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Annie Baker’s Body Awareness, her first full-length professional production after leaving NYU’s Dramatic Writing program in 2008, asks two simple questions, as asked by Lily Janiak in her February 2012 review of the play in San Francisco Weekly: “What if our loved ones are the people least likely to accept us for who we want to be? And what if the best we all can do is try to keep living together anyway?"
Under the direction of Producing Artistic Director Matthew Wiener, the answers to those questions may – or may not – become clear from March 30 through April 15 on Stage West at the Herberger Theater Center, 222 E. Monroe.Baker’s play, which follows Actors Theatre’s presentation of her Circle Mirror Transformation last year, takes place during "Body Awareness" week on a Vermont college campus in Shirley, Vermont.
Phyllis (Amanda Melby), the organizer, and her partner, Joyce (Maria Amorocho), are hosting one of the guest artists in their home, Frank (Ian Christiansen), a photographer famous for his female nude portraits. Both his presence in the home and his chosen subject instigate tension from the start. The conflict boils over as Joyce starts bleaching, plucking and primping in preparation for a naked photo shoot. Phyllis quickly blows a feminist gasket.As the two bicker, Joyce’s son, Jared (Will Hightower) who may have Asperger’s Syndrome, struggles to express himself physically with heartbreaking results.Designers for the show includes Kimb Williamson, sets; Paul Black, lighting; Connie Furr, costumes; and Chris Neumeyer, sound. April Miller is the Stage Manager.Single tickets range in price from $20.50 to $39.50 and can be purchased online at www.actorstheatrephx.org or at The Herberger Theater Center Box Office.
Body Awareness will be followed byTime Stands Still, May 11-27: Donald Margulies’ finest play since his Pulitzer-Prize winning “Dinner With Friends,” this Tony Award nominee for Best Play follows a photojournalist and a foreign correspondent trying to find happiness in a world that seems to have gone completely crazy. This partnership, based on telling the toughest stories to make a difference, takes a sudden turn in a flash when the couple confronts the prospect of a more conventional life.For information about all of Actors Theatre’s shows, and to purchase tickets, visitwww.actorstheatrephx.org . Tickets also can be purchased at the Herberger Theater Box Office at (602) 252-8497.
