Ensimismada

Writer and director’s note

I wrote this work because we humans sometimes need to crawl into our shells, to turn things over in our minds, isolated in our world of images, slogging through or enjoying our thoughts, planning or stewing in our juices, isolated from others and from the world. But the problem comes when we remain in this shell: loved ones worry, loneliness becomes a vicious circle, making us afraid to come out, the outside becomes threatening, and we forget that the mind can function alone for a while but that to work at its best, it needs others, as if we were parts of a large tree, of a large invisible network. Paradoxically, to find ourselves, we need others.

In this story, Ensimismada is the name of the youngest sister. Everyone calls her Ensi, she’s going through a rough patch, she doesn’t want to talk to anyone, she doesn’t want to play with anyone, she’s very introverted, so much so that she ends up trapped inside her own head.

Responsable is the oldest sister, everyone calls her Respon. It is Respon who ventures inside Ensi’s head and who goes all out to find her little sister. What Respon finds inside her sister’s head is that there is no way to make progress in someone else’s head without knowing that person. So the first thing Respon has to do is find out what her sister likes and doesn’t like, something she had never cared about.

Respon’s surprise comes when she finally finds Ensi, who tells her she doesn’t want to leave, she wants to stay forever in her head… you’ll see why.

This is a story of an older sister and a younger sister that emerged from roleplaying with girls and boys, and it’s written and directed for the girls and boys who want to come and see it. Although the subject of non-harmonic self-absorption affects us as a society, I looked for an entertaining and humorous way to approach this delicate conflict.

It’s my first time writing a play for girls and boys aged eight and up. Before me, authors and directors participated in this project, such as Jordi Casanovas, María Goiricelaya, Dan Jemmett and José Troncoso. We were all guided by the wisdom of Lucía Miranda and Nacho Bilbao. We hope the result is Ensimismada 1- Yawns 0.

Alfredo Sanzol