Shrinking Bee Colonies
Playwright and San Jose native Madhuri Shekar’s latest play Queen opens with two Ph.D. student scientists on the verge of getting their research on shrinking bee colonies published in a prestigious journal.
The play, directed by Miriam Laube, is presented by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley in collaboration with Enacte Arts-led by Vinita Sud Belani. The production runs through March 31st at Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto.
Ethical Dilemma in Scientific Publication
The play focuses not only on the environmental issues but also on the ethical ones that the student scientists encounter in the process of publishing their research. The process tests their friendship and individual ethics.
At the heart of this play is the camaraderie of two bright young scientists, Sanam (played by Uma Paranjpe) and Ariel (played by Kjerstine Rose Anderson) who are colleagues and close friends.
Playing in the backdrop is Sanam’s South Asian heritage (she meets Wall Street trader Arvind (Deven Kolluri) in an arranged marriage setup) and the challenges of single parenthood Ariel faces.
Dr. Philip Hayes (played by Mike Ryan) is convincingly cast as the head of the lab where Sanam and Ariel work. His single-minded focus on getting the paper published, pushing the scientists to circumvent ethical concerns about the data is the central theme highlighted in the 100-minute production.
Kjerstine Rose is moving as a single mother juggling home and demanding work while Deven Kolluri as the New York City-based trader plays the stereotypical chauvinist and successful professional to perfection. Uma Paranjpe as Sanam delivers as a young South Asian woman who does not want to bow to traditional expectations or sacrifice her career on the altar of marriage and home.
Simple set decorations and quick transitions keep the play rolling.
Scientific & Humor
According to Vinita Sud Belani (founding artistic director of EnActe), Queen is “a play that celebrates South Asian women in science.” We are introduced to scientific concepts such as Colony Collapse Disorder in Bees, Confirmation Bias – and how that now affects our national elections, and Scientific Truth – how statistical models can be manipulated.
The play also addresses social themes like class – how it affects all institutions, expectations for women – juggling children, marriage, and career and expectations for South Asian immigrants in America.
Playwright Perspectives
Madhuri Shekar began writing the play while working on her MFA in playwriting, and living with a student pursuing a Ph.D. in organic chemistry.
Shekar was fascinated by the scientific community and its parallels to the theater world. She observed that science, like the arts, is chronically undervalued. Scientists keep odd hours and work at all times of the day and night. Their friend groups usually form with those they work with to create tight-knit groups.
Shekhar credits her scientist friends as the inspiration behind Queen. They told her “Everybody loves bees.”