I'm back in the states after spending half of 2019 in Sofia, Bulgaria as a Senior Fulbright Scholar. I taught graduate classes at New Bulgarian University and directed a production of my play THE PAMPHLET, in Bulgarian (with English surtitles). Directing wikth a Bulgarian text was certainly a challenge, but of course I knew the play and had already directed a reading of it in Spanish and almost all of the actors had very good English.
I also directed a staged reading of THE OTHER NIGHT IN A SOFIA BAR, a collection of contemporary Bulgarian short stories which I adapted for the stage (in English) and strung together in an interesting scenario. My cast was a mix of students and professionals and we had a great audience at the American Corner in Sofia, including four of the writers and the daughter of a fith. All are fine writers and they were very gracious and appreciative. Georgi Gospodinov is a remarkable talent and has won a number of prestigious international awards.
Bulgaria is a wonderful country with an extraordinarily rich and diverse history - both modern and ancient - and I spent an incredible half-year working there. I'm deeply grateful to my students, colleagues and the Bulgarian Fulbright Commission.
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