A winning story about science, conscience, and the heart.
— Chicago Sun Times
Queen
March 6 – 31, 2024
By MADHURI SHEKAR
Directed by MIRIAM A. LAUBE
Produced in collaboration with EnActe Arts.
What if all the bees abandoned their queen? In this high-stakes environmental drama, best friends Sanam and Ariel—PhD candidates from India and the U.S.—research the collapse of bee colonies worldwide, dreaming they themselves might collapse the glass ceiling of academia. When a flaw emerges in their research, their friendship, careers, and even an arranged marriage are at risk. With ecological disaster on the horizon, should they withdraw their findings or compromise them to protect the planet?
Special Events and Accessible Performances
- Thursday, March 7, 2024 @ 6:30 – 7:10 (Lucie Stern Theatre)
- Wednesday, March 13, 2024 @ 7:30pm
- Wednesday, March 27, 2024 @ 7:30pm
EnActe Arts Founder and Artistic Director Vinita Sud Belani joins local scientists for a discussion on colony collapse disorder.
- Wednesday, March 20, 2024 @ 7:30pm (Lucie Stern Theatre)
- Saturday, March 30, 2024 @ 8pm
- Sunday, March 31, 2024 @ 2pm
- Sunday, March 24, 2024 @ 2pm
- Sunday, March 24, 2024 @ 7pm
- Wednesday, March 27, 2024 @ 2pm
- Tuesday, March 19, 2024 @ 7:30pm
- Friday, March 15, 2024 @ 8pm
- Saturday, March 16, 2024 @ 2pm
- Sunday, March 24, 2024 @ 2pm
Cast
KJERSTINE ROSE ANDERSON
Kjerstine Rose Anderson (Ariel Spiegel) has performed regionally with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Theater Festival, Seattle Repertory Theater, ACT Theatre in Seattle, Book-It Repertory, and Rogue Theater Company. She was last seen in the Bay Area at Cal Shakes as Cordelia/The Fool in King Lear directed by the great Amanda Dehnert in 2015. She first encountered Queen in 2014 at the Black Swan Lab, a play development program at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. To be directed in this play by long time colleague and friend, Miriam A. Laube, is truly thrilling. Dedicated to the Bees, the greatest pollinators on this beloved Earth for the past 130 million years.
UMA PARANJPE
Uma Paranjpe (Sanam Srinivasan) is a Bay Area native returning home for a spell! Uma most recently appeared as Pi to close the Broadway run of Life of Pi at the Schoenfeld Theater. Off-Broadway: Short Stack (Ma-Yi), tango of a crumbling wall (Teatro Latea). Regional: Life of Pi (American Repertory Theater), Nerve (Theatreworks), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Catskill Mountain Shakes), Twelfth Night (CMS). Film: Beast (Tribeca New Voices), King Lahiri (Amazon Prime). Uma currently teaches at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York City, and out of her home in Brooklyn. umaparanjpe.com | @superumapuma
MIKE RYAN
Mike Ryan (Dr. Philip Hayes) is thrilled to appear in his first production at TheatreWorks. Other regional theatre credits include American Conservatory Theatre (The Hard Problem, Indian Ink, Napoli!), Aurora Theatre Company (Temple, Anatol), Laguna Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, Denver Center Theatre Company, Geva Theatre Center, San Jose Rep (Game On, Bill W and Dr. Bob, Legacy of Light), La Jolla Playhouse, and the Jewel Theatre Company. Bay Area audiences will also know him from his work at Santa Cruz Shakespeare where he served as Artistic Director and performed in more than 40 productions, including, most recently, The Book of Will, Twelfth Night, RII, and The Comedy of Errors.
