Sylvie Belmond 
Images Credit: Joel Castro - Lauren Josephs as Marianne and Connor Tyler Gray as Roland in Cookie Cutter Theatre’s production of Constellations, now playing at The Open Book in Simi Valley.
What happens when theater moves into a bookstore? Simi Valley’s about to find out
(CLAIR | Simi Valley, CA) — Simi Valley’s busy arts scene is expanding again, this time with the arrival of Cookie Cutter Theatre and its debut production of Constellations at The Open Book. The new company introduces itself with a cozy, lamplight setting that pulls audiences directly into the play’s shifting, relationship-focused story — the kind of close-up theater where viewers say they found themselves leaning forward without realizing it.
Constellations, written by Nick Payne, follows Marianne, a quantum physicist, and Roland, a beekeeper, through all the different ways their relationship could unfold. It’s not science fiction — just simple “what if” moments. A different tone. A different answer. A different choice. And suddenly, everything changes.
The play takes place after business hours at The Open Book, a used bookstore on Cochran Street.
The performance is staged in the round, with audience seating on both sides. The set is decorated with soft lamplight and pages from books — details that reflect the fragmented, layered structure of the story itself.
Guests are invited to browse the bookstore for 30 minutes before the show begins, adding to the warm, after-dark atmosphere.
The production stars Lauren Josephs as Marianne and Connor Tyler Gray as Roland, directed by Meghan Ripchik. The run time is 90 minutes.
Cookie Cutter Theatre was founded in August by Ripchik, Josephs, and Gray — three artists who met during a 2024 production of Bat Boy: The Musical. The group is based in Los Angeles and works across the greater LA area, with a mission to break the mold of traditional theater by choosing unconventional spaces and building a full experience around each story.
“We chose the bookstore because of the way the show jumps universes,” Ripchik explains. “The audience receives these little snippets of their story in different timelines, played out with different circumstances. The book pages we’ve used to decorate our set are representative of these little snippets of their life story, just like how the play is structured, and the book and pages theme is present in our sound design as well.”
Ripchik says the idea of multiverses has always fascinated her — especially the thought that small decisions can completely reshape a life.
That concept feels deeply personal, she explains, when it comes to love and relationships. “I can’t imagine not being with my partner,” she says. “This play takes all the possibilities — every version of how things could go — and puts them on display. It shows just how rare and special true love really is.”
What draws her to Constellations, she adds, is how simply and truthfully it handles such a big idea. “It makes me think about all the different versions of me out there, in other timelines,” Ripchik says. “And how lucky I am to be living in this one.”
Cookie Cutter joins a growing Simi Valley theater scene that includes the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center, the Actors’ Repertory Theatre of Simi and Born to Perform Studio at the Simi Valley Town Center. What sets them apart is their focus on site-specific, immersive storytelling — productions built around space, mood and emotional immediacy.
Constellations runs through November 23 at The Open Book, 2880-A Cochran Street. Shows are Thursday through Sunday at 7:30 p.m., with an extra Saturday performance at 8:30 p.m.
Tickets are $15. Audience members are welcome to buy tickets at the door, but online reservations are recommended to guarantee a seat. Free parking is available in the shopping center.
More information is available at cookiecuttertheatre.com.
