Kyle Buffum took center stage at the New Hampshire State Prison this week.
He portrayed one half of a heated sibling rivalry, reaching into his character’s mind to figure out the source of the hostility that had formed between them, and how to deal with these super-charged emotions in a responsible manner.
The 90-minute production of “True West,” performed by four men at the State Prison Thursday, was more than a lesson in acting.
“You can get something out of it,” said Buffum, seated in a folding chair in the NH State Prison gym after the show. “There are so many applications to mental health and the way I talk to people now. It’s a commitment, and a commitment means you have to work at it.”
The play began six months ago and runs three times a week, plenty of time for Buffum and the other actors to focus on the script and polish their newfound skills.
Until this week, the show’s audience had been limited to inmates only. Thursday was attended by family and friends, who praised the powerful performances and applauded during an informal question-and-answer session on the gym floor, which served as the stage.
Due to consideration for victims, the Department of Corrections Commissioner Helen Hanks said the other three actors were not allowed to be identified, photographed or interviewed.
Buffum, who played the lead role, was different, but it was unclear exactly why.
In 2016, Buffum was found guilty of accomplice to attempted murder for orchestrating a near-fatal stabbing in Allenstown’s Bear Brook State Park in 2014. At trial, Buffum, who grew up in Barnstead, conceded his role in the attack but argued that he had been driven by mental illness. The jury rejected his defense and he was sentenced to serve 35 years to life.
Buffum played Austin, an educated man with a wife and kids who struggles to finish his screenplay – a love story – and later shows it to a big-time producer, Saul.
His brother, named Lee, is an uneducated petty thief, who interrupts the meeting and, through his rough-around-edges-charm, convinces Saul to read his screenplay, a western, as well.
That merely added to the fireworks that had started at the play’s beginning. The characters fight all the time, arguing and knocking each other down as they try to reach some sort of agreement.
The actors said the experience inspired confidence, work ethic and the importance of a team effort. The work required fueled a newfound passion for what is considered a serious form of art.
The players recreated emotions and hostilities, a path that led to their own self-awareness during a process – self-improvement –that never truly ends.
“I never thought I’d like it,” Buffum said. “But now, all I have to do in here is think about the part, and that helps me to better understand myself. I delve into it. We do a lot of psychoanalyzing.”
Asked if he might pursue a career in acting once he’s released, Buffum paused.
“I have a lot of time left,” he said.
“If the road goes that way, I’d be happy. I’d have to try it.”