DEVEN KOLLURI
Deven Kolluri (Arvind Rangarajan) is making his TheatreWorks debut with Queen. Off-Broadway: Monsoon Wedding (Hemant), St. Ann’s Warehouse; Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? (Guy), Drama League; The Boy Who Danced on Air (Narrator), Abingdon. Select Regional: She Loves Me (Georg), Signature; Camelot (Lancelot), Bay Street; A Christmas Carol (Marley), Geva; The Humans (Richard), TheatreSquared. TV/Film/VO: Out the Kitchen (Disney+); I Think You’re Projecting (Audible); Insomnia; Uncertainty Principle. Directing: The Gentleman Caller (NY premiere), Assistant Director; “Be Here” by city_princess (Music Video); ReMix, The Duplex. Writing: Dev (BlueCat Semifinalist); Sodara (Kesselring Nomination). @devenkolluri
CREATIVE TEAM
MADHURI SHEKAR, Plawright
Madhuri Shekar is a playwright and screenwriter. Her plays include House of Joy; Bucket of Blessings; Antigone, presented by the girls of St. Catherine’s; Queen; In Love and Warcraft; A Nice Indian Boy; The Incredible Book Eating Boy; and Dhaba on Devon Avenue. She has been commissioned by The Kennedy Center, South Coast Repertory, and Victory Gardens Theater, and her work has also been produced at The Old Globe, Center Theatre Group, Alliance Theatre, the Hedgebrook Playwrights Festival (in conjunction with Seattle Rep), Oregon Shakespeare Festival, California Shakespeare Theater, and EnActe Arts. She was the screenwriter of the Amazon/Blumhouse film Evil Eye, produced by Priyanka Chopra Jonas and starring Sarita Choudhury, based on her Audible original audio drama. She is currently writing the screenplay for Sister Act 3 for Disney, produced by Whoopi Goldberg and Tyler Perry, and directed by Tim Federle. Her TV credits include the upcoming series adaptation of “Three Body Problem” for Netflix, executive produced by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Alex Woo, and Rian Johnson, and the HBO fantasy epic “The Nevers.” She is writing a new epic drama pilot for Hulu, ABC Studios, and Nisha Ganatra. Her play A Nice Indian Boy was adapted into a film starring Jonathan Groff and Karan Soni, by Levantine Films.
MIRIAM A. LAUBE
Miriam A. Laube Directing: Much Ado About Nothing (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), The Tempest (Santa Cruz Shakespeare), Associate Director, Pirates of Penzance and Oklahoma! (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). Acting: 16 seasons at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival where she originated the roles of Gynecia in Head Over Heels, Maruca in Party People, and Cleo in Family Album. Laube was seen on Broadway in Bombay Dreams and has worked with The Public Theater, 59E59 Theaters, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and The Guthrie Theater. Teaching: Faculty Coach, in the Vocal Arts Department at Juilliard. Producing: Senior Producer, for the Play On Podcast Series at Next Chapter podcasts. Including King Lear (translated by Marcus Gardley), Pericles (translated by Ellen McLaughlin), Midsummer Night’s Dream (translated by Jeff Whitty). Boards: She serves on the board of directors for the Ashland New Plays Festival and Play On Shakespeare. Fellowships: Lunt Fontanne Fellowship, Fox Fellowship.
NINA BALL, Scenic Design
Nina Ball recently designed TheatreWorks’ productions of How I Learned What I Learned, Nan and the Lower Body, and In Every Generation. She is an award-winning scenic designer whose work has been seen at American Conservatory Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, California Shakespeare Theater, Seattle Rep, Shotgun Players, San Francisco Playhouse, Marin Theatre Co., and Aurora Theatre Co., among many others. Ball is also a production designer and has worked on numerous film, TV, and commercial productions. She is the Scenic Design Core Lecturer at Stanford University, a long time company member at Shotgun Players, an Artistic Associate at Marin Shakes, and a member of United Scenic Artist Union 829. ninaball.com
LISA CLAYBAUGH, Costume Design
Lisa Claybaugh is making her design debut at Theatreworks, where she is usually the Costume Assistant. She is a sought-after Bay Area designer, having most recently worked on Heroes of the Fouth Turning (Los Altos Stage). Other local theaters include Marin Theatre Company, Cinnabar Theater, Hillbarn Theater, Palo Alto Players, Theatre of Others, and ODC/SF. Her designs have also been seen on dance, opera and circus companies around the nation. She is the Resident Costume Designer at Silicon Valley Shakespeare (10+ productions), and the former resident designer at Coastal Repertory Theater (20+ productions) and Half Moon Bay Shakespeare, where she was a founding member. Lisa has been nominated for three Theater Bay Area Awards. She holds BAs in Dance and German from Rutgers University.
