Rogue Spotlight: Vilma Silva stars in RTC play 'Circle Mirror Transformation'

By JIM FLINT for Rogue Valley Times Aug 29, 2023

Vilma Silva will appear next month in Rogue Theater Company’s “Circle Mirror Transformation,” an Obie Award-winning play by Annie Baker scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, Sept. 13 through Oct. 1, indoors at Grizzly Peak Winery in Ashland.

She will play Marty, an acting teacher who holds an “adult creative drama” class at the local community center in the small town of Shirley, Vermont. Five strangers gather to embark on a unique journey together with their free-spirited and supportive leader.

Silva is no stranger to such exercises. “I can’t say that I love theater games,” she said, “but over the years I’ve learned how valuable they can be for breaking down the walls that we can put up around ourselves, especially when walking into a room full of people we don’t know.”She once participated in an exercise at the beginning of a rehearsal process that provided a breakthrough moment.“Recalling that experience will help me create Marty’s enthusiasm for the exercises,” she said. “Once you experience it, you want to share it with others.”

The people who sign up for the class in “Circle Mirror” are Schultz (played by Greg Linington), a recently divorced, emotionally vulnerable carpenter; Lauren (Thilini Dissanayake), a reserved and self-conscious high school junior; Theresa (Kjerstine Anderson), an earnest and vibrant former actress; and James (Jeffrey King), Marty’s quiet and genial husband.

Silva believes her years of rehearsal experience will be useful for the role.n“We all strive to create a convincing internal and external life in the process. Sometimes — most times — it’s challenging. It’s hard to be vulnerable,” she said.

Robynn Rodriguez directs. She says the power of the play caught her off guard, bringing to mind her own similar experiences.“I have spent a lot of time taking community course offerings,” Rodriguez said. “You meet once a week with people, sometimes with familiar faces, but mostly people you never see except in class. You learn a lot from each other.”

Rodriguez and all but one of the cast members are alumni of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Silva looks forward to working with them again. “Our shared history thrills me. There is nothing better than trust in this process,” Silva said.

The play explores the theme of self-discovery through acting, something to which Silva can relate personally.“I’ve discovered how much of my personal life history I carry with me,” she said. “I recognize aspects of my family, my friends, my acquaintances, and I realize that they’ve made some sort of impact on me. What impacts me tells me about what I value, or don’t value, sometimes surprisingly.”Silva says she hopes audiences will love the characters for who they are, maybe see a little of themselves in them “and maybe love actors a little more for the risks they take.”

Silva was born and raised in San Francisco. She got the acting bug in the seventh grade, watching an ABC Afterschool Special, an animated version of “Cyrano de Bergerac.” José Ferrer, who played Cyrano in the 1950 film, voiced the animated character. To say it made her realize she wanted “a life in the theater” sounds a bit grand, she admits, “and maybe a little more than I could chew as a seventh-grader.” But in watching that after-school TV special, she discovered her curiosity and enthusiasm for acting. “It was a beautiful story, completely unknown to me at the time,” she said. “The animation was stunning. I had never been so moved by a story before, told with simplicity and heart.”

Silva saw plays at OSF when she was in college and later visited a friend who was working for OSF. She auditioned for the company in 1993 and 1994, was hired for 1995’s “Blood Wedding” and stayed for 26 seasons.

Over the years, she volunteered with Friends of the Animal Shelter and served on its board for a year.“I can’t live without a dog in my life,” she said, “and I loved walking the dogs at the shelter. I’ve even been lucky enough to act as emcee for the annual Street Dog Project fundraiser for the last two years. What an honor!” She recently concluded a six-week engagement with the Idaho Shakespeare Festival in Boise where she played multiple roles in Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility.”

“I actually rehearsed and performed the production earlier in the year in Cleveland at Great Lakes Theater,” she said. “I’ve never been to Cleveland or Boise before, but I enjoyed my time there very much.” She did find two familiar faces in directors Sara Bruner and Jaclyn Miller, both with stints at OSF on their résumés.

She will head east again after her Rogue Theater Company gig. “The day after we close ‘Circle Mirror Transformation’ I leave for Louisville, Kentucky, to remount ‘King John’ at Actors Theater,” Silva said.

“From there, I’ll head to Princeton to the McCarter Theater’s production of ‘A Christmas Carol’ for the second time, playing Old Jo. I can’t wait. Both plays will be reunions with a couple of great casts.” People might be surprised to learn Silva played Scrooge in last year’s “A Christmas Carol.” In addition to playing Old Jo, she understudied the iconic miserly character and got to play him four times during the run.

Online tickets for “Circle Mirror Transformation” are $30 for the preview, Sept. 13; $45 for the opening, Sept. 14, a benefit for Planned Parenthood of Southwest Oregon; and $35 for all other performances. Tickets are $40 at the door and tickets are also available at various support levels.

There will be wine and a talkback with the actors and director following the Sept. 14 performance. Wine Wednesdays are Sept. 20 and 27, with the first glass complimentary and discounts on bottles. Talkback Thursdays will be held Sept. 21 and 28; and Friend Fridays offer discounts for multiple orders.

For more information and to purchase tickets, see roguetheatercompany.com.

Reach writer Jim Flint at jimflint.ashland@yahoo.com.