From Oct. 23-25, those who set foot in the Large Studio of Seaver Theatre at Pomona College may have encountered an odd sight: a kitchen, typical of a 1980s suburban Southern California home — a wooden table and chairs, large house plants delicately arranged on the floor, and a large, white landline telephone.
Over the course of the weekend, the kitchen became the battleground where the relationship between two brothers slowly falls apart.
Directed by Ella Menton SC ’27 and put on by 5C student theater company The Green Room, “True West” brought Sam Shepard’s family drama to Claremont with a cast of only three student actors.
The play centers around two estranged brothers: Austin, an Ivy League educated screenwriter, and Lee, a transient thief who had recently spent several months in the desert. They reunite at their mother’s house in Southern California, where Austin has been tasked with housesitting while their mother is on vacation. As the brothers’ personalities clash, tensions rise and they are forced to question what it really means to be family.
By the second act, the brothers have traded places, and the kitchen shows it. In one scene, several toasters line the countertop. Austin proudly cradles one after spending the night stealing them from his neighbors in an attempt to prove that he can also be a thief. Across the room, Lee, now stuck trying to write a screenplay, is destroying a typewriter with a golf club.
“True West” takes place in the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley not far from Claremont, meaning that the 5C community at large could find familiarity in the many setting-based references and jokes throughout the show.
With only three actors, two of whom are onstage nearly the entire show, the pressure can feel high — but so can the camaraderie. Stella Adler SC ’27, who played Austin, particularly appreciated the three-person cast.
“It was a challenge in a good way for all of us, because the whole thing is kind of riding on three people,” Adler said. “There was very much a spirit of support and collaboration between the three of us.”
While Austin and Lee tore apart their mother’s kitchen, three actors grew close running lines, and a director took a hard look at the home she’s preparing to leave. Amid the toasters and typewriters, the show asked what it means to belong somewhere, and to someone.
The actors would meet up outside of rehearsal to help each other memorize lines, an experience that both made the month-long production process feasible and brought them closer together.
Reese Williams PO ’30, who played Lee, thought the short timeline for production was a challenge.
“It was intense,” Williams said. “We had a very short time to rehearse everything, but it was really fun to do it with everyone.”
Williams and Adler brought to life an intense and moving depiction of a complicated family relationship, with Ruby Patterson SC ’29 providing essential support in the dual role of Hollywood producer Saul and the brothers’ mom.
Menton said that, despite the rushed schedule, the actors settled into their characters nicely throughout the process.
“The most fun moments [of the production process] were when the actors started to get super familiar with their characters, and it started to really flow, which is very satisfying to see,” she said.
The gravity of the script provided an exciting change of pace for Adler, who most recently performed in the Pomona Theatre Department’s staging of “Pride and Prejudice” as the comedic Mr. Collins.
“In my day to day life, I’m a fairly goofy person,” they said. “I’ve had to do more introspection about the character [in ‘True West’] … You get who [Austin] is through the script, but I had to do more thinking about who I thought he was and how I was going to play him.”
Of course, it takes more than just actors to make a show. There were many people who contributed to the production, from set and costume designers to a fight choreographer for the production’s few — but significant — moments of physical combat.
“The fight choreography scenes were the most fun to block, because that’s when it felt like the whole show was really coming together,” Williams said. “That was one of the last pieces we put into the equation, and it made the show feel really complete.
Menton also found herself taking on a plethora of eclectic responsibilities, some of which are not typically associated with directors.
“I was doing a lot of really strange tasks for the show that I sort of hadn’t anticipated,” she said. “I was going out and buying old typewriters on Facebook Marketplace, and figuring out the return policy for toasters.”
When asked what drew her to this play, Menton described her initial interest in directing a Shepard play. When she discovered “True West,” it felt “sort of eerily relevant,” particularly due to its Southern California setting, as she is from Los Angeles herself.
“I was really looking to explore what it means to be here, because I don’t know where I’m going after I graduate yet, but I’m assuming it won’t be in Southern California,” she said.
“True West” was as much about the people making it as the brothers onstage. While Austin and Lee tore apart their mother’s kitchen, three actors grew close running lines, and a director took a hard look at the home she’s preparing to leave. Amid the toasters and typewriters, the show asked what it means to belong somewhere, and to someone.
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