True Sides of a Coin: Sam Shepard’s True West Comes to Cadence This Fall

By Liv Wilson

True West has earned acclaim for its raw exploration of a tumultuous sibling dynamic and now it’s coming to Cadence with a unique twist! After a false start in 2020, the True West team is back together again to bring this classic play to life.

Shepard’s True West explores the clash between convention and wildness, as two brothers, Austin, the accomplished writer, and Lee, the petty thief, butt heads over a film script. Directed by Rusty Wilson, actors Landon Nagel and Stevie Rice will alternate the roles of Austin and Lee, walking a mile in each other's shoes every other night.

When asked how they might approach this monumental challenge, Landon and Stevie spoke of dichotomies. Landon begins his character work from the outside, to determine the physicality of each of the brothers and transform their desperate needs into responses in the body. Stevie spoke to the different versions of each brother. Landon’s version of Lee may be more like a bear whereas Stevie’s version may be more like a snake. These varied ‘takes’ on each character add greatly to the texture of the piece, asking actors to fully understand the expansive nature of both brothers and allowing audiences slightly different experiences of the same play.

As the director, Rusty strives to create an environment where the actors can blossom, staging the play so it doesn't get in the way of their intuition. Rusty has a long relationship with Shepard’s work that goes back some 43 years when he performed in his play, Suicide in B Flat at the 28th St Playhouse in NYC.

Rusty notes that Shepard’s impetus for writing True West was his own existence on the razor's edge between Austin and Lee. Shepard wanted to write a story that addressed the duality in men specifically, portraying the male dynamic onstage. In this production, Rusty strives to craft an honest story that showcases the grit of Shepard’s writing and the talent of these brilliant actors.

Landon also brings a familiarity of True West to the process having discovered Shepard’s work in college. However, it wasn’t until the sixth read Landon that he saw himself and his brother in the play. Landon notes, “Sometimes plays are so close to us that we don’t see it.” Through Shepard’s provocative writing, Landon anticipates audiences will recognize some parts of themselves or their families in the volume, language, and atmosphere of the subversive home life portrayed onstage.

Coming from an environment in which feelings were frequently dismissed, Landon found freedom of expression in theatre where emotionality and authentic feeling is encouraged. Similarly, Stevie also felt drawn to the theatre as a place for the heart to be pure, to actively feel and experience emotion openly. He describes himself as an old house with carpet that is slowly being pulled back to uncover original hardwood floors underneath. To Stevie, True West is about family people–real American folk– and the relationships that exist between brothers. Having only a sister, Stevie has spent much time exploring what that brotherly bond looks like with Landon, identifying Austin and Lee as two opposing forces running into each other in an atmosphere that makes them face things they really want to avoid.

Rusty also recognizes the similarities in growing up in a less than ideal household and what the exposure of those dynamics look like to others. Rusty recalls his first experience with Eugene O’Neill’s play Long Day's Journey into Night about a dysfunctional family unit. His initial response being: someone knows about us! Rusty states, “We tell the stories we need to learn from”-- and I might add: the stories we need to heal from. This play allows its actors and audiences to peel back the layers of their own familial dynamics and upbringings in curious and connected ways.

Don’t miss Cadence’s production of Sam Shepard’s True West at Firehouse Theatre September 20–Oct 5, 2024. Directed by Rusty Wilson, starring Landon Nagel and Stevie Rice alternating the roles of Austin and Lee in this gritty classic. Read more about these extraordinary artists below, and use the code TWINS10 before September 8th to receive $10 off each ticket. You will want to see it twice!

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Rusty Wilson is a freelance theatre artist based in Richmond, VA. Since moving to Richmond in 2005 he has directed a number of critically acclaimed productions including Cadence’s John, (RTCC Best Director, 2017), Sight Unseen, and In The Next Room (or The Vibrator Play). Other Richmond directing credits include Firehouse Theatre’s Death of a Salesman, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? (RTCC Best Director, 2011), Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice (RTCC Best Director, 2009), and Noah Haidle’s Mr. Marmalade. Rusty also directed Virginia Rep’s To Kill A Mockingbird, Richmond Triangle Players’ Cloud 9, and most recently, Onomatopoeia Productions’ workshop production of Hughie by Eugene O’Neill. Prior to moving to Richmond, Rusty spent ten years serving as the Founding Artistic Director for Company of Fools, an award winning theatre company located in Sun Valley, Idaho. Favorite directing credits there include Uncle Vanya, James Joyce’s The Dead, Waiting for Godot, How I Learned to Drive, The Tempest, Death and the Maiden, Buried Child, and Other Desert Cities. The company received the Idaho Governor’s Award in 2004, and continues to be one of Idaho’s leading arts institutions. Rusty has been a guest director and teacher at various colleges and universities around the country, received a fellowship in directing in 2003, and was featured in the March 2002 issue of American Theatre Magazine. From 2005 – 2022, Rusty served as the Arts Department Chair and Ampersand Director for St. Christopher’s School. He currently serves as an Associate Artist and Adult Acting Teacher for Cadence.

Landon Nagel has been performing in the Richmond and DC areas for over 25 years. Most recently he played the title role in Doctor Faustus (Richmond Shakespeare), and Kingston/Actor 4 in the world premiere of Roman a Clef (Firehouse Theatre). Other Richmond credits include Torvald in A Doll's House (TheatreLab), Hypnotist in An Oak Tree and Eben in Desire Under the Elms (Firehouse Theatre), Charlie in Da, Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, Bait Boy in Airline Highway, and Thomas Jefferson in 1776, all with Virginia Repertory Theatre (VA Rep), Ophelia/Juliet in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged (Richmond Shakespeare), Jake in Detroit, Jake in Lie of the Mind and Sam in The Flick (Cadence), Vernon in They're Playing our Song, RTCC Best Actor in Musical nomination (VA Rep), James in Children of a Lesser God, RTCC Best Actor nomination (VA Rep). Landon holds a B.F.A. in Acting and an M.F.A in Theatre Pedagogy with a concentration in Acting and Directing from VCU School of Arts. He is a professor of acting, theatre, and communication at Brightpoint Community College and the VCU School of Business. Landon would like to dedicate this performance to his older brother, Brad.

Stevie Rice is elated to return to Richmond and perform with Cadence on the Carol Piersol stage at the Firehouse. Being a part of True West with an inspiring director, cast, and creative team is a reminder of how special this community is! Some of his other credits include many townsfolk in Laramie Project (RTCC Winner Best Ensemble), Cliff Bradshaw in Cabaret, Kanaka in Psycho Beach Party, Felix in The Normal Heart, Oliver in The Pride all with Richmond Triangle Players, Casimir in Red Velvet with Quill (RTCC Nomination Best Supporting Performer), and Chandler Hubbard’s original work Animal Control as Dan here at the Firehouse. When not focused on typewriters and toasters, Stevie is working on a mental health Doctorate in Nursing Practice, working with the dedicated team on 3 South, and enjoying his new home in Charleston, SC with husband George.