Spain
Play Description
Barbara, recently deserted by her husband of five years, discovers a Conquistador in her living room. Though she has had vivid fantasies about Spain, the Conquistador and his cruel and bloodthirsty approach to life were never part of them … until now. Through him and a maze of real and imaginary characters — including her best friend Diversion, a Mayan Ancient, and a very familiar guitar player — Barbara sorts through the leftovers and finds her Duende. A seriously magical comedy.
Production Info
Cast: 5 total (3 female, 2 male)Full Length Comedy (about 90 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
- Reviews
- About the Author(s)
- About the Book
- Special Notes
Press Quotes
“Knable is an imaginative dramatist with a supple talent for the bizarre. His text is a maze, or perhaps a mirrored hall in an amusement park, where nothing is what it appears to be … outrageously funny.” —Robert L Daniels, Variety
“You will feel warmed by the demented cheer of this story of a wife whose strange and entrancing dream helps her cope after her husband leaves … SPAIN bears great similarities to Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz in its rendering of a bizarre dreamscape where truth lies hidden in the madness … At its cockamamie heart, the play is a sweet story about an angry, cast-adrift woman who finds in dreams strength and resources she didn’t know she had … If you are looking for a bit of warm-weather diversion, SPAIN is the place to be.” —Jayne M. Blanchard, The Washington Times
“Knable has landed somewhere on the map close to Christopher Durang and John Patrick Shanley.” —NY Theatre Wire.com
Author(s)
Jim KnableJim Knable's play SPAIN was professionally produced at MCC Theatre (dir. Jeremy Dobrish 2007), Summer Play Festival (2006), Woolly Mammoth Theatre (2001), Actor's Express in Atlanta, New Jersey Rep, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis, and various other regional and university theatres. TRUE AND SOLID GROUND was produced at Soho Rep (SummerCamp 2001). EMERSON HIGH was workshopped at NYU with Eduardo Machado (dramaturg) and produced at Half Moon Theatre 2009. GREEN MAN was selected for National New Play Network showcase 2006; workshopped at Ars Nova, Premiere Stages and The River Stage; produced at STAGEStheatre, Los Angeles, 2015. Knable was commissioned by Firefly: Theater and Film to write the Houdini-related plays PRINCE OF AIR and THE GREAT BEYOND, which have been workshopped at Geva Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre and Open Fist Theatre; PRINCE OF AIR was one of three finalists for the Terrence McNally New Play Award in 2013. He was commissioned to write four plays for young audiences by The Playwrights Project and The Hangar Theatre; commissioned to write the children’s opera THE MAGIC FISH with composer brother Sunny Knable in 2012 by Half-Moon Theatre — performances 2012-2015 there and other venues in New York and the Mondavi Center at UC Davis. Young audience play HYPER-FOCUS is published by Samuel French; THE BEST MISTAKE published by Dramatic Publishing; THE TRUTH ABOUT DINOSAURS and LOST IN WORDS published by Playscripts, Inc. SPAIN, GREEN MAN, and SALTIMBANQUES are published in an acting edition collection by Samuel French as “The Imaginary Plays by Jim Knable.” SPAIN was included in Smith and Kraus' Best New Plays 2008 Anthology. As a songwriter, Jim Knable has independently produced and released one solo album (Miles) and two albums (Golden Arrow and Redbeard) with his band The Randy Bandits (www.randybandits.com). He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and sons.
Special Notes
If original stage producers credits appear in bold below, all licensees are required to include them in the following form on the title page in all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play and in all advertising in which the full cast appears in size of type not less than ten percent (10%) of the size of the title of the Play:
Originally produced by the Woolly Mammoth Theater Co, Washington DC
In addition, the following must appear within all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play:
by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC
www.broadwayplaypub.com
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