Bee People is a devised piece inspired by the very real events occurring in our world, from a fractal view of some of our hardest working fuzzy friends. Bee People Devising Ensemble created this work in hope that it will inspire Humanity to take responsibility for our heavy hand in global systemic and systematic suffering that we so thoughtlessly inflict.
An Outsider comes to town and offers a fresh perspective that challenges the entire hierarchical structure of a domestic Honey-Bee society. Through an absurdist lens, we examine The Big Picture and how we individually shape the world around us (while sprinkling bee-facts in, along with all the fun and philosophical commentary).
What can one little bee do?
More than you think.
And we think you can do a lot too.
Our Devising Journey
At the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic, theatres were closed, and everyone was pretty much stuck at home – scared, bored and creatively frustrated. On October 13, 2020, our writing team – Bee People Devising Ensemble – began meeting weekly via Zoom and began devising a script. Our point of departure was a powerpoint deck of bee-related research inspired by news reports that “Murder Hornets” had come to the USA and were threatening domestic honeybees, that lead devisor Dorian Taylor had been compiling during the early months of the pandemic.
We kept meeting weekly, going through several script revisions, then on August 24, 2021 we had a Zoom Staged Reading . The feedback we gathered from it helped us to continue developing the play in the hopes that we could eventually contrive to bring it to a live stage.
In September 2022 we found Producer Chloe Gracias, then in October 2022 Director Megan Francomb came on board to direct our Live Staged Reading and to begin work on our upcoming Live Production, which we hope to debut on a Chicago stage soon!
Chloe Gracias is a producer and performer in the Chicago Area. Producing credits include Jane: Abortion and the Underground,“Why are you still single?” And other red flags you ignored in your 20’s, I Won’t Grow Up: Adulting in the 21st Century, Life Is… A Musical Cabaret, and more. Chloe is the Production Assistant at Drury Lane Theatre in Oakbrook Terrace, as well as the Director of Production for Four Stars Arts Theatre Company. As of November 2022, Chloe will also earn her certification in Grant Writing for the arts & culture sector from DePaul University. When she is not producing or performing, Chloe enjoys playing music on her numerous guitars and ukuleles, reading, and cooking up something indulgent. She is so excited to be working with this group of devisors and appreciates the opportunity to create some buzz for Bee People!
Megan Francomb is a theatre artist and drama teacher in the Chicago area. Directing credits include: Strip of the Tongue: A Study of Contemporary American Burlesque (Skokie Theatre), The Eight Reindeer Monologues and The Glass Menagerie (Cuckoo’s Theater Project). She also worked as a dramaturg on Collaboraction’s This is Not a Cure for Cancer. Megan completed her Master of Education at DePaul University and BA in Theatre Arts and History at Illinois Wesleyan University. As a proud member of the teachers’ union, Francomb is excited to work on a play about a community coming together for the common good.
Taylor Tolleson (she/her) is a multifaceted creative from the big ole state of Texas. She graduated with a BA in acting and directing with a minor in dance but since moving to Chicago in 2016, she has been working on the technical theater side of things (and loving it), focusing in stage management, set construction, and prop design. She has also dabbled in improv and was working with an inspired Japanese gameshow improv show before the world shut down. She is so excited to be a part of this divisive process with these fantastic folks and to be bringing you entertainment and education, all in one package! Along with devising and being a technician, in her free time she explores in the medium of ceramics and metalsmithing, creating weird things with faces on them. If you like faces, you’d get along with her!
Robert Puig Cuevas (he/him) is an all around performer. He has lived in Chicago since 2014 and he hates the cold. He played Brad Majors in The Rocky Horror Musical and Johann Wilhelm Möbius in The Physicists at Wright College. He studied improve theater at The Second City and is a founding member of the improv troupe Possum Blossum. He also was part of the hilarious sketch group The Uploose Odditorium. It was there that he began his writing journey. He then helped write and performed as “The Magician” in the iconic show Bipolar Bitch. He would like to thank his family, best friends for supporting him and most importantly his man Nikolas Hoover.
Patricia Tinsley holds a BFA in performing arts (double emphasis in dance and theatre) from Rockford University and an MA in speech from Northeastern Illinois University. She is the co-founder and co-artistic director of the Rebekah Theatre Project (currently on hiatus), which has the dual mission of presenting great theatre and raising awareness and promoting early detection of female cancers. An accomplished actress and director, she has a long list of Chicago-area theatre, commercial and film credits, including the happiest job in the world: playing Mrs. Santa Claus at Navy Pier. Being part of the Bee People Devising Ensemble has taken her out of her comfort zone, and she couldn’t be more pleased! She is represented by Lily’s Talent. 
Helen Masters (they/she) is a performing artist and humanist from West Virginia. They are interested in finding alternatives to living that are more in touch with true nature, and hopes you will consider exploring such things yourself. Most recently, they’ve had an essay published in STUPID CANCER and dropped out of mortuary school. Currently in the works is a dramatic reading of THE THUNDER, PERFECT MIND.
Chloe Jensen is a performer by night, animal lover by day. Her passions include singing, physical theatre, devising work, and podcast production. A transplant from Utah, Chloe received a BFA in Acting before moving out to Chicago to further explore performance and collaboration at its finest. She is thrilled to bee a part of this ensemble and has discovered a newfound passion for writing and storyboarding through the devising process. Hope this project can spark a newfound love for bees, or help cement an already present fondness for you as it has for me!
Caitlin Robb’s high school English teacher once told her she needed to “find her bee people” …it was in reference to the Blind Melon music video, but Bee People Devising Ensemble is more fitting! Pre-pandemic, Caitlin worked as a stage manager and director with Clock Productions. She is also highly involved in the improv scene, performing with The Shrews Improvisation. She also loves to act and teach children’s theatre. In her spare time, Caitlin likes to cook, hike, listen to podcasts, and do home improvement projects. Future goals include grad school. Hopefully. At some point.
Iris Sowlat is primarily a director, producer, and occasionally a divisor and playwright. Directing credits include: Romeo and Juliet (Accidental Shakespeare Co.), Underworld Anthem, Joan of Arc and The Anxiety Variety Show (Prop Theatre’s RhinoFest), ABCD (Piven Theatre’s Lab), The Days Are Shorter (Pride Films & Plays), Narratives of Achromatopsia (Chicago Fringe Festival), and many more! She has also worked with Northlight Theatre, About Face Theatre, and NoPassport Theatre Alliance, among others. She is the co-Artistic Director of Violet Surprise Theatre, where she’s currently leading the devising process for The Icon Project. This Fall, she will start earning her MFA in Directing at University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Dorian Taylor, Lead Devisor (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist, performance maker, writer and scholar, who has a deep interest in “Why?” and “What happens if?”. Dori completed her MFA in European Devised Performance Practice at Columbia College Chicago, her BA in Media Arts from CSU, Chico, and her AA-T in Technical Theatre at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California. The other hats Dori wears include: theatre arts instructor, public speaker, voice actor, theatrical HMU and wig designer, event marketing and promotion strategist, graphic designer, web designer, tech nerd, empty nester.