Staged Reading of The Precursors

For the 5th year, ALTA has partnered with the Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre in Tucson, AZ to present a staged reading of a translated play. The play is selected from among the submssions of a diverse field of global plays translated into English.

The winner of the 2025 competition is The Precursors by Luis Sorolla, translated from Spanish by Don Bogen.

The end of the world has arrived, and three people are the sole survivors. At their lonely and remote campsite they have been given one task to tell until the end of time: tell all the stories, tell everything—until there are no more stories to be told.

In this poetic and chilling story, Sorolla explores the importance of storytelling at the end—or perhaps the beginning—of everything.

Congratulations to translator Don Bogen for being selected as winner. Bogen’s translation of The Precursors was commissioned by the Cultural Office of the Spanish Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The staged reading and talkback will take place on Friday, November 7 from 7:30–9:30pm at the Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre (738 N 5th Ave, Tucson, AZ 85705), during ALTA’s 48th annual conference.

Tickets are free for ALTA48 attendees. Find out how to reserve your seat on the Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre’s website (email info@literarytranslators.org for the discount code).

Tickets are limited, so please reserve ahead or call the box office at (520) 448-3300. The Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre is an 11-minute walk or a six-minute (free) streetcar ride from the ALTA48 conference hotel.

The staged reading of The Precursors will be livestreamed via HowlRound Theatre Commons at https://howlround.com/upcoming-livestreams.

Read the full press release on our website.