Middlebury Acting Company presents ‘Small Mouth Sounds’

In a production premiering on Thursday, May 4, six strangers confront internal demons both profound and absurd during a silent meditation retreat in the woods.

Bess Wohl’s play, “Small Mouth Sounds,” was inspired by her stay at a silent meditation retreat at the Omega Institute in upstate New York.

“Like that retreat, much of the action of the play happens without words. Because of that, I have provided extensive character descriptions to help the actors and director navigate the play and provide texture and depth to what they do,” Wohl said.

“What playwright Bess Wohl manages to create is a gentle satire of the self-help industry, a very funny exploration of the absurdities we all unwittingly create and a deeply touching look at our human need to connect,” director Melissa Lourie said. “The audience has a wonderful puzzle to solve, a test of our emotional intelligence as we begin to understand each character’s complicated story and the reasons for why they do what they do.

“Small Mouth Sounds” runs Thursday, May 4 through Sunday, May 7, at Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater. Tickets available at the box office, at 802-382-9222 or townhalltheater.org.