"There aren’t that many shows that challenge the audience or the actors," Croff said.

Now a new one arrives: A theater company called Icarus Falling debuts today with Croff directing Sam Shepherd’s blistering "True West." That’s at 8 p.m., in the intimacy of the Creole Gallery in Old Town.

"It’s a good venue for us," said actress Laura Thompson. "It gives us a chance to do a show like this, with the audience on top of us."

The audience will have, at most, 75 people. The cast will have four people, on a 12-by12-foot stage.

They’ll enact a raw drama about two brothers: Daryl Thompson (no relation to Laura) plays Austin, a sophisticated writer; Kevin Knights plays Lee, intense and primitive.

That casting is the opposite of what people would expect, Croff said. "Kevin is such a genuinely nice guy. The greater challenge is for him to do a character like this."

Their mom is played by Emma Dowd. She’s a prime force in the Bath Community Theatre Guild, where Croff did several shows.

Then there’s Sal, a schmoozy producer. That’s usually a guy, but Croff cast Laura Thompson.

"There are lines in here that weren’t written with sexual tension in mind," she said. "But now that changes and the tension is there."

She and Croff illustrate the melting-pot nature of local theater.

Thompson came here from Florida, because here husband was going to Cooley Law School. The marriage ended, but she’s staying as a Michigan State University student (majoring in math and Japanese) and a busy local actress. "I’ve got so many great friends here that I don’t want to leave."

Croff arrived from Ludington to study at MSU. Now, at 30, he’s a marketing manager in Albion and a director bringing intimate intensity to Lansing.