"Innovation and tradition have always been the wings of our flight."
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. Attendees include Marshall W. Mason, Tanya Berezin, Craig Lucas, Jeff Daniels, Brad Dourif, A.R. Gurney, William Hoffman, Stephanie Gordon, William Mastrosimone, Jeffrey Sweet, Burke Pearson, and more. The evening illustrated the many impressive accomplishments of Circle Rep, and also highlighted how those accomplishments have made our theatrical community what it is today.
9/30/2015 - 7pm
The Theatre Center
Anne Bernstein Theatre
CIRCLING BACK
"Circling Back" brought together artists from Circle Rep with artists from Articulate Theatre. Why? Because we stand on the shoulder of these giants. See details from our artistic director below.
A Note from Articulate Theatre's Artistic Director
I am frequently asked about my connections with Circle Rep, and why Articulate is throwing this celebration. Here's the story. 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 that it's founder, Terry Schreiber, had been connected with Circle Rep, where he learned the value of a company. We did a production of "Fifth of July" at TSS, and Lanford Wilson, the playwright and Circle Rep founder, 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 W. Mason, Circle Rep founder, 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. He also worked with Circle Rep, as they valued the designer's input highly. 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