Bellaire actor will appear in ‘True West’ Sept. 9-30
“True West” marks Bellaire actor Drake Simpson’s first time to appear in a play by dramatist Sam Shepard, while Kevin Rigdon, who designed the lighting and set for the Sept. 9-30 production at 4th Wall Theatre, has worked on many Shepard shows.
They include the 1982 revival of “True West” that starred Gary Sinise and John Malkovich and qualified the sibling-rivalry play as a finalist for the 1983 Pulitzer Prize in drama.
“Was it hard to read the play (again) and not see Gary and John?” said Rigdon.
“Sure, but more importantly, I saw the space we are going to work in.
“I saw Drake in that space bringing what he has to offer to (the role of ) Lee.”
The strapping Simpson inspired Rigdon to dig down and design a new take on the set, which is a kitchen and adjoining alcove of the brothers’ mother’s home in a Southern California suburb.
“One aspect of the (1982) production I was never satisfied with was what we saw of the world outside the house,” said Rigdon.
“This time around I think that I have a better understanding of what the world outside the house means to the characters and the play.
“We will see if I am right.”
In the play, Lee’s meek brother, Austin, played by Nick Farco, has been working on a screenplay while housesitting his mother’s home, when Lee shows up uninvited.
“Things get crazy,” said Simpson.
Director Kim TobinLehl employed a fight choreographer for blocking some scenes with Simpson and Farco.
“It’s going to wear me out,” said Simpson, 43. “In a great way, but it’s going to be tiring. I’ve been doing really high cardio training for 30 minutes every other day.”
Simpson also returns to teaching theater this month at Alvin High School, where he’s starting his seventh year.
Farco, 36, is beginning his first year as a theater director and teacher at Polly Ryon Middle School in Richmond.
Like Simpson and Philip Lehl, who appears briefly as a Hollywood agent/ producer, Farco read Shepard plays as a student and performed scenes in theater classes, but has longed to perform in a full production.
“It’s a dream for every actor to work on Sam Shepard, especially a male actor, because his men are so visceral and psychologically complex,” said Farco, who lives in Brookshire.
The first Shepard play he read, said Farco, was “Buried Child,” which won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
“Buried Child” will be presented Sept. 9-Oct. 1 by another group, The Catastrophic Theatre, at the Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston, 3400 Main St.
4th Wall Theatre Co., which performs at Spring Street Studios in the Heights area, was formerly called Stark Naked Theatre Co., said co-artistic directors Lehl and his wife, Tobin-Lehl.
The couple said they held “a deep attachment” to the name “Stark Naked” but feared that a literal interpretation of the phrase “has created a reluctance among potential new audience members as well as potential family foundations and corporate donors.”
Tobin-Lehl added, “Webster’s defines 4th wall as: ‘an imaginary wall that keeps performers from recognizing or directly addressing their audience.’ Because we regularly break the 4th wall, we feel the term is an excellent new name for this theater that we love.
“Although ‘4th Wall’ will be an unfamiliar term to some people, explaining it is much more appealing to us than telling people, ‘Yes, the actors will be wearing clothes!’ ”