Sending Down the Sparrows, a work of historical fiction, bears witness to the systematic persecution and extermination of the handicapped by Nazi Germany through the character of Viktor, a young man who is a reluctant member of the Hitler Youth.
Viktor has a secret; a mentally handicapped sister who is the ward of a state institution. Viktor soon finds himself caught between the Nazi ideologies of racial and genetic purity and the love of a sister for whom he feels shame. As the play unfolds, he must choose whether to continue protecting his secret himself or to come to the defense of his sister.
Laura Lundgren Smith, a native of Texas, lives in Fort Worth with her husband Ben and daughter India Samhaoir. She holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Theatre and English and a Master of Arts in Theatre from Texas A&M University at Commerce. She was awarded an Arts Council of Ireland Commissions Grant in 2004 for playwriting. Her plays Sending Down the Sparrows (Salmon, 2001), Digging up the Boys (Salmon, 2007), and The Shape of the Grave have been produced many times across the United States. In 2007, her play Seamless was chosen by Dallas' Kitchen Dog Theatre to be part of their renowned New Works Festival.
Viktor has a secret; a mentally handicapped sister who is the ward of a state institution. Viktor soon finds himself caught between the Nazi ideologies of racial and genetic purity and the love of a sister for whom he feels shame. As the play unfolds, he must choose whether to continue protecting his secret himself or to come to the defense of his sister.
Laura Lundgren Smith, a native of Texas, lives in Fort Worth with her husband Ben and daughter India Samhaoir. She holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Theatre and English and a Master of Arts in Theatre from Texas A&M University at Commerce. She was awarded an Arts Council of Ireland Commissions Grant in 2004 for playwriting. Her plays Sending Down the Sparrows (Salmon, 2001), Digging up the Boys (Salmon, 2007), and The Shape of the Grave have been produced many times across the United States. In 2007, her play Seamless was chosen by Dallas' Kitchen Dog Theatre to be part of their renowned New Works Festival.