Espejos: Clean

The lives of two women from very different worlds collide in the illusionary paradise of a Mexican resort. Sarah, a Canadian wedding guest, is a shot glass half empty. Adriana, a fastidious and vivacious hotel floor manager, finds solace in establishing order. At first glance, they’re simply animated, but looking closer reveals the anxieties they’re trying to hide. When their worlds collide, everything they’ve kept hidden comes into sharp focus.

A bilingual play in English and Spanish, each woman speaks in her own language and shares her unique experiences directly with the audience. Their vastly different realities are reflected in parallel, coming together to mirror and magnify a mutual pain. Through nuanced and surprisingly funny monologues, Quintana and Zelaya-Cervantes focus an attentive microscope on female strength and solidarity to stunning effect.

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Las vidas de dos mujeres que vienen de mundos muy distintos chocan en el ilusorio paraíso de un resort mexicano. Sarah, canadiense, invitada de una boda, es un caballito de tequila medio vacío. Adriana, una meticulosa y vivaz gerente de piso del hotel, encuentra consuelo poniendo orden. A simple vista, parecen arquetipos de personajes que ya conocemos, pero mirarlas de más cerca revela la ansiedad que ambas intentan esconder. Cuando sus mundos chocan, todo lo que han estado escondiendo entra en foco y se vuelve nítido. 

Esta es una obra bilingüe en inglés y en español, en la que cada mujer habla su propio idioma y comparte sus experiencias únicas directamente con el público. Sus realidades, infinitamente diferentes, se ven reflejadas en paralelo, uniéndose para mostrar y magnificar un dolor mutuo. A través de diálogos llenos de matices y monólogos sorprendentemente cómicos, Quintana y Zelaya-Cervantes colocan la fuerza femenina y la solidaridad bajo un atento microscópico, con efectos impactantes.

• A bilingual play with each character speaking only English or Spanish.
• Espejos = mirrors. Clean your mirrors (not clean the hotel).
• Past works and awards: Selfie — Playwrights Canada Press, 2020: Governor General’s Literary Award nominee, winner of the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding TYA Play, the Sydney Risk Prize for Outstanding Script by an Emerging Playwright, the Tom Hendry award for TYA, the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Ted Schmitt Award for the World Premiere of an Outstanding New Play.
• 2017 Siminovitch Protégé Prize for Playwriting from Marcus Youssef.
• Christine does not identify as BIPOC, but of Mexican American heritage. Please don’t position the book as coming from a BIPOC artist.
• Rolling World Premiere — Neworld Theatre in association with Western Canada Theatre: the Cultch Historic Theatre and Western Canada Theatre, 2022. Upcoming: Hartford Stage and Syracuse Stage (co-production) directed by Melissa Crespo, January/February 2023.