CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION

With such a character-driven play, the cast needs to trust itself and develop rapport, which this group does without turning a hair. And that rapport extends to the audience. Everybody knows someone like Desham with her New Age over-confidence and perky attitude. The greatest transformation is seen in Lauren; she begins the course cynical and withdrawn, to the point of us wondering if she’s meant to be on the spectrum (she’s not: she’s a teenager, part of a demographic that often mimics autism); by the end of the six sessions she is an excellent participant, clear and focused.

The director of this production is Jonathan Fielding, one of the Harbor Stage’s four founders, and the result is an immersive experience in organic storytelling: you learn about the five characters gradually, in bits and pieces, during actors’ exercises and side conversations, in their own words and from others’ points of view. It’s not always clear what is speculative and what is true. Baker, as a playwright, is known for her long silences and unrushed pacing, and Fielding builds on that. The first act is at times perplexing, at times frustrating, and the narrative is sketchy at best. The actors’ exercises are only occasionally revelatory and sometimes seem aimless. The teenage student in the class, Lauren, played pitch-perfectly by Jackie Scholl, recognizes this and openly complains about it, expressing the skepticism that some in the audience undoubtedly feel.