mirror': Life, after all, is an acting game

Friday, October 28, 2011
AZ Daily Star, "Circle Mirror Transformation" Preview:
Take a peek inside the actors' studio
The play takes place in an acting class at a small community center in Vermont.
But don't let that scare you.
"People may think you have to be an insider" to get it, says Betsy Kruse Craig, who is directing the Annie Baker play.
"But it's so not about an acting class. It's about accepting who you are."
It's sort of a motley crew that has signed up for the class: a high schooler who longs to play Maria in "West Side Story"; a man struggling to get over a divorce; an actress who never made it in New York; and the husband of the woman teaching the class (at the urging of his wife, no doubt).
TIM FULLER / INVISIBLE THEATRE
"Circle Mirror Transformation" stars Molly McKasson, center, and, clockwise from McKasson, Brian Wees, Carrie Hill, Lucille Petty and James Henriksen.
..."Circle Mirror Transformation" snagged an Obie Award, the annual Off-Broadway Theater Awards from the Village Voice, last year and it has been making the rounds at theater companies around the country since.
The script has received raves wherever it's played.
Read more: http://azstarnet.com/entertainment/arts-and-theatre/take-a-peek-inside-the-actors-studio/article_58f95309-6e25-5958-add5-01861793c9ab.html#ixzz1c5Jad9w9
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Theater review: 'In the Mood' romance, laughter and fun - Green Valley News: Local News
By Regina Ford Green Valley News Thursday, September 15, 2011
By JASON KRELL Published September 15, 2011
There’s a good chance you haven’t heard of the Invisible Theatre before, unless you’re a theater student at the UA. This is an egregious error. Sadly, many students fail to appreciate the benefits that theater can offer. Might I suggest spending a night seeing “In the Mood”?
Not only was it fun to see UA professors practicing what they preach in the classroom, but the show itself was phenomenal. It seems ridiculous not to find anything that could use improvement, but “In the Mood” really covered its bases.
Read the entire article here:
Arizona Daily Wildcat :: Acting profs set right toneSaturday, September 10, 2011
In the Mood Review

Saturday, September 3, 2011
'In the Mood' ready, after many tweaks
Kathleen Allen Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Friday, September 2, 2011

Friday, September 2, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
NEW PLAY AT INVISIBLE THEATRE ISNEW YORK BOUND
- By Chuck Graham
TucsonStage.com
Saturday, June 25, 2011
The Morning Blend - Ann Hampton Callaway
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http://www.tucsonmorningblend.com/videos/123756184.html |
Friday, June 17, 2011
Cabaret returns to Arizona Inn
Cabaret returns to Arizona Inn
By Cathalena E. Burch Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Friday, June 17, 2011Invisible Theatre launches its 2011 Sizzling Summer Sounds cabaret concert series this week with two events - "High Standards" with a cast of popular Tucson performers and "An Evening With Ann Hampton Callaway" featuring the critically acclaimed New York cabaret singer.

"We wanted to be able to showcase world-class talent that lives here and comes in in a setting where people really listen to the music," Claassen said. "I like to say it's a cosmopolitan experience on Tucson time: Have dinner, a cabaret show and hang out with the artists in the lounge and still be home by 10."
Performances: "High Standards" featuring Jeffrey Haskell, Jack Neubeck and Katherine Byrnes at 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; "An Evening With Ann Hampton Callaway" 8 p.m. Thursday, next Friday and June 25.
• Where: Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm St.
• Tickets: $35, $99 for three-event sampler by calling 882-9721. Discounts available.
• Details: www.invisibletheatre.com
• Et cetera: Sizzling Summer Sounds continues through mid-July.
Read the entire article here:
Cabaret returns to Arizona InnPure Entertainment | Review | Tucson Weekly
Invisible Theatre's Sizzling Summer Sounds series returns to the Arizona Inn
by Sherilyn Forrester
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Sizzling Summer Sounds opens June 21!

Sizzling Summer Sounds
(520) 882-9721 June 21-July 16!
Sizzling Summer Sounds
8 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, Tuesday, June 21, through Saturday, July 16
Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm St.
$35; discounts and packages available
882-9721
Ann Hampton Callaway will bring her mastery of multiple musical styles in for three performances, June 23-25. The award-winning composer/lyricist/singer/pianist/actress will not only sizzle, but with her full-hearted approach to making music, she is sure to smolder as well.
Although she now calls New York home, Callaway grew up in the Chicago area and says music was ever-present, so much so that it was "like breathing. I'm really grateful that I experimented with many different art forms, but I felt music was the most beautiful way to draw all the things I love and do into one field of endeavor."
Callaway says that she was particularly inspired by Carole King. "Whatever year Tapestry came out, I was walking around with my allowance and walked by the record store and saw the album. I had never heard of Carole King, but I was so intrigued by the album cover, I immediately bought it on a leap of faith. When I played it, it was an epiphany: 'This is what I want to do with the rest of my life. I want to write songs and sing songs from the heart like this incredible woman.'"
Years later, Callaway and King wrote a song together for Callaway's Slow album. "She didn't want to write the song until the day of the recording, and we worked from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to finish it. Then she stayed to hear me record her song 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?' It was one of the greatest days of my life."
Callaway has also collaborated with Barbra Streisand. "I had written a peace anthem, and when I finished it, I just thought, 'This song belongs to Barbra Streisand.' It took seven years to get this song to her, and about 150 rewrites later, she recorded the song—10 years to the day that I wrote it." Streisand also sang Callaway's "At the Same Time" for Streisand's "millennium" concert. "So thanks to Barbra, I have two platinum records and one gold record and a lot of great memories. She was always honest, direct and sweet to me."
Having played several concerts in Tucson before—one with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra—Callaway says she's looking forward to the intimate setting at the Arizona Inn, where she and the audience "can really experience each other. The songs I choose to sing in my shows are so powerful, and I am willing to share who I am and put in all the heart and soul and imagination I can. A night with just me and an audience is a recipe for a lot of magic."
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Faux Bard of 'Premier!' tickles | Invisible Theatre
A fun script and one of Tucson's favorite actors
Posted May 5, 2011, 7:33 pm
Dave IrwinTucsonSentinel.com
The Invisible Theatre production of “Premier!” is billed as “a charming comedy.” And it certainly is. It also has just enough gravitas in its post-modern musings to make it a bit more than that without interfering with the laughs.
Read the entire review here: Faux Bard of 'Premier!' tickles