Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Programs Present Two in Rep True West and One Flea Spare

Providence: The Brown University/Trinity Repertory Company MFA Programs in Acting and Directing presents Two in Rep: two fall productions playing in rotating repertory featuring the programs’ students. True West by Sam Shepard, directed by MFA in Directing candidate Tara Moses, runs November 2 – 11. One Flea Spare by Naomi Wallace, directed by MFA in Directing candidate Sharifa Yasmin, runs November 3 – 12. Both shows run in a rotating repertory at the Pell Chafee Performance Center on 87 Empire St, Providence. Tickets are available in person at Trinity Rep’s Ticket Office on 201 Washington Street, by phone at (401) 351-4242, and online at www.trinityrep.com/west  and www.trinityrep.com/flea. 

“This year's rep productions at Brown/Trinity Rep will take our audiences on a thrilling ride — two plays in conversation with one another about, among other things, power, identity, and survival,” Angela Brazil, director of the Brown/Trinity Rep Programs in Acting and Directing, said. “True West and One Flea Spare intersect on the same physical set - two wildly different stories told (literally) under the same roof. These rep productions are the first publicly ticketed performances that our MFA students undertake during their training (in-studio and educational touring productions precede them). I'm so excited to introduce these wonderful actors and directors to our audience here in Rhode Island!”

True West
This new take on a Pulitzer Prize finalist decolonizes the myth of the American West. Austin, an Afro-Indigenous screenwriter, chases the white American dream. But when his drifter brother Lee tornadoes back into his life, Austin’s potential movie deal grows much more complicated. The brothers’ conflict evolves as they gradually reverse roles, trading one another’s lives. Brown/Trinity Rep’s True West is a scathing look at the relationship between white supremacy, masculinity, and so-called “Manifest Destiny,” told through the lens of sibling rivalry.

Directed by Tara Moses, True West features acting students Nicholas Byers, Layan Elwazani, JāQuan Malik Jones, and Rosalyn Taverez. Performance dates for this production are November 2, 4, 9, and 11 at 7:30 pm and November 5 and 11 at 2:00 pm.

One Flea Spare
In the midst of a deadly plague, a wealthy couple is preparing to flee their home when a mysterious sailor and a young girl sneak into their boarded-up house. Now quarantined together for 28 days, the only thing these strangers fear more than the plague is each other. Definitions of morality are up for grabs for the four new roommates, all of whom will do anything in the name of power and survival. A dark, fiercely intense, and bleakly humorous play, One Flea Spare chronicles vengeance between social classes, and how those “beneath” bleed to come out on top.

One Flea Spare features acting students Tay Bass, David Bertoldi, Allison Jones, Katsuto Sakogashira, and Austyn Williamson, and is directed by Sharifa Yasmin. Performance dates for this production are November 3, 5, 10, and 12 at 7:30 pm and November 4 and 12 at 2:00 pm.

Brown/Trinity Rep
The Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Programs provide a three-year professional training program under the auspices of an Ivy League university and Rhode Island’s Tony Award-winning theater company. Brown University’s Department of Theater and Performance Studies is internationally recognized for the quality of its faculty and instruction. Trinity Rep, with its deep tradition of resident artists, provides powerful artistic assets and creates a firm foundation for a new generation of theater artists.

About Trinity Repertory Company
Rhode Island’s Tony Award-winning theater, Trinity Rep has created unparalleled professional theater for and with its community since its founding in 1963. Trinity Rep strives to facilitate human connection and has been a driving force behind the creativity that fuels and defines the region for more than 50 years.

Trinity Rep is committed to reinventing the public square and inspiring dialogue by creating emotionally stimulating live productions that range from classical to contemporary and innovative education programs for all ages and abilities. Its annual production of A Christmas Carol has brought families together for more than four decades and made memories for nearly two million audience members.

Trinity Rep’s 60th Anniversary Season runs through June 2024, and includes productions of The Good John Proctor, Becky Nurse of Salem, A Christmas Carol, La Broa’ (Broad Street), August Wilson’s Fences, and La Cage aux Folles. For more information, visit Trinity Rep's website at www.trinityrep.com.