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"Innovation and tradition have always been the wings of our flight."Spoken by Marshall W. Mason, these words highlight the foundation upon which Circle Rep Company based all of it work. And the theatre community today, from Off-Off Broadway to Off-Broadway to Broadway and back again has based much of its work on the inspiration provided by Circle Rep Company. The ripples of talent and experience nurtured at Circle Rep have spread to every corner of the contemporary theatre world. Articulate Theatre Company has always taken inspiration from Circle Rep – working as an ensemble and bringing playwrights and actors together to build art together. ATC is thrilled to be celebrating the artistic heritage that Circle Rep created.
Circling Back was a long overdue look at the accomplishments of Circle Rep and a chance to highlight the impact they have had on today's theatre companies.
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Why "Circling Back?" See Below!
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CIRCLING BACK
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CIRCLING BACK included awards, scenes from some of Circle Rep’s best-loved productions, videos, visits from Circle Rep members, and good old-fashioned reminiscing. We were honored that so many people joined us for a night of recognizing Circle Rep and the indelible impression it has left on American theatre.
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We'd like to thank these very generous companies who helped make "Circling Back" happen. Please do all you can to patronize these business to help us say thank you for their generosity to the arts!
A Note from Articulate Theatre's Artistic Director
Recently I was asked about my connections with Circle Rep, and why Articulate is throwing this celebration. Here is what I wrote back. It's not slick or advertise-y, but it's true and sincerely meant. I hope you enjoy it.
My original connection to Circle Rep was much like many people in theatre - I knew the names of the members, the plays, the work, the ideals and standards via studying and the stories that get passed around. When I became Producing Director at T. Schreiber Studio, I found out Terry Schreiber had been connected with Circle Rep as well. We did a production of "Fifth of July" there, and Lanford came to see it. He was so pleased, he hung around and spoke with many of us, as well as going to our after-party. I am also a member of the New York Innovative Theatre Honorary Award Committee, and worked on the celebration video for Lanford when we gave him the Artistic Achievement award. This led me to meet Marshall (as we filmed him for that video) and Robert Patrick, who taught me a lot about Caffe Cino, and it's connections to Circle Rep.
At T. Schreiber, I also met the incredible lighting designer, Dennis Parichy. We started working together, which I loved because I'm a big believer in production values, and in designers as contributing artists. He told me a lot about what it was like to work with Circle Rep.
In 2013, I pulled together about 40 friends and colleagues for a meeting that had two questions: Does NYC need another theatre company? We all agreed the answer was, "No." Second question: Should we start one anyway? The answer was a resounding, "Yes." So, we started Articulate Theatre Company. I knew I wanted it to be an ensemble company and I knew I had the perfect example of that to guide us: Circle Rep. I started researching it, reached out to Marshall, and he shared his thoughts about ensembles as well. Our first couple of years at Articulate were full of all the work and angst that a start-up comes with, but once we came up for a breath, I knew I wanted to say "thank you" - both for the personal connections and the well of inspiration that Circle Rep has provided Articulate as a company.
And then I realized just how wide that inspiration ranged - I call it the "ripple effect" - to so many layers of our theatre community. And thus, I decided, about a year ago, to come up with an event that would acknowledge the debt we all owe Circle Rep. And so was born "Circling Back." The event is growing by leaps and bounds, as people spread the word. It's amazing to see how many people have strong connections and feelings for Circle Rep. It's more than a business, feels like a family.
Peace, Cat Parker
My original connection to Circle Rep was much like many people in theatre - I knew the names of the members, the plays, the work, the ideals and standards via studying and the stories that get passed around. When I became Producing Director at T. Schreiber Studio, I found out Terry Schreiber had been connected with Circle Rep as well. We did a production of "Fifth of July" there, and Lanford came to see it. He was so pleased, he hung around and spoke with many of us, as well as going to our after-party. I am also a member of the New York Innovative Theatre Honorary Award Committee, and worked on the celebration video for Lanford when we gave him the Artistic Achievement award. This led me to meet Marshall (as we filmed him for that video) and Robert Patrick, who taught me a lot about Caffe Cino, and it's connections to Circle Rep.
At T. Schreiber, I also met the incredible lighting designer, Dennis Parichy. We started working together, which I loved because I'm a big believer in production values, and in designers as contributing artists. He told me a lot about what it was like to work with Circle Rep.
In 2013, I pulled together about 40 friends and colleagues for a meeting that had two questions: Does NYC need another theatre company? We all agreed the answer was, "No." Second question: Should we start one anyway? The answer was a resounding, "Yes." So, we started Articulate Theatre Company. I knew I wanted it to be an ensemble company and I knew I had the perfect example of that to guide us: Circle Rep. I started researching it, reached out to Marshall, and he shared his thoughts about ensembles as well. Our first couple of years at Articulate were full of all the work and angst that a start-up comes with, but once we came up for a breath, I knew I wanted to say "thank you" - both for the personal connections and the well of inspiration that Circle Rep has provided Articulate as a company.
And then I realized just how wide that inspiration ranged - I call it the "ripple effect" - to so many layers of our theatre community. And thus, I decided, about a year ago, to come up with an event that would acknowledge the debt we all owe Circle Rep. And so was born "Circling Back." The event is growing by leaps and bounds, as people spread the word. It's amazing to see how many people have strong connections and feelings for Circle Rep. It's more than a business, feels like a family.
Peace, Cat Parker