Tilting at Windmills

I was visiting Bogotá, Colombia in the spring of 2008, attending the Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro, one of the largest international theatre festivals in the world. I saw two to three performances a day, participated in workshops and attended symposia, immersing myself in Latin American theatre. On my way from one venue to another, I walked and took buses, stopping at bookstores, flea markets, art galleries, small restaurants and bakeries throughout the city. After a few days, I noticed that Don Quijote and Sancho Panza were following me! In the bookstores, I saw images of the fictional heroes (anti-heroes?), and images of the author Cervantes on posters and book covers. At the exhibition hall of the Festival was an exhibit dedicated to different puppet companies that had produced El Quijote, featuring a number of interpretations of the duo. Walking past a garage I noticed that the name of the shop was called Auto del Quijote. I began to joke that Quijote was out to get me. The day before I was to return home to Portland, I walked into the Teatro de la Candelaria, one of the premier companies of Bogotá’s alternative theatre movement. On the counter I found the script of El Quijote, written by Candelaria’s founder and artistic director, Santiago García. I had to buy it, as clearly was the reason for my entire visit.

The process of working on El Quijote has continued to be portentous, magical and fun.

Many have been inspired by the story of Don Quijote and his squire Sancho Panza, since the novel was first published in 1605 and 1615 (the second part). The public was taken by the story of the anti-hero who embraced chivalry with every bit of his heart, only to lose his mind in the process. After the first book was published in 1605, so many wanted to know what become of the would-be knight errant, that a certain writer named Avellaneda took it upon himself to write the sequel. Cervantes was outraged not only by the act but by the defamation that Avellaneda wreaked upon his beloved characters, Quijote and Sancho Panza. He was compelled to write his sequel, to set the record straight. Since then it has become known as the first novel written in Europe, has become one of the most widely read books in the world, and even of those who have not read the book many have heard of Don Quijote, and Sancho Panza and “tilting at windmills.”

Like the novel, the script wanders from one episode to another, seemingly without reason. Unlike the novel, the order of the scenes is reorganized into its own journey. Ultimately, like the novel, the play maintains the inherent truth of its convictions, and is completely open to interpretation. With this, I set out to direct the play...