Directing "True West": changing the chemistry

Abstract

It was my objective to create a production of Sam Shepard's True West that was raw, gritty and dangerous: a production that spoke to the mythic elements inherent in the play, and yet one that would also be able to transcend the "violence," the "brutality," and speak to its universal truths, the truths that lie within the myths. The mythic elements, which are discussed more elaborately in Chapter II, are not myths in the purest sense of the word. They are not legendary stories, passed down through generations of peoples, created to explain an event or phenomenon. Rather, these mythic elements are based on romantic notions that have evolved into collective cultural and social fantasies. The truths may include the innate human desire to experience love and fulfillment, the journey on which man must travel in the search for personal and interpersonal human and spiritual connections, the unseen ties that bind family, and the double nature we all possess. It was my hope that these truths, in turn, would move our audience.