As Bees in Honey Drown

As Bees in Honey Drown Summary | Act 1, Scene 1 Summary

The story of As Bees in Honey Drown is summed up in one of the first lines from the play's central character: a young man gets caught up in a lifestyle that blurs the line between fantasy and reality. Faced with the prospect of fame and fortune, he falls under the spell of a scheming promoter, discovers he's been defrauded to the tune of several thousand dollars and concocts a scheme of his own to get revenge. This play is a comic satire on the lure of success, containing several pointed references to both gay sensibility and contemporary popular culture.

The first act is subtitled "Life." In a photographer's studio, Wyler, a young man in his twenties, is posing for publicity photos. Conversation between the Photographer and his bored assistant Amber (who speaks about herself in the third person) reveals that Wyler has just written his first novel about a young man in his twenties who becomes caught up in a conflict between fantasy and reality. The Photographer asks whether Wyler is related to two famous people with the last name of Wyler. Wyler's real last name is Wollenstein, and his real first name is Eric. He felt the name "Eric Wollenstein" wouldn't look good on a book cover. The Photographer tells Wyler to take off his shirt. Wyler says that a sexy image isn't what he wants to present, describing what he wants to look like. The Photographer immediately interprets this as the artistic sensitive personality. He says that pictures like that don't sell books and again tells Wyler to take off his shirt. Wyler admits that selling books is the whole point of photo shoots like this, and with Amber's help, he takes off his shirt. The Photographer tells him to make love to the camera.