We have been receiving so many heartfelt responses from our audience letting us know how deeply moved they have been by Deen’s Draw the Circle. One sent us a note to say, “Though I consider myself very open to life lived in any configuration, I experienced angles I had not understood before. This was a gift.” Another responded by writing us, “Draw the Circle was one of the most profound and life-changing performances I have ever seen.”

We always encourage our audiences to go deeper and be part of the conversation. If Draw the Circle leaves you wanting to learn more or do more, please visit the links listed here.

“You don’t have to know anything about “trans issues” to see this play. And at the same time, there is a lot happening in the state of North Carolina and elsewhere that will directly affect the lives of transgender people, and you will leave this play understanding a little more about what the experience of being transgender is like.”-Mashuq Mushtaq Deen

“Sometimes Draw the Circle gets labeled a ‘trans play,’ but I don’t think it is. It’s fundamentally a story about family. A story about parents and children. Most of all, there are no bad guys in this play. There are people struggling to love in a world that is changing around them, and sometimes the struggle is the love. I will do my best to bring all of that struggle to the stage … and you are welcome to bring it to the theatre.”

The vicarious trip we make alongside Violet is one that cuts to the core of the human condition. With the blossoming of her initially diminished self, she becomes a symbol of each of our journeys through the paths of the maturation process, moving from ignorance to knowledge, from fragmentation to wholeness, from isolation to community, and from fear to love.

Thomas Cassidy appears in Violet as the fiery televangelist Preacher. Thomas was also in the acting companies for Guys & Dolls (SYC 2015) and Hairspray (SYC 2014), so he’s well acquainted with all the work that goes into putting on our Summer Youth Conservatory shows. Here he shares a series of photos, with personal captions, he took during rehearsal capturing a behind-the-scenes look at a “day in the life” during SYC.

Hi everyone! My name is Lili Whittier and I play Young Vi in PlayMakers Summer Youth Conservatory production of Violet. I’ve been involved in Summer Youth Conservatory productions for the past 3 summers, and I can say without hesitation that taking part has been one of the best decisions I’ve made.

PlayMakers’ Summer Youth Conservatory allows high school students to get involved in all aspects of creating theatre, both onstage and backstage. This year, when set designer Robin Vest included the use of real trees on stage in her design, the Theatre Tech crew had a special project!