louise on the left (coast)

Sometimes you see something so perfect, so comfortable and real that you have to remind yourself that parallels to your own world are entirely a coincidence. " Circle Mirror Transformation ," now running January 9th to 30th at SCR. So it was last week as I watched “ Circle Mirror Transformation ” at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa. I had to constantly remind myself that the characters on the stage do not know me. They don't know I come from a small town in Vermont (the setting of the play) or that I've also spent countless hours in wacky acting workshops, as well. Still, as this play brilliantly tapped into a goldmine of truths about the circumstances at the heart, I had moments of extreme déjà vu. But, this is a tribute to fine dramatic storytelling, not a “Twilight Zone” episode. And sadly, the playwright, Annie Baker, doesn't know me from Adam (or Eve, in this case), even though as the production unfolded on stage at the Julianne Argyros Stage, I could

“ The Language Archive ,” is currently having its world premiere at South Coast Repertory’s Segerstrom Stage running from March 26 - April 25, 2010. Julia Cho's award-winning play is a romantic comedy about the nature of communication. The production is exquisitely directed by Mark Brokaw and superbly acted by an expert ensemble featuring Leo Marks, Betsy Brandt (from one of my personal favorite shows - AMC’s “Breaking Bad”), Laura Heisler, Tony Amendola and Linda Gehringer, all of whom deliver a feast of delicious writing with a host of engaging and entertaining characters. The theme of the play is intrinsically woven around our deepest need for both love and communication. The plot illustrates the unexpectedly poetic ways our choice of communication can either nurture or kill the unique organism which is created from a love shared only between two people. Cho spotlights how important it is to cherish our "own languages," and what I found so extraordinary was how el