By Sarah Sharif
In the first scene of Playwright Kate Douglas’s Off Off Broadway play “The Apiary,” the cascading beehive nets and sterile white walls designed by Walt Spangler set the tone. It’s 2046, the bees are extinct in the natural world.
In a tightly packaged, 70-minute exploration directed by Kate Whoriskey, audiences are challenged with ethical provocations on how far scientists should go to save the bees. As the futurist in the audience at Second Stage’s Tony Kiser Theater, I imagined myself at 56 and leapt in.
"Why I chose 22 years in the future is because it's not too different from the world we know now,” shared Douglas. “I got excited by creating a show where the tone and story took you on a fortuitous route."
Douglas credits her setting inspiration to work led by researcher Neri Oxman in collaboration with MIT Media Lab, Synthetic Apiary I and Synthetic Apiary II, exploring how to produce sustainable natural homes for honeybees in a controlled environment.
The play catapults the audience into one possible futures scenario where three scientists are desperately attempting to save the last four hives on Earth; Gwen (Taylor Schilling), Pilar (Carmen M. Herlihy), and Zora (April Matthis) exchange chilling dialogue on fast bee decline in this artificial apiary.
"To make the piece more accessible, I wanted to bring in threads of what they could recognize," shared Douglas, when we talked about her inspiration behind the characters and scenario. “Whether workplace humor or archetypes they have seen.”
Gwen, Pilar, and Zora draw audience members in with stereotypical budget debates and power dynamics which lessens future shock, an overload on a person’s capacity to cope with future change and decisions. In furious efforts for a positive outcome, Zora and Pilar even experiment in secret with bringing in flowers to appease the bees.
In comparison to the high-pressure urgency in the scientist plot, we also hear the slow, rambling stories told by different volunteer characters (Nimene Wureh) juxtaposing the pace that allowed the audience time to ponder and laugh. "I did feel it was important to prioritize the joy in the piece, the momentum and vibrancy of life, knowing that both grief and a vibrant life are intertwined," shared Douglas on these polarized pauses.
Gripped by how Douglas carried audiences through without losing their attention, I honed-in on her research process to build this world. "I first went to folklore and history,” shared Douglas on exploring the relationship humans have had to bees and pulling from her own childhood experiences interacting with nature.
"I'm really adhering to my instinct and my own attention span; if something bored me, I would change lanes,” Douglas casually commented on her writing methods and discovery. The play is a fluid dance with an unpredictable tempo.
Masterfully, Douglas invites audiences into a semi-familiar setting with relatable characters, only to test their appetite for speculative fiction as the plot unfurls; what if human lives have to be sacrificed in order to save the bees, should we consider it?
For some audience members I discussed the play with, the leap into the preposterous was harsh coupled with jolting bee (Stephanie Crousillat) dances choreographed by Warren Adams. I admired Douglas for her bravery to foray further into the uncomfortable and Whoriskey to make an audience squirm.
Towards that end for me, these dark, ethical dilemmas were a powerful metaphor in our collective departure from nature and our fragile efforts to reconnect. The futility settles in as the remaining bees struggle to survive, the scientists fall to their knees, each take a hive, and begin to share personal stories.
End of play. Lights up.
I recall some audience members sitting with wide eyes, others shrugging it off, but all without a doubt, now thinking about this future world they had just been immersed in. I took a meandering walk home to dissect the themes, subtle and unsubtle commentary, and to feel every emotion surfacing.
I took away two core reflections as I swung my apartment door open.
First, to introduce future scenarios to clients and colleagues through a new medium. In my consulting experience, we’ve used a variety of tactics to create a bridge for audiences from today to the tomorrow; newspaper artifacts, generative AI photography, or simulation videos, but perhaps a play could do the trick with minimal future shock.
Could brief immersive plays be more effective to evoke emotion, rouse ideas, and incite intellectual debates?
I felt an insatiable curiosity towards trying an experiment with using a play to introduce a future world and then host a generative session right after as attendees process their thoughts.
Let’s forget budget, casting, and production quality at this moment, but embrace the simple concept of clients and colleagues plunging into a scenario and observing without distractions, surely, this would have a higher return-on-investment.
Second, what it means for public audiences at an Off Off Broadway, unknowingly, to be exposed to the world of futures thinking and speculative fiction. Unlike other science fiction tales, Douglas offers up a fresh perspective and administers the experience with precision and care, fixing the audience to one moment in time with limited characters in occupation.
For other fellow futurists, superforecasters, and innovators, I implore you to seek experiences and inspiration in places that you might not sometimes see. I’m grateful to have crossed paths with “The Apiary” on a casual Saturday afternoon in New York City.
Sarah Sharif, a British-American innovator and futurist based in Manhattan, influences the future from 2030 to 2100, focusing on health equity.
As the Founder of Experimental Civics and Product Innovation Manager for FuturePractice at NYU Langone Health, Sharif brings a wealth of experience crafting business services and products of tomorrow. Sharif also teaches innovation as an Adjunct Professor at Sofia University.
Sharif is trusted to deliver on six-figure strategic foresight, design thinking, and early-stage innovation projects. Her sought-after expertise has supported top brands such as Google, Mozilla, Red Bull, and many more in the pharmaceutical industry. Her work through Experimental Civics has also led to partnerships with leading organizations such as TechStars, United Nations SDN, and the World Wildlife Fund.
Sharif's skills have earned her keynote speaking engagements at prestigious events such as Oxford University, SXSW, and Innovate South. Sharif holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences, an M.A. in Communications, and certificates from Harvard University, HEC Paris, and the Copenhagen Business School.
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