A pear tree stands between two homes, a beautiful representation that time passes as seasons change.  El tiempo pasa.  In this touching one-act about looking for hope on the other side of change, teens learn tough lessons about losing what they love.  Sometimes change can be painful and fill us with a sense of loss.  But time also heals, ushering in new hope and growth. 

Teen neighbors Sofia and Thomas don’t know it when they first meet under their shared pear tree, but they also share a similar sort of pain.  Thomas is hostile over his family’s move to a new town.  Sofia regrets that her best friend who once lived next door has been replaced by a sour, cranky boy who won’t let her pick pears for her abuela to make delicious pear butter.

Still, time passes.  El tiempo pasa.  Sofia and Thomas quickly become friends, only to be pulled apart by different interests and cultures.  But Sofia is losing more than another friend as her wise and loving grandmother begins to suffer a rapid decline into dementia.  Sofia finds solace in the lesson beloved Abuelita left her, the lesson of the pear tree:  “Our hearts will mend.  There is always healing.”

Written by award-winning playwright Kendra Thomas, The Pear Tree intermixes Spanish phrases, reflecting a universality that touches at the heart of the message.