An Unsettling Descent Into the Hollywood Dream: A Review of The Circle

A struggling actor gets an unexpected email that could be the big break he has been waiting for. From that simple idea, writer Derek Brooks turns The Circle into something that grows stranger and more unsettling with every moment. Produced by Rogue Machine Theatre, it is one of my favorite shows at Fringe, thanks in large part to Krosby João Roza’s fearless and mesmerizing performance

The Circle
The Henry Murray Stage
7657 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046
Written by Derek Brooks
Directed by Max Pitegoff
Produced by Rogue Machine Theatre and David Roman
Performed by Krosby João Roza
Tickets and information: Available here​

Three chairs sit in the middle of the small stage. A suit jacket hangs on a rack in the corner. The room is quiet, close, and intimate. Then our actor steps into view, and Greg begins telling us his story, one that many in Los Angeles can relate to. He is a young actor who has not booked in years, still trying to believe his moment is coming, even as the city keeps teaching him the hard lesson that talent is only part of the equation. Sometimes it is timing. Sometimes it is luck. Sometimes it is being in the right room when someone finally decides to see you.

The Circle stands out as one of my favorite productions at Fringe thus far, and it is unquestionably among my top choices for Pick of Fringe.

Before attending, my knowledge was limited to the fact that the show had previously run at New Theater Hollywood and represented Rogue Machine Theatre’s entry in this year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival. I did not anticipate encountering such a powerful, unnerving, and profoundly affecting esoteric experience.

Written by Derek Brooks, directed by Max Pitegoff, produced by David Roman, and performed by Krosby João Roza, the play begins when Greg receives an email from a mysterious producer named Pat around midnight. Pat and her team have formed a new production company and want to put Greg front and center. After years of being ignored, maybe this door is finally opening. Maybe this is his break. Maybe this is the moment he has been waiting for.

What follows is an intense and unpredictable hour of theatre. I truly mean that as the highest form of praise.

Brooks’ writing feels incredibly grounded and relatable at first, which is exactly why it works so well. You do not realize you are being mesmerized until the story has already swept you into something much stranger. At first, everything feels recognizable. Then the floor drops out from beneath you, and you realize the show has been leading you somewhere far stranger all along.

The play is set in 2020, and that timing matters. Greg is not only an actor waiting for work. He is isolated by the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, hungry for connection and purpose, and desperate to believe his life is still moving toward something.

As the performance progresses, the show gradually sheds its skin. What begins as a story about aspiring for success in Hollywood becomes a surreal exploration of manipulation, obsession, and the danger of confusing attention with salvation. Greg is not merely pursuing an opportunity. He is drawn into an unhealthy dynamic by someone who understands exactly how badly he wants to be chosen.

The production takes place inside The Henry Murray Stage, a 45-seat attic theatre off Melrose. That space matters. There is little distance between the performer and the audience, and at times that closeness feels almost claustrophobic. You are not watching Greg from a safe distance. You are right there alongside him for every moment.

Krosby João Roza delivers an exceptional performance, showing charm, menace, humor, vulnerability, and a commanding stage presence. Throughout the show, he makes direct eye contact with audience members, creating the impression that he is speaking to each person personally, like a confidant trying to make sense of an unfathomable situation. He does not just perform for the audience. He pulls us into Greg’s mind and makes us sit with him, no matter how uncomfortable it feels.

That is what makes the piece so effective. Greg is not simply an unreliable narrator. He is vulnerable and earnestly human. Pat enters his life at the exact point where hope and desperation are almost inseparable. As their relationship deepens, the play becomes about how easily an artist can be flattered, recruited, consumed, and left behind by the very system promising to make them whole.

I do not want to give away where the story goes. Part of the thrill is feeling it break from reality in real time. By the end, it becomes a sharp reflection on media, digital life, and how art is consumed, reproduced, and distorted.

Max Pitegoff’s direction makes excellent use of the tiny space. The production is minimal but never empty. The sound and lighting design are subtle, making the more disturbing moments even more effective. Nothing feels overdone. The room shifts slightly, and suddenly, you are not sure if you are still hearing Greg’s story or being pulled into it.

By the end, I was completely enthralled by Greg’s unraveling. Not because I believed everything he believed, but because the show made me feel how badly he needed someone to believe him. His story serves as a warning to anyone so desperate to achieve what they want that they may not recognize the trap until it has already closed.

That is the horror of The Circle. It shows how opportunity can become a trap, how validation can become control, and how easily someone desperate to be seen can become another casualty of the machine.
Go in knowing as little as possible. That is my sincere recommendation. Run, do not walk, to this production. If this is the caliber of writing Derek Brooks is bringing to the stage, I will be first in line for whatever they do next.