Quinlyn Can Paint

by Zach Barr

FULL LENGTH
On the occasion of her first solo museum exhibition, abstract painter Olive Hollyhox is having a documentary made about her life and career. In addition to the featured artist, her older sisters – Quinlyn and Gabby – are also being interviewed. Turns out, Quinlyn is also a painter. Not that anyone cared.

Structured as a series of monologues, QUINLYN CAN PAINT gradually reveals the fissures between...

FULL LENGTH
On the occasion of her first solo museum exhibition, abstract painter Olive Hollyhox is having a documentary made about her life and career. In addition to the featured artist, her older sisters – Quinlyn and Gabby – are also being interviewed. Turns out, Quinlyn is also a painter. Not that anyone cared.

Structured as a series of monologues, QUINLYN CAN PAINT gradually reveals the fissures between three sisters, each hardworking but fundamentally at odds with each other. How do you handle a sibling achieving the success you've always dreamed of? How early in life can signs of talent or identity be truly identified? And how wide can anyone hope to push the gap between the "two deaths" we all die?

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Quinlyn Can Paint

Recommended by

  • Julie Marino: Quinlyn Can Paint by Zach Barr
    “

    Oh, families and the way they shape our selves and our lives! Barr wisely lets the sisters do the talking, in the process revealing more about themselves and their relationships with one another than an interviewer ever could, and perhaps more than they themselves intend. Love, art and the creative spirit are the glue that hold their meandering narratives together, letting the characters shine through vividly.

    Oh, families and the way they shape our selves and our lives! Barr wisely lets the sisters do the talking, in the process revealing more about themselves and their relationships with one another than an interviewer ever could, and perhaps more than they themselves intend. Love, art and the creative spirit are the glue that hold their meandering narratives together, letting the characters shine through vividly.

    ”
  • Jillian Leff: Quinlyn Can Paint by Zach Barr
    “

    Monologue plays can be tricky, but Barr uses the form extremely well. Some of my favorite moments were when the sisters would coincidentally respond to each other, or when one would affirm or contradict what another one said. As an oldest sister of three myself, and as an artist who does not currently make a living that way, this play definitely hit home more than once.

    Monologue plays can be tricky, but Barr uses the form extremely well. Some of my favorite moments were when the sisters would coincidentally respond to each other, or when one would affirm or contradict what another one said. As an oldest sister of three myself, and as an artist who does not currently make a living that way, this play definitely hit home more than once.

    ”
  • Shaun Leisher: Quinlyn Can Paint by Zach Barr
    “

    A fascinating play about art, sisterhood and one's legacy. Loved the fact that this play features a trans character that isn't defined by her trauma or coming out. Some great monologues in here for anyone looking.

    A fascinating play about art, sisterhood and one's legacy. Loved the fact that this play features a trans character that isn't defined by her trauma or coming out. Some great monologues in here for anyone looking.

    ”
View all 5 recommendations

Character Information

  • QUINLYN HOLLINGER
    A corporate bookkeeper who has pursued painting as a side hustle for almost twenty years. She has built a small following in the art market as a landscape artist, but remains unsatisfied with her niche appeal. The oldest Hollinger sibling, she believes in art as the last true meritocracy, where some people are naturally more talented than others, and her greatest anxieties come from the worry about which side of that line she falls on.
    39
    Any
    Cis female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s,
      40s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman,
      Non-binary
  • GABBY HOLLINGER
    An ASL teacher for youth, who is also raising a deaf son, Malcolm, with her husband Kenny. She wrote a song as a teenager that was later covered by a major pop artist, netting her a small asterisk-worth of fame that she has since downplayed. The middle Hollinger sibling, she is satisfied with her quiet life, though she often wonders about the untraceable impact of her education work on future generations, including her son.
    37
    Any
    Cis female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s,
      40s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman,
      Non-binary
  • OLIVE HOLLYHOX
    A successful abstract painter, now receiving her first solo museum exhibition. She was discovered as an amateur painter and quickly ushered into an exalted place in the modern art market, despite not studying painting formally until grad school. The youngest Hollinger sibling, though she uses a pseudonym professionally, she is uncertain about her identity as a human and artist, and weighs whether it will be better or worse when the spotlight on her goes out.
    34
    Any
    Trans woman
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman,
      Non-binary

Development History

Production History

  • Professional, Black Cat Theatre, 2025