Spotlight on Contemporary Spanish Theater 2021
Spanish theater is a reflection of the land where it is created: culturally rich, and diverse. Rooted in a strong tradition of theater coming from the XVI century, contemporary Spanish theater is a blend of voices and styles exploring the issues of our time.
The second edition of this series presents excerpts of works in a virtual format by contemporary Spanish playwrights with U.S. directors.
The Glass Ceiling
Laura Rubio Galletero
Playwright
Galletero is an example of today’s effervescent Catalan theater scene. Since 2008, many of her most notable texts have premiered in fringe theaters in Madrid.
The Glass Ceiling centers on two 20th century American poets, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, and their complicated relationship with one another as well as with their artistic craft.
Dark Stone
Alberto Conejero
Playwright
Alberto Conejero is the winner of Spain’s 2019 National Theater Award.
Dark Stone evokes the specter of Federico Garcia Lorca, Spain’s most renown 20th century poet and playwright who was murdered at the outbreak of Spain’s Civil War (1936-39). Set in a Nationalist prison, two young men from different social classes and opposing sides of the Civil War.
See You in Heaven… Or, Maybe Not
Diana M de Paco Serrano
Playwright
Diana de Paco Serrano is a scholar of classical Greek and teaches at the University of Murcia.
See You in Heaven…Or, Maybe Not is set in the disturbing and claustrophobic space of a forensic morgue. The play’s fragmented plot and dialogue darts among the lives of four women from different walks of life who are victims of domestic violence.
Darwin’s Tortoise
Juan Mayorga
Playwright
Internationally acclaimed, Mayorga stands out as one of Spain’s most frequently staged, and studied contemporary dramatists.
Darwin’s Tortoise offers a satirical reading of modern history through the perspective of the biologist’s now ancient tortoise, Harriet. Her interpretation of humanity’s evolutionary involution and moral bankruptcy sparks an alternative perspective on the notion of “progress.”
Scarred by the Wind
Juan Carlos Rubio
Playwright
Rubio is a multifaceted and internationally recognized playwright and director. He has written dozens of plays and received many literary prizes.
Scarred by the Wind centers on the unlikely encounter between two men defined by loneliness and an unfulfilled yearning to love. The playwright debunks today’s romantic myths and stereotypes surrounding love.