After Ivan Dimitrov won a playwriting contest in Shumen, Bulgaria, for his first stab at drama, he used the prize money to produce an English translation. It seemed like the pragmatic choice, but little did he know the decision would lead to his first production—and not in Bulgaria, but in the U.S.

According to the Milena Deleva, director of the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation, which supports Bulgarian creative writing and English-language translations, Mr. Dimitrov's "The Eyes of Others" is the first Bulgarian play to land...