Denver Theatre Ensemble ‘Circling’ a waggish peek under the deepfake hood

We are, no doubt, at the bleeding edge of a slew of scripts about artificial intelligence and the peculiar and sometimes scary ways it will influence people and society. In Circling, playwright Jenny Lyn Bader scratches the surface of what’s to come — and what’s already here.

It’s a funny, breezy script that explores the world of the deepfake in a solid, creative production by the Denver Theatre Ensemble. The newish company is led by two 2019 DU theatre program grads — Artistic Director Rhianna DeVries and Producing Director Tess Neel — both of whom have solid credits in Colorado theatre and started DTE with the idea of doing things differently.

I’m not sure that’s apparent in Circling, a relatively straightforward comedy that features two actors playing multiple roles in DU’s White Box Theatre (just like a black box theatre, but with white walls). At the story’s core is the confusion sown by AI bullshit, such as in the opening scene where a down-on-his-heels actor (Ethan Pierce) thinks he’s showing up for an audition and is delighted by the promise of a very large paycheck for a few hours’ work.

We learn later that he’s actually been singled out for his friendly, everyman voice, which will be used for nefarious purposes without his knowledge. The “circling” is, in part, a nod to the fact that deepfakes and the like can perpetuate themselves in the wild forever.

On the other side of the presumed casting desk is Kate Hebert, who plays this and other parts. Swapping glasses, she glides into the next scene with another pair and becomes a homeowner freaked out by the appearance of a whole lotta mold. Pierce arrives in the role of a sympathetic remediation specialist.

I very much enjoyed the performances by these two young actors, neither of whom I’d seen onstage before. In addition to effortless character switches, DeVries also has them moving set pieces in an artful way — like tai chi with furniture. A choice that could’ve come across as cheesy works well as part of the baffling landscape in where nothing is quite what it seems.

DeVries does a nice job with the movement of this piece, with the white walls and mostly-white costumes adding an additional layer of AI tabula rasa intrigue. Along with those artsy scene swaps, the director works with the small playing area and minimal set pieces to establish distinct action areas, with smooth blocking between them.

Circling operates less as a fully arced story and more like a series of inter-related sketches. There’s a fair number of laugh lines, delivered with zingy bewilderment by the actors and received enthusiastically by the opening-night crowd of friends and family.

As the male characters, Pierce garners a lot of laughs from his takes and reactions to the bewildering information being thrown his way. Hebert humorously navigates her characters with an innocent toughness as the mold victim who won’t play the damsel in distress and a flirty hand model. She’s just as convincing as the conniving AI voice scout/admin unconcerned about artistic integrity. So far as she and her bosses are concerned, a fat paycheck is reason enough to pull the wool over a poor actor’s eyes.

In ‘Circling,’ the actors double as stagehands.

Circling back

Bader’s script is constructed so that all of the questions bubbling up along the way get answered in revealing ways. The seemingly forgotten first scene circles back around following another where mold lady gets a video call from her favorite senator. This in turn connects to another scene where a first date is in peril following a reveal about the pair’s political leanings.

In a neat bit of contemporary stagecraft, the sole white table is flipped on its end as used as a screen for the projection of the video call. It’s the kind of tech bit that can easily go awry, but it worked perfectly on opening night.

As commentary on the perils of AI, Circling nibbles at the fringes of what will certainly be a rich comic vein. As a sign of what Denver Ensemble Theatre might have in store for its future, it looks promising. I’m keen to see these two actors and DeVries sink their teeth into a weightier comedy — they’ve got the chops.