Production Notes
When the dirigo group asked me to do a sound design for their production of True West I thought, "contemporary American classic that needs a specific
kind of coyote howl and not much else. Hmmmmm. Easy!" Well, it soon became
apparent that a few coyotes and some music wouldn't do for what this would
be. Although at the earliest production meetings the shape of the show remained
ambiguous, it was clear that everyone wanted to do a True West like no
other. Some of the ideas that floated around were unusual to say the least. To put the
actors inside a fence and have dogs roam free around the theatre and
audience. Set it in the desert with Dali-esque furniture and props suspended in the
air.
True West in hell?
For the longest time I don't think any of us knew where
this production was heading but there were elements of everything popping up
inside it. As the sound designer I kind of ran away with the hell idea from
the perspective of Lee. I built a twenty-five minute car chase and crash
for preshow and closing to frame the show then filled in with as much roadhouse
rockabilly/high octane drag racing music and steamy ambient drones as I could get away with.
This show was an intense hour and a half of bare-knuckle brawling. True
West is (so far) my favorite dirigo group production. They took a play that is
so often performed and done in such a specific fashion (partly because in the
notes of the script, the playwright demands a realist approach) and exploded
it into a multifaceted experience of text, subtext, imagery, abstraction, and
suggestion all sharing equal exposure in the space. Definitely a True West
like no other.
— Robert S. Fisher
