As far as brotherly love goes, Austen and Lee aren’t exactly the Bobbsey twins.

The two brothers from Southern California-one a wealthy screenwriter with an Ivy League diploma and white loafers, and the other an aggressive roamer with a stained white T-shirt-are polar opposites and make the phrase ‘sibling rivalry’ sound weak.

These brothers and their destructive actions form the central storyline of Syracuse Stage’s ‘True West,’ a play written by Sam Shepard and performed by four students from the Syracuse University drama department.

‘I picked the play because Sam Shepard is one of the greatest contemporary playwrights,’ said Kevin Diamond, director of the show. ‘It’s a play that I love reading and I’ve never seen, and I wanted other people to see it.’

The fruits of his labors, which began last spring when the cast was first selected, have already sparked a string of sold-out performances and compliments from students.

‘The set’s great, the lighting’s great, and the acting’s great,’ said Emily Delgiudice, a junior acting major, during the intermission of Saturday night’s showing. ‘The relationships are interesting and I feel as though something big is going to happen during the second act.’

But the setting, a tiny element of the play, pales in comparison to its charged plot. Its wheels are set in motion when Austen’s estranged brother, Lee, visits him while house-sitting for his mother, who is on vacation in Alaska.

At first Austen is only slightly aggravated by the renegade brother who likes to take off with his car keys and other peoples’ television sets. When Lee threatens to steal Austen’s film contract and his agent, the plot gets a bit more complicated, aggressive and rowdy.

‘The play is extremely destructive,’ Diamond said. ‘The set designers have a lot to worry about, especially that no one gets hurt.’

Backstage, most of the stage designers, or ‘production assistants,’ were freshmen seeking experience by facilitating scene changes and actor cuing.

‘Actually, we make a mess of this place,’ said Nicholas Pescosolido, a freshman acting major and production assistant. ‘When we come in we bring in the beer bottles and scatter the plants (for the destructive scenes).’

John Anderson, the senior action major who played Lee, said it was difficult to control the character’s flashing mood-swings, and that it is easier to act angry when playing more rational characters.

‘I kept thinking (Lee) was going to throw (his) golf club,’ said Jean Souer, a sophomore accounting and finance major. ‘The second act was intense.’

Both cast and crew invested their energies in five-hour rehearsals Tuesday through Friday and in all-day rehearsals on Saturday.

‘It gets long-really long-especially when you get back and have to work,’ Pescosolido said. ‘Just having a social life is difficult.’

Freshman acting major Melissa Pujols, who was involved in painting the set, is especially anxious to see the cast and crew’s blood, sweat and tears amount to something.

‘I’ve never helped with a show before,’ she said. ‘I’m excited to see how it all comes together.’

Published on September 26, 2004 at 12:00 pm