Our play contains a mixture of bee fictions and bee facts. This is the research underpinning the bee facts we wrote into BEE PEOPLE:
- Fudala, A. (2018, May 04). The Sacred Bee: Ancient Greece and Rome. Retrieved July 08, 2020, from https://www.planetbee.org/planet-bee-blog//the-sacred-bee-ancient-greece-and-rome
- Wikifarmer Editorial Team. (2019, May 20). Honey Bee Society Structure and Organization. Retrieved June 18, 2020, from https://wikifarmer.com/honey-bee-society-structure-and-organization/
- Bee Health, Cooperative Extension System. (2019, August 20). How long do worker honey bees live? Retrieved June 18, 2020, from https://bee-health.extension.org/how-long-do-worker-honey-bees-live/
- NOVA Online | Tales from the Hive | Communication. (2000, January 4). Retrieved June 18, 2020, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bees/hivecomm.html
- Mortensen, A. N., Smith, B., & Ellis, J. D. (2019, April 04). The Social Organization of Honey Bees. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1102
- Hertzberg, R. (2019, August 14). How honeybees get their jobs-explained. Retrieved June 18, 2020, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/03/honey-bee-job-queen-hive-animals/
- Klein, Barrett A et al. “Sleep deprivation impairs precision of waggle dance signaling in honey bees.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America vol. 107,52 (2010): 22705-9. doi:10.1073/pnas.1009439108
- Wong, S. (2017, February 14). Honeybees let out a whoop when they bump into each other. Retrieved August 17, 2020, from https://www.newscientist.com/article/2121275-honeybees-let-out-a-whoop-when-they-bump-into-each-other/
- Bhanoo, S. (2010, February 01). If You Swat, Watch Out: Bees Remember Faces. Retrieved August 17, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/science/02bees.html
- Seeley, T. D. (2010). Honeybee democracy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
- Moisset, B., Ph.D., & Buchmann, S., Ph.D. (2011, March 28). Bee Basics: An Introduction to Our Native Bees [PDF]. USDA Forest Service and Pollinator Partnership.
- Main, D. (2020, May 29). ‘Murder hornets’ have arrived in the U.S.-here’s what you should know. Retrieved August 1, 2020, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/05/asian-giant-hornets-arrive-united-states/
- The Role of the Drone Bee. Retrieved August 1, 2020, from https://www.perfectbee.com/learn-about-bees/the-life-of-bees/role-of-the-drone-bee
- How do bees make honey? Retrieved August 1, 2020, from https://www.perfectbee.com/learn-about-bees/the-life-of-bees/bees-make-honey
- Eteraf-Oskouei, Tahereh, and Moslem Najafi. “Traditional and modern uses of natural honey in human diseases: a review.” Iranian journal of basic medical sciences vol. 16,6 (2013): 731-42.
- McLoone, Pauline et al. “Honey: A Therapeutic Agent for Disorders of the Skin.” Central Asian journal of global health vol. 5,1 241. 4 Aug. 2016, doi:10.5195/cajgh.2016.241
- Osterloff, Emily. Killer Bees: a Deadly Swarm. 29 Jan. 2018, https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/killer-bees-a-deadly-swarm.html.
- Fry, Stephen. Mythos: the Greek Myths Reimagined. Chronicle Books LLC, 2019.
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. 
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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. 
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.
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!
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.