Jayel Kirby

Prof. Zachary Curtis

THEA 1033
October 6, 2015
Critique of SLCCs Production of
Sam Shepards
A Lie of the Mind
Salt Lake Community Colleges fall performance of A Lie of the Mind, written by
Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, Sam Shepard was an intense, daring, mad romp that I quite
enjoyed watching on the evening of September 30. In most cases, the actors were fully engaged
in their characters, inviting playgoers to join them in their manic and viscerally abusive lives for
two hours and forty minutes. Moods were established and maintained appropriately through
sufficient lighting and background music. Its an experience that shouldnt be missed.
A Lie of the Mind is a story of two dysfunctional families plagued with mental health
issues. This comes as no surprise from playwright Sam Shepard, whose father was an Air Force
bomber during World War II and an alcoholic (About Sam, 2015). Sam is reported to have said
that families falling apart is one of the great tragedies of our contemporary life in America
Almost everyone has that in common (Sam Shepard Biography, 2015). While the play may not
supply pleasant, upbeat entertainment, it challenges the mind, entices the search for common
ground, stirs emotion, and consequently touches the heart.
I found the productions portrayal of sight intriguing. The characters whom I first thought
were the most out of their minds seemed to be the individuals who ended up seeing the most
truth: especially Beth, who spouted shockingly insightful wisdom concerning the state of her
family members despite extensive brain damage. Even Meg, an introverted, emotionally abused
wife, eventually braved divulging the ugly truth of her partners neglectful behaviors. Secondly: I

liked how characters from a home in California would occasionally see characters (or events,
such as a fire) that were physically present on a ranch in Montana. Although actually being able
to view such things three states away is obviously impossible, it was sufficiently portrayed that
such sight was ethereal, or extrasensory. I appreciated the contemplation about what we
perceive in ourselves and others that the production inspired.
As I previously mentioned, the actors were fully engaged in their character roles in most
cases. To determine their ability to become their characters, I watched the actors body
movements closely. It was intriguing; a character would get closer to another character when
they were angry and intense: Lorraine to Sally when she suspected Sally of killing her father,
Jake to Frankie when he suspected Frankie of knowing too much about Beth never wearing
underwear, Mike in his fits of rage. I also noticed that Sean Sweeney would push his hand
through his hair to signal that he was losing it again. Andrew Martin would make a fist and rub
it when he was incensed by his fathers treatment, but still maintaining a degree of control.
William Davies moved like he truly was stiff and sore. In most cases, body movement was true
to character.
Unfortunately, not all movement was so successfully depicted. Alex Leon didnt convince
me that he was sufficiently weak from his infected gunshot wound. He merely appeared to be
sleepy. Baylor treated Frankie like a lazy teenager, and thats what he looked like. In order to
create the proper amount of audience indignation with Baylors behavior, Alex needed to look
more fatigued and heavy. Chaska Johnson also struggled with illustrating believable interactions
with the way she kissed Sean on the head. What should have been a mothers expression of
endearment towards her son resembled a chicken pecking at scratch in a farmyard. And it was
distracting to watch her spoon soup into an uncooperative mouth. She repeatedly refilled the

spoon with soup when Jake obviously wasnt emptying the spoon in between. Additionally, I
found Meagan Lamberts performance a tad lacking when she looked out the window and saw a
man (Frankie). She didnt focus on a figure out the window; just glanced in the direction of the
window itself. Although these errors tended to remove the veil of believability for a brief
moment, I was quickly reabsorbed into the story by the actors general ability to portray their
characters successfully.
The manner in which the actors touched each other helped immensely. They seemed
familiar with one another and comfortable in their interactions. When Ashley Bostrom adjusted
Seans jacket collar, I saw the bond of a sister and brother. When Meagan Lambert reached out
for Alex, I saw a woman who believed she was in love. When Sally Matthews rubbed William
Davies feet, I felt sympathy for a wife who was coerced into applying mink oil on her husbands
stinky, cracked toes. Relationships were well established. As were the physically violent
interactions, such as when Sean grabbed and held Ashleys wrist and Sally struggled to get
free, or when Andrew bullied Jake at gun point, or when he (Andrew) jerked Beth off the
couch and shoved her out the door to confront Jake. It didnt matter whether it was a caress or a
jab; each physical interaction was (nearly) always delivered with finesse.
The final element Id like to mention is the adequate technical aspect. While lighting was
somewhat insufficient when actors were downstage, creating facial shadows that didnt seem
appropriate for the specific moment, in general, the lighting was suitable for the desired
ambience. The soft, gentle music that played before, after, and between scenes also assisted in
providing a fitting mood. I was pleasantly surprised by the fire effects: flashes of white on red,
and the crackling of the flames. With the limited resources available in a black box theatre, the
technical attributes were optimally managed.

As A Lie of the Mind will continue to run at Salt Lake Community Colleges South
Campus nightly through October 3, students, family, and community members will want to
arrange for an opportunity to enjoy the show. Under the direction of Josh Richardson, portrayed
by a captivating cast, and accented by adequate technical aspects, Sam Shepards play promises
to impress the intelligent mind - and thats no lie.

Works Cited
About Sam. (n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2015, from www.sam-shepard.com
Sam Shepard Biography. (2015). Retrieved October 1, 2015, from www.imdb.com