StoneHeart by Georgina Escobar

A deconstructed Western that explores the societal constructs of femininity and class through the lens and experience of Birdie Zermani. As her mind deteriorates and the webs of abandonment trap her in her past, our aging matriarch is launched into a fabula that mixes the western genre with Latin American history and myth as we watch the deterioration of a family in Ciudad Juarez in the late 1980s, told through...
A deconstructed Western that explores the societal constructs of femininity and class through the lens and experience of Birdie Zermani. As her mind deteriorates and the webs of abandonment trap her in her past, our aging matriarch is launched into a fabula that mixes the western genre with Latin American history and myth as we watch the deterioration of a family in Ciudad Juarez in the late 1980s, told through her eyes. Forbidden love, mental illness and suicide come together in a visceral family drama where the Zermanis are forced to cope with the death of their country, their loved ones, and their legacy amidst the rise of a new generation of corrupted youth and cartel violence.

Stoneheart was created at the Maria Irene Fornés Writing Workshop (2017-18), MacDowell Colony (2018), Djerassi Artist Residency (2018) and was a Finalist for the National Playwrights Conference at the O'Neill (2019) and a Kilroy's List play (2019)
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StoneHeart

Recommended by

  • Leonard Madrid:
    1 Jun. 2022
    “ This play is so good. The way it tells a wonderful frontera story is unparrallelled. I want to see it produced everywhere always. ”
  • Cheryl Bear:
    9 Sep. 2021
    “ A powerful exploration of mental health in a tumultuous journey of patriarchy and legacy. Well done. ”
  • Bailey Elrod:
    27 Oct. 2020
    “ Wow. This play is an incredible feat. You will be sucked in from the very beginning and be held until final blackout and moved to tears in the middle. Escobar does an incredible job melting the Western genre with tragedy and family and sparrows and thunder to make a beautiful piece of theatre, the likes of which we need MORE of. One of the best plays I've read. ”
View all 7 recommendations

4 (F); 3 (M)

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Project Y
    ,
    2019
  • Workshop
    ,
    The Sol Project
    ,
    2018
  • Residency
    ,
    MacDowell Colony
    ,
    2018
  • Residency
    ,
    Djerassi Artist Ranch
    ,
    2018

Awards

Selection
,
The Kilroys 2019
,
The Kilroys
,
2019