Bandera, Texas

by Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend

FULL LENGTH. A dramedy about marriage, motherhood, and the women who came before us and paved our way. Liz, a native New Yorker, is forced to relocate to the Texas Hill Country for her husband’s job. She is visited by her long-dead grandmothers, who help her adapt to her new life and remind her that an uprooted woman can grow wherever she is replanted when she knows who she is and carries the people and places...

FULL LENGTH. A dramedy about marriage, motherhood, and the women who came before us and paved our way. Liz, a native New Yorker, is forced to relocate to the Texas Hill Country for her husband’s job. She is visited by her long-dead grandmothers, who help her adapt to her new life and remind her that an uprooted woman can grow wherever she is replanted when she knows who she is and carries the people and places she loves inside her.

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Bandera, Texas

Recommended by

  • Matthew Weaver: Bandera, Texas by Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend
    “

    Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend's characters are never flat. They do not lie still on either page or stage, but arrive fully formed, fresh and vibrant and full of life – even in the middle of such seemingly desolate surroundings!
    Reader, do yourself a favor and spend a few days immersed in Dellagiarino Feriend’s words. You will emerge reinvigorated, hopeful and wondering why theaters would ever want to produce anything else.

    Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend's characters are never flat. They do not lie still on either page or stage, but arrive fully formed, fresh and vibrant and full of life – even in the middle of such seemingly desolate surroundings!
    Reader, do yourself a favor and spend a few days immersed in Dellagiarino Feriend’s words. You will emerge reinvigorated, hopeful and wondering why theaters would ever want to produce anything else.

    ”
  • Kim E. Ruyle: Bandera, Texas by Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend
    “

    A person can find happiness, even in Bandera, Texas. Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend shows us how it’s done with sacrifice, sage advice from the ghosts of grandmothers, and a baseball bat. Life lessons are revealed in the witty banter and comical situations – day drinking, rattlesnakes under the trailer, a kitchen drawer filled with cigarettes, and more. My favorite: how the drama teacher lost his job. Well done!

    A person can find happiness, even in Bandera, Texas. Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend shows us how it’s done with sacrifice, sage advice from the ghosts of grandmothers, and a baseball bat. Life lessons are revealed in the witty banter and comical situations – day drinking, rattlesnakes under the trailer, a kitchen drawer filled with cigarettes, and more. My favorite: how the drama teacher lost his job. Well done!

    ”
  • Nora Louise Syran: Bandera, Texas by Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend
    “

    Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend is a remarkable playwright. Her voice is distinct. Her world building precise, deft. Her characters so real, lovable, likable in all their quirkiness. The dialogue in this piece is spot on as is the humor. Just lovely.

    Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend is a remarkable playwright. Her voice is distinct. Her world building precise, deft. Her characters so real, lovable, likable in all their quirkiness. The dialogue in this piece is spot on as is the humor. Just lovely.

    ”
View all 15 recommendations

Character Information

3 women and 1 man, with the man playing every male role
  • Liz
    30s
    White
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • Mary
    Liz's Italian grandmother; Mary and Genevieve can be any age, but they should both be around the same age - either both are young women, both are middle aged, or both are seniors
    Any adult age
    White
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s,
      40s,
      50s,
      60s,
      70s+
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • Genevieve
    Liz's Irish grandmother; Mary and Genevieve can be any age, but they should both be around the same age - either both are young women, both are middle aged, or both are seniors
    Any adult age
    White
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s,
      40s,
      50s,
      60s,
      70s+
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Woman
  • Dave
    Liz's husband; the actor must be able to do a convincing Kennedy impression
    30s
    Any
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Man

Development History

  • Reading, Prism Theatre Company, 2021
  • Workshop, Chicago Women's Theatre Alliance, 2020
  • Workshop, Wayward Sisters Theatre Ensemble, 2020

Production History

  • Professional, Prism Theatre Company, 2022

Awards

  • Best New Play
    St. Louis Theatre Circle Awards
    Finalist
    2023
  • Spotlight on... Women Writing
    Prism Theatre Company
    Selection
    2021
  • Seven Devils Playwrights Conference
    Seven Devils New Play Foundry
    Semi-Finalist
    2021
  • NEWvember Dublin Festival
    AboutFACE Theatre
    Finalist
    2020
  • Meet The Artist Series
    Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre
    Semi-Finalist
    2021
  • New Works Festival
    Garry Marshall Theatre
    Semi-Finalist
    2020