Second Stage Reading Series
True West
By Sam Shepard
Directed by Phil Johnson
Featuring David McBean, Jason Maddy, Richard Trujillo, Sue Boland & Dianne Yvette
Austin is an intelligent, ivy-league screenwriter – his unpredictable brother Lee is a con artist and petty thief. Austin is battling writer’s block when these two estranged brothers meet in their mother’s desert home. The pressure rises as the brothers slowly draw closer, as if being sucked into an inevitable black hole. The past is recalled, old grudges recounted, and typewriters are smashed right on stage. A wild, funny, and brooding classic story of conflict,
True West has been called Sam Shephard’s “masterwork” and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1983.
Monday, July 10, 2023 7:30 p.m.
Scripps Ranch Theatre
Meet the Cast
Jason Maddy
Actor (Lee)
Jason holds an MFA from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association. San Diego Theatre credits include productions at San Diego Repertory Theatre, The Old Globe Theatre, Cygnet Theatre, North Coast Repertory Theatre, Moonlight Stage Productions, San Diego Musical Theater, Lamb’s Players Theatre, and others. Regional credits include The Utah Shakespearean Festival, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, and Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival. Jason is currently the Head of the Acting program at San Diego School for the Creative and Performing Arts.
David Mc Bean
Actor (Austin)
David is a native San Diegan and a graduate of the SD School for Creative and Performing Arts. Credits include:
Fully Committed (Craig Noel Award),
La Cage aux Folles (Albin/Zaza),
Pageant
(Miss Deep South),
The Legend of Georgia McBride (Tracy),
Christmas Carol (Marley/Present/Undertaker),
Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey II) at Cygnet Theater,
The Remarkable Mr. Holmes (Artemis/Constable/Sea Captain), A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (Marcus Lycus),
Travels With My Aunt (Actor 2),
Charley's Aunt (Lord Fancourt Babberly),
School For Lies (Clitandre), at North Coast Rep.,
86-ed (Ensemble),
The Mystery of Irma Vep (Lady Enid/Nicodemus),
Twist (Fagin),
The Rocky Horror Show
(Frank 'n Furter), and
Psycho Beach Party
(Chicklet) at Diversionary Theater. He is the Vocal Arts Instructor/Music Director for the Coronado School of the Arts Musical Theatre/Drama Conservatory and music director for the Kensington Community Church.
Richard Trujillo
Actor (Saul Kimmer)
Regional highlights: Macduff in Macbeth, Roger in
She Stoops To Conquer, Zaragoza y Pau in
For Better Or Worse, Mitch in
Tuesdays With Morrie (Arizona Theatre Company); Water in
Water And Power
, Burgos, Friar and Ranger in
Manifest Destinitis (San Diego Repertory Theatre); Valentin in
Kiss Of The Spiderwoman, Spic-O-Rama, Bordertown, Dauphin in
Henry V, Jimmy in
Augusta, Tom/Phyllis/Leslie in
Sylvia (Actors Theatre); Tony in
An American Comedy, John in
The Lion In Winter, Nelson in
Our Lady Of The Tortilla (Phoenix Theatre); Dromio of Syracusa in
A Comedy Of Errors, Demetrius and Snout in
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Don John in
Much Ado About Nothing, Macduff in
Macbeth (Shakespeare Sedona);
The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Abridged (The Fulton Theatre). Local: Scrooge in A
People’s Cuban Christmas Tale (OnStage Playhouse); Richard is the Supervising Arts Specialist in the VAPA office for SDUSD
Sue Boland
Actor (Mother)
Sue was last seen on stage at SRT in 2004 as King Sextimus in Once Upon a Mattress. Sue was last on stage in 2019 as Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret (CPH)and Aunt March and Mrs. Kirk in Little Woman (Skyline Theatre, NJ). Since returning to San Diego in 1993 she has performed roles in over 85 productions in more than 18 professional theatres here in San Diego, Los Angeles, and the East Coast. Sue is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, NYC, and is a retired CPA.
Dianne Yvette
Actor (Stage Directons)
Dianne is an actor and writer hailing from Lawrence, Kansas, with a degree in Theater Performance from the University of Kansas. Before migrating West, she appeared on many stages in the Kansas City metro, with her favorite roles including "Darlynn" (Man In Love, KCRep), “Helena” (Eclipsed, Unicorn Theatre), and “Ophelia” (Hamlet, KC Actors Theatre). Since moving to San Diego in 2018, Dianne has had the pleasure of working with a range of directors and actors on projects produced by the La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Cygnet Theatre, and So Say We All. You may have seen her most recently in the 2023 Powers New Voices Festival at The Old Globe. Dianne is thrilled to be making her first appearance with The Roustabouts Theatre Co.
Meet the Creative Team
Sam Shepard
Playwright
Sam Shepard, born on November 5, 1943 in Fort Sheridan, Illinois, was an acclaimed American actor, playwright, and theatre director. Known for his dark and modern exploration of the American West, he wrote over 55 plays, receiving the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for Buried Child. Shepard's career spanned across many different mediums, and he also ventured into fiction and non-fiction writing. From his early years working on ranches in California to his success in off-off-Broadway productions, Shepard's talent and creativity shone through. His legacy as a prolific playwright and actor continued until his passing on July 27, 2017, due to ALS.
Phil Johnson
Director
Phil Johnson is the Artistic Director and proud co-founder of The Roustabouts Theatre Co. He’s directed for The Roustabouts, Scripps Ranch Theatre, Playwrights Project, and started the new Great Jewish American Playwright Series/JPlays at the JCC. He’s appeared at almost all San Diego theaters and in numerous original solo shows including
A Jewish Joke which opened Off-Broadway in NYC in 2019. As an actor, he’s played in Les Misérables on Broadway and on tour; Canadian production of Sunset Boulevard; and the 1st National Co. of Miss Saigon. He is a two-time winner of the SD Critics Circle Craig Noel Award for acting, and he is a founder of the San Diego Theatre Alliance. He last appeared in North Coast Rep's ‘The Remarkable Mr. Holmes' with Guntopia's Katie Karel.