NEXT AT TRINITY REP
Conservatory training at a Tony Awardwinning regional theatre with an Ivy League degree
Brown/Trinity Rep M.F.A. Programs in Acting & Directing Brown University department of theatre Arts and Performance Studies Trinity Repertory Company Rhode Island’s world-class theatre company
APPly now and Applications for September information for2014 2015 AuDitionS auditions in New York, in new york Chicago, SanCity, Francisco Chicago, San Francisco and Providence and Providence available August, 2014
For inFormation:
Jill Jann, Program Administrator 201 Washington St., Providence, RI 02903 (401) 521-1100 x271 jjann@trinityrep.com www.browntrinity.com clockWISe fRom toP left: house & garden, he Is here he says I say, machInal, BoIng!, machInal, And marIsol. PHotoS BY mARk tURek
Join us for the Spring 2014 Brown/Trinity Rep MFA performances THE TOOTH OF CRIME
by Sam Shepard Directed by Dan Rogers ’15 May 1–17
STONE COLD DEAD SERIOUS
by Adam Rapp Directed by Flordelino Lagundino ’15 May 2–18
TICKETS $10 general admission, $5 for students (with valid ID) and seniors (62 and older). Call (401) 351-4242 or visit trinityrep.com. ALL PERFORMANCES at the Citizens Bank Theater, Pell Chafee Performance Center, 87 Empire St., Providence.
Trinity_Veronica_2014.indd 14
The Straig Director Brian Mertes discusses his relationship to playwright Sam Shepard’s work and what draws him to A Lie of the Mind.
Myah Shein: Can you talk about your history with Sam Shepard’s work? Brian Mertes: I’ve always felt very close to Shepard’s writing and I’ve had the good fortune of getting a chance to work on a number of his plays. I’ve had a great ride every single time. In fact, A Lie of the Mind was my first or second paid gig. Then Buried Child, Curse of the Starving Class, the big family plays. I like his family plays. I think they are extraordinary. Shepard is an extraordinary American. He sounds American, his writing sounds American, his characters are American; they are wild, untamed pioneers. Sam Shepard is one of the pioneers of the American psyche. I like going on his wagon train and seeing the sights. Myah: What excites you about A Lie of the Mind? Brian: It’s a great story. It starts with this horrific event that changes the course of the whole family’s experience. The way Shepard attacks a story through characters, and exploding the inside of the characters, gives you the experience of their world. It’s two families that collide against each other and you see how they got to where they are and what can be salvaged from that collision. Bottom line for me, I find the play dangerous, violent in some ways, especially in the beginning. It’s also uniquely American because it’s naive and optimistic — full of aspiration and hope. Also, this intense kind of mourning for our spirit. I love the countryside that it is placed in, Montana. Myah: How are you approaching the production this time around? Brian: I like probing this play with the question, “What’s the density of the straight dope?” I like the term “straight dope,” because it’s funny. Basically what is the truth? I’m not a big believer in truth. I don’t know what truth means, but I can almost understand it when I connect a feeling to it. It’s trust and faith. I think the play is funny, like really funny — darkly funny — but it’s
3/17/14 1:23 PM