New Play THE APIARY to run at New Village Arts in Carlsbad this January

New Village Arts will bring an exciting new work to its stage in 2026 with the San Diego Regional Premiere of The Apiary.

Written by Kate Douglas, The Apiary is a thrilling workplace dramedy set in a synthetic honeybee laboratory twenty-two years in the future. The Apiary follows four individuals tasked with keeping the last surviving colonies alive, until a shocking discovery inside the hive turns their work, their loyalties, and their futures upside down.

Performances on the Ray Charles Stage will run January 23 through February 22, 2026 at the Dea Hurston New Village Arts Center in Carlsbad Village. Previews are January 23rd through the 30th, with an Opening Night champagne reception and Handel’s Ice Cream on Saturday, January 31. Dea Hurston Industry Night will be held on February 9, 2026.

Set in a not-so-distant future where bees have vanished and ecosystems teeter on the brink of collapse, The Apiary follows scientists Gwen, Pilar, and Zora, who are tasked with safeguarding one of the last remaining beehives on Earth. Operating under strict protocols, their mission to protect the future of the planet slowly begins to unravel as buried histories, competing ideologies, and unsettling truths rise to the surface. Bold, strange, and fiercely imaginative, The Apiary blends speculative science fiction with dark humor and raw humanity.

The play interrogates the cost of survival, the ethics of preservation, and the dangerous seduction of control in the face of extinction. As the stakes heighten, the question becomes unavoidable: how far would you go to save the bees and what would you sacrifice to do it?

Director Kristianne Kurner returns to the directing helm with a visionary approach to this genre-blending play, pairing epic theatricality with emotional precision. Known for her daring visual storytelling and actor-driven work, Kurner will guide this production with a clear focus on the human heart at the center of the story, grounding its futuristic elements in deeply personal truth. This will be Kurner’s 40th production as director at NVA, with recent credits including John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt: A Parable and Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman, which was named the Most Ambitious Production of 2023 by David Coddon, from the San Diego Theatre Critic Circle.

"I’ve always been fascinated by plays that blend science and art. The passion that drives discovery and allows us to delve into the 'undiscovered country' is shared in both professions. I was immediately drawn to The Apiary because of the science, yes, but also because of the question of ethics. How far should we go to save something we love? Then we add this incredibly female and non-binary group of actors and it makes for an incredible experience in the theatre. I’m so proud that this is my 40th time directing shows for New Village Arts.” says Kurner.

The production is supported by an imaginative creative team, all returning artists, who will bring the futuristic world of The Apiary to life through their designs. Carter Vickers will design the scenic and props elements of the show. Jessica Moreno Caycho will return to NVA as Costume Designer, after their successful collaborations on RENT and La Havana Madrid, both in 2025. Chris Renda returns as lighting designer after his last production being 8-Track: The Sounds of the ‘70s in 2024. Former Dea Hurston Fellow Miki Vale returns to NVA as sound designer, creating the very distinct auditory world of the bees. Michael Wogulis returns as the projections designer, after his incredible work in the 2025 production of The Mountaintop, among many others. Nathan Waits and Kendra Baros will stage manage and assistant stage manage for the production, respectively. Marykate Reeves-Hoche will assist with costumes, while the scenic elements will be constructed by Greg Ertel.

The Apiary is brought vividly to life through an innovative partnership with Kingspan Light + Air, and Solatube International, whose expertise will be directly displayed in the play’s striking onstage design. Together with New Village Arts, these partners are helping to construct a fully realized synthetic apiary onstage: an environment that mirrors the play’s themes of innovation, preservation, and humanity’s attempt to engineer solutions. By blending real-world sustainability practices with theatrical storytelling, these collaborations deepen the production’s immersive sci-fi aesthetic.

The cast of The Apiary features a dynamic ensemble of returning favorites and exciting new artists to the New Village Arts stage. NVA favorite Milena (Sellers) Phillips returns to the stage as Zora, the new employee in the apiary, with her last performance being Jen Silverman’s The Roommate in 2023, among many others. Other NVA alumni in the production include Michelle Caravia from La Havana Madrid and Nio Russell, who won a 2025 San Diego Critic Circle Award for their role as Celie in The Color Purple. Adelaida Martinez makes her NVA debut as the youngest employee. Maybelle Shimizu and Hayden St. Clair join the cast as swings, also making their NVA debuts.

San Diego Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. THE WULFEATER (Tenth Avenue Arts Center)

14.1% of votes

2. SHREK (Carlsbad Community theater)

9.9% of votes

3. FOOTLOOSE (A-List Theatre)

7.8% of votes

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