THE KITE RUNNER Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 1
THE KITE RUNNER Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 1
THE KITE RUNNER Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 1
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<strong>THE</strong> <strong>KITE</strong> <strong>RUNNER</strong><br />
HANSBERRY<br />
Matthew Spangler, the playwright of The Kite Runner, is an Assistant Professor of<br />
Performance Studies at San Jose State University where he teaches in the Departments of<br />
Communication Studies and Television, Radio, Film and <strong>Theatre</strong>. His plays, which have been<br />
produced throughout the U.S., U.K., Ireland and France, include A Paradise It Seems, an<br />
adaptation of John Cheever’s short stories; a one-person show of James Joyce’s Dubliners; an<br />
adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s short stories; and Mozart!, a musical-theatre adaptation<br />
of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s letters. His directing credits include The Lieutenant of<br />
Inishmore, The Lonesome West and Glengarry Glen Ross (San Jose Stage <strong>Company</strong>). Mr.<br />
Spangler holds a BA in Performance Studies from Northwestern University, an M.Phil in<br />
<strong>Theatre</strong> from Trinity College Dublin, and a PhD in Performance Studies from University<br />
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and<br />
<strong>Theatre</strong> Bay Area.<br />
After I read the book, in 2005, I contacted Khaled and I asked him what he would think<br />
of a stage production that would cover the entire narrative of The Kite Runner. He<br />
lives in San Jose and I’m a professor at San Jose State University, where I teach<br />
courses in adapting material for the stage. Our proximity was convenient because<br />
we were able to meet for the fi rst time at a local Starbucks. He liked the idea of a<br />
play, and I guess, you might say, the rest is history.<br />
– Matthew Spangler, <strong>Play</strong>wright, The Kite Runner<br />
AFGHANISTAN<br />
The Kite Runner deals with the country of<br />
Afghanistan from the 1970s to the year 2002.<br />
Like all places, Afghanistan has a long and<br />
complicated history, but it came to international<br />
attention only after the coup of 1973. The King<br />
of Afghanistan was deposed and replaced by<br />
the first president of Afghanistan. The nation<br />
is located in Central Asia and is made up of<br />
thirty-four provinces. The country’s capital is<br />
Kabul, which is also the capital of the northeast<br />
province of the same name. Afghanistan<br />
means “Land of Afghan,” Afghan being a name<br />
the ethnic Pashtun majority used to describe<br />
themselves starting before the year 1000.<br />
<strong>Arizona</strong> <strong>Theatre</strong> <strong>Company</strong> <strong>Play</strong> <strong>Guide</strong> 8