In the Illinois State University School of Theatre, Dance, and Film’s upcoming workshop production of Erlina Ortiz’s Honey Bee Baby, the audience is presented a world in which the common person must pass a test in order to have children, and the children of parents who did not pass the test do not have a place in the world. Here’s a deeper look into one of those children: Clarisa.
Clarisa was taken in by an Engine, one of the elites of the world, and she is not thriving in the hostile environment. According to Taniah Jones, who portrays the character, the world was not made for Clarisa, who experiences emotions differently than other Engines. She looks different than most Engines, and her social skills are poor.
“Different is a bad thing in the underground,” Jones said. “So, it takes her a little bit to adjust her thinking about the world around her.”
Jones thinks that Clarisa was not aware of the world around her because she is “trapped” in her home, and that is all she knows.
“She plays with the same toys and rarely interacts with kids her age,” Jones said. “Her parents barely talk to each other or Clarisa.”
Even looking through a window is a privilege for Clarisa as her bedroom does not have one to view the outside world.
Director Alejandra Luna echoes this sentiment of Clarisa’s struggle in her world.
“Clarisa is ‘unsuitable’ to live in this world because she cannot act like everyone else in her community,” Luna said. “She feels her emotions deeply, and this is frowned upon and even criminalized in this world.”
Luna also gives deeper insight into the type of world Clarisa lives in: “Clarisa lives in a white supremacist, fascist police nation that has been established to survive and adapt to extreme weather conditions on a global scale due to their ancestors not taking climate change seriously. This world ‘thrives’ on only letting the ‘best’ humans reproduce … This world disposes of anyone who doesn’t fall in line with their rules of how a person is supposed to be or behave ‘for the greater good.’ Most definitely, this world is unsuitable for Clarisa.”
To be able to capture such a world, Luna sang the praises of the production dramaturg, Phitsinee Phurahong, who curated a dramaturgy research packet providing the context needed for everyone working on the show. Through this research they found that the play was partially based on a ’90s science fiction book series titled Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. The book series takes place in dystopian U.S. in 2024, and it cemented the type of world Luna wanted to capture on stage.
“Seeing other people like Melisa and her friends is the first time Clarisa sees others expressing emotion, enjoying conversation, and just showing love,” Jones said.
Honey Bee Baby will be performed at Westhoff Theatre September 26-28 at 7:30 p.m. and September 28-29 at 2 p.m. The performance runtime is approximately 90 minutes, with a 15-minute intermission.
Tickets can be purchased in person at the Center for the Performing Arts Box Office on the campus of Illinois State University, by calling (309) 438-2535, or online.
If you need an accommodation to fully participate in this program, please contact the Center for the Performing Arts Box Office at (309) 438-2535. Please allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodation.
