q u e r e n c i a: an imagined autobiography about forbidden fruits

by Benjamin Benne

Selection, The Playwrights Realm's Scratchpad Series
Winner, Robert Chesley/Victor Bumbalo Playwriting Award
Winner, The Playwrights' Center's McKnight Fellowship in Playwriting
Winner, The Playwrights' Center's Many Voices Fellowship
Finalist, The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference
Finalist, Princess Grace Award

What's a boy to do when his favorite fruit is banana in a world that...

Selection, The Playwrights Realm's Scratchpad Series
Winner, Robert Chesley/Victor Bumbalo Playwriting Award
Winner, The Playwrights' Center's McKnight Fellowship in Playwriting
Winner, The Playwrights' Center's Many Voices Fellowship
Finalist, The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference
Finalist, Princess Grace Award

What's a boy to do when his favorite fruit is banana in a world that says he's gotta love mangoes? "querencia" (a Spanish word having to do with the longing to find or return to a place that feels like home) is a magical coming-of-age story about a young boy named Milo’s search for belonging as he grapples with friends, family, and his sexual identity, guided by a mysterious character called La Bruja.

  • Inquire About Rights
  • Recommend
  • Download
  • Save to Reading List

q u e r e n c i a: an imagined autobiography about forbidden fruits

Recommended by

  • Alexander Perez: q u e r e n c i a: an imagined autobiography about forbidden fruits

    Benne has bestowed upon us a feast for the senses and a playground for the soul. There is as much pain as there is hope as there is inspiration.

    The language is lush and poetic yet concise. Characters so real you can reach out and touch them yet the world they inhabit defies reality as we know it and slips through your fingers like sand in an hourglass.

    A dazzling mastery of the art form and honest to god magic.

    Benne has bestowed upon us a feast for the senses and a playground for the soul. There is as much pain as there is hope as there is inspiration.

    The language is lush and poetic yet concise. Characters so real you can reach out and touch them yet the world they inhabit defies reality as we know it and slips through your fingers like sand in an hourglass.

    A dazzling mastery of the art form and honest to god magic.

  • Nick Malakhow: q u e r e n c i a: an imagined autobiography about forbidden fruits

    A beautiful, hilarious, and gentle coming of age play. The intimacy so deftly depicted here is often incredibly hard to capture onstage, and this piece succeeds both as a highly theatrical read while also being one that explores some really nuanced and multi-dimensional characters. Milo is one of the most human and vividly realized protagonists I've had the privilege of getting to know, and it was also a delight feeling seen as a reader by his story. What a gift of a play that I hope to see a production of soon.

    A beautiful, hilarious, and gentle coming of age play. The intimacy so deftly depicted here is often incredibly hard to capture onstage, and this piece succeeds both as a highly theatrical read while also being one that explores some really nuanced and multi-dimensional characters. Milo is one of the most human and vividly realized protagonists I've had the privilege of getting to know, and it was also a delight feeling seen as a reader by his story. What a gift of a play that I hope to see a production of soon.

  • Unicorn Theatre: q u e r e n c i a: an imagined autobiography about forbidden fruits

    This play was a FINALIST for the 2019-2020 In-Progress New Play Reading Series at Unicorn Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. It is our pleasure to support Q U E R E N C I A: AN IMAGINED AUTOBIOGRAPHY ABOUT FORBIDDEN FRUITS.

    This play was a FINALIST for the 2019-2020 In-Progress New Play Reading Series at Unicorn Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. It is our pleasure to support Q U E R E N C I A: AN IMAGINED AUTOBIOGRAPHY ABOUT FORBIDDEN FRUITS.

View all 12 recommendations

Development History

  • Type Reading, Organization Teatro Milagro, Year 2018
  • Type Workshop, Organization The Joust Theatre Company, Year 2017
  • Type Workshop, Organization Theatre Battery, Year 2015

Awards

  • Playwriting Award
    Austin Film Festival
    Finalist
    2020
  • The Mix
    Steppenwolf Theatre Company
    Selection
    2018
  • Carnaval
    HowlRound Theatre Commons / Latinx Theatre Commons
    Finalist
    2018
  • Jerome Fellowship
    The Playwrights' Center
    Finalist
    2018
  • Ingram New Works Lab
    Nashville Repertory Theatre
    Finalist
    2017
  • Best Unproduced Latin@/x Plays
    50 Playwrights Project
    Selection
    2018
  • National Latino Playwriting Award
    Arizona Theatre Company
    Runner Up
    2017
  • McKnight Fellowship In Playwriting
    The Playwrights' Center
    Winner
    2017
  • Robert Chesley/Victor Bumbalo Playwriting Award
    Winner
    2017
  • Many Voices Fellowship
    The Playwrights' Center
    Winner
    2016