KENT DORSEY, Lighting Design
Kent Dorsey has designed over thirty world premieres for Theatre, Opera and Dance and created over 400 designs nationwide and internationally including scenery and/or lighting on 98 productions for San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre. New York theater productions include Alligator Tales, About Time, The Cocktail Hour, Yankee Dawg You Die, Suds, Another Antigone and Silence. He has designed for most of the major resident theater companies including the Kennedy Center, Ahmanson, ACT, Berkeley Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Geffen Playhouse, Seattle Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Rep, Cleveland Play House, Alliance Theatre Company, Denver Center Theatre Company. His opera work includes Scenery, Projection and Lighting Design for the World Premiere of The Conquistador (San Diego Opera), Chicago Opera Theatre, Palm Beach Opera, Opera San Jose and Virginia Opera.
JAMES ARD, Sound Design
James Ard is a noisemaker with a focus on new works, live experiences, and immersive stage productions. Recent theatrical Sound Design credits include Mrs. Christie (TheatreWorks), Our Country (Octopus Theatricals / Under The Radar Festival/The Public Theater), This Much I Know, Exit Strategy, Colonialism is Terrible but Pho is Delicious, Dry Powder, The Royale (Aurora Theatre Company), This Is Who I Am (Playco/Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company/Guthrie Theater/Oregon Shakespeare Festival/American Repertory Theater), 9 Parts of Desire (Portland Center Stage), Free For All, La Ronde (Cutting Ball Theater), Wolf Play, A Small Fire, (Shotgun Players), Our Town (Center Repertory Company), Chinglish, Indecent (San Francisco Playhouse), Time of Change (Joe Goode Performance Group). Ard is a Resident Artist with both Golden Thread Productions and Crowded Fire Theater.
AMANDA PULCINI, Intimacy Coordinator
Amanda Pulcini (Intimacy Coordinator) is thrilled to return to TheatreWorks after understudying Mrs. Christie. Her intimacy coordination in film/TV include Wilder Than Her, Here She Comes, Places of Worship, Gary Screams for You, and Chaaya. Her intimacy direction in live performance can next be seen in San Francisco at The Speakeasy: Age of Scofflaws starting in April! Amanda loves to bring workshops on intimacy and consent-forward practices to institutions across the country, encouraging creative and respectful workplaces within the industry. She holds an MFA from DePaul University, BFA from Shenandoah Conservatory, as well as being a Certified Intimacy Coordinator through Intimacy Directors and Coordinators. AmandaPulcini.com
RANDALL K. LUM, Stage Manager
Randall K. Lum recently stage managed Center Rep’s The Legend Of Georgia McBride and Every Brilliant Thing. Selected TheatreWorks credits include How I Learned What I Learned, Steel Magnolias, In Every Generation, Nan and the Lower Body, They Promised Her The Moon, Pride and Prejudice, The 39 Steps, Archduke, Fun Home, Hold These Truths, Finks, Skeleton Crew, Around the World in 80 Days, The Prince of Egypt, Constellations, Rags, Outside Mullingar, Confederates, Fallen Angels, The Lake Effect, Peter and the Starcatcher, Other Desert Cities, Once on This Island. Other companies: Oregon and San Francisco Shakespeare Festivals, Denver Center Theatre Company, La Jolla Playhouse, Center Theatre Group, The Old Globe, American Conservatory Theater, California Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Seattle Rep, Laguna and Pasadena Playhouses, and South Coast Repertory.
EnActe Arts
EnACTE has a two-fold mission: 1) To embrace Eastern and Western traditions of storytelling by developing and presenting thought-provoking stories that put South Asian voices in a global context. 2) To act as an inclusive platform for developing diverse talent in the performance arts. EnActe aims to be a leader in cross-cultural understanding, particularly with respect to South Asia, using the evocative lens of theatre and the creative power of storytelling.