THE KITE RUNNER Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 1

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