Craig Brauner didn’t necessarily need a sign that the independent theater company he cofounded had made the right decision to take its first live production, “Love, Loss and What I Wore,” to Bend, Sisters and Redmond in February.

That’s baked into the company’s mission.

“With our roadshow format, the goal is to essentially broaden our artistic reach to all of Central Oregon, not just here in Bend,” Brauner said.

Still, had he been looking for a sign Ellipse Theatre Community was on the right path, he may have found it by way of the Redmond widow who donated $1,000 to the nonprofit theater group to continue its roadshow initiative.

“It was a really touching story,” Brauner said. “Her husband would always drive her to Bend for performances, but when he passed, she was pretty limited as far as what she could do, so she gave us a great donation. That was really key for me, personally, that we return to Redmond.”

Brauner is referring to the play “Circle Mirror Transformation,” which ETC will not only take to Redmond but also Sisters, Prineville and other Central Oregon cities.

The play is a comedy about five strangers who sign up for an intro to acting class. Over six weeks, the class cycles through a series of theater games and emotional catharsis.

Playwright Annie Baker “has a specific style in her writing where she really plays a lot with pauses, silences,” director Brauner said.

“For an audience, you really get to observe more of what’s not being said. There’s the lines that the actors are saying, but then there’s what’s being communicated within those silences and those pauses.”

Performances will take place in Sunriver, Sisters and Prineville libraries, as well as Lovebird Yoga Studio in Redmond and Scalehouse Gallery in Bend.

The show is an easy one to tour, Brauner said with a small cast and a simple set consisting mostly of props.

“It involves a yoga ball, a Hula Hoop and five of the actors,” Brauner said. “The way the show’s going to be staged, it’s a very intimate show, and more of a smaller scale, so the audience is actually going to be right in on the action. I staged it in a way that the audience is circling the action of the play.”

What: ETC presents “Circle Mirror Transformation”

Details:

7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Scalehouse Gallery, 550 NW Franklin Ave., Suite 138, Bend

2 and 7 p.m. Sept. 10 at Sunriver Public Library, 56855 Venture Lane, Sunriver

2 p.m. Sept. 11 at Crook County Public Library, 175 NW Meadow Lakes Drive, Prineville

7 p.m. Sept. 17 at Love Bird Yoga, 418 SW Sixth St., Redmond

2 p.m. Sept. 18 at Sisters Public Library, 110 N. Cedar St., Sisters