Editor’s Note: The 35th Annual Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival will be held May 13-26 at different venues in and around Loch Haven Park and downtown Orlando. Freeline Media will be previewing the shows right up to the festival date.

ORLANDO — Over the years, there have been some wild and crazy shows at the Orlando Fringe Festival, gleefully breaking taboos, skewering political correctness and testing the boundaries of, ahem, good taste.

But a show about Adam and Eve and other biblical lore? Doesn’t that sound more like a Sunday school class than, well, Orlando Fringe?!

Artist Billie Jane sure begs to differ. She has a show at the Orlando Fringe Festival, and if the title — Then, Eve — hints at biblical themes, yes that would be accurate.

But this is no Sunday school lesson, Billie Jane insists.

What is the Show Then, Eve?

While playwright and solo performer Billie Jane did draw “inspiration from the best-selling book of all time, the Holy Bible,” her show will be perfectly suited for Fringe audiences, including members of the audience who are part of the Trans community, she notes.

The solo show, which will have 7 performances at the Renaissance Theater Company, delivers Billie’s “signature blend of humor, vulnerability, and unapologetic perspective to a solo show about how God created Adam – and Eve created herself,” the show’s program notes point out.

“Her story starts the way too many stories do … with a man,” the program continues. “But armed with nothing more than an apple and a thirst for (r)Evolution, Eve is ready to tell you what really went down in that garden.” That includes shattering some fourth walls to get the story told.

My my!

What’s the Story Behind Then, Eve?

Intrigued, Freeline Media reached out to Billie Jane to learn more about his production.

Freeline Media: We’re impressed, we don’t hear Adam and Eve come up much at Fringe. Tell us about the origins of Then, Eve.

Billie Jane: Well, I would say that my area of interest as a playwright is historical fiction, or at the very least, taking well-known stories and turning them on their head. My first big success at Fringe was also about a character from the Bible that I reimagined as a queer love story (JUDAS, 2021). I certainly didn’t set out to write multiple shows about biblical characters, but… I’m a queer person from the Midwest with a lot of religious trauma. What can I say? Lol. The specific inspiration for Eve was born out of uncertainty. Right after the 2024 election, things felt darker and scarier for me as a trans person than they ever had before, and I was trying to figure out how to navigate the world in this new normal. And, like any slightly unhinged theatre person, instead of calling my therapist to work through these feelings, I turned to the stage. I thought to myself, “You know who else was thrown into the world, told how to live, and told who to be in a world that simply wasn’t made for her?” Eve from the Bible. And the rest kind of wrote itself.

FM: Fourth-wall shattering also caught our eye. Tell us more.

BJ: What a kind review! I remember reading that and feeling so seen and validated as an artist. When I’m writing these solo shows, my goal is always to focus on the humanity of the characters. Whether that’s Queen Mary I, Eve, or Judas, it’s important to me that I strip away all of their pretense and let them stand vulnerable in front of the audience, showing who they really are. This show, like most of my work, moves back and forth between direct address and stepping into the character’s memories. For the most part, my scene partner is the audience, and because I speak to them directly so often, I get the rare opportunity to look them in the eyes and connect in a way that goes beyond simply performing on stage. So I think what he means by that is that there truly is no fourth wall for much of the show. I’m really up there talking directly to you, the audience member. And this might sound like such a pretentious actor thing to say, but I never want to be on stage creating imaginary circumstances for a character. I want to just be and let the character react in whatever way feels honest on any given day. If I feel compelled to cry, I’ll cry. If I feel compelled to laugh, I’ll laugh. But I’m never going to force it or fake it. Because of that, I’d like to think it often feels less like a performance and more like the audience is sitting there listening to a friend tell them a story. That’s the goal, anyway.

FM: What are the main challenges (and rewards) of doing a solo show?

BJ: I guess it kind of depends which side of me you ask, lol. The producer, the playwright, and the actor are all going to have very different answers. As a playwright, the challenge is figuring out how to tell a story with only one person and not letting it turn into someone just standing there talking at you for the entire show. And because of that, I often write a first draft of the show with other characters and then figure out how to tell the same, fully fleshed out story with only one of them. But the reward is getting to focus entirely on that one person—pouring all of your energy into creating a fully realized, complex character. As a producer, the challenges are entirely of my own making. I choose to be a true one woman band and handle everything myself, from marketing to costumes to designing the poster. It’s a lot—a lot—but there’s something incredibly rewarding about knowing I was able to do it all myself… which I’m sure my therapist would have something to say about, lol. As an actor, the reward and the challenge are the same: I’m up there all by myself. If something goes wrong or I forget a line, there’s no one there to help me. But at the same time, there’s no one depending on me to do it exactly the same way I did it the night before. I can just let Eve live. 

FM: Are themes related to the Trans community a key aspect of the production?

BJ: Yes — without giving away too much, there’s a reason the Orlando Sentinel referred to the show as a “very personal story,” ha ha. When writing about Eve’s discoveries in this brand-new world, I wanted them to parallel the discoveries and challenges that I — and many other trans people — face when coming to terms with our gender identity. I think we often see the same kinds of trans journeys depicted in media, where someone starts dressing differently and says they feel trapped in the wrong body. But for people like me, who had no frame of reference for what being trans even meant, the experience was very different. It felt more like being the first person on Earth, trying to learn where you fit and what to do without any guidance … just trying to figure it out.

FM: Is this your first stop at Orlando Fringe?

BJ: No — I’ve actually been part of the Orlando Fringe Festival since 2013, and I’ve been writing and producing my own work since 2018. Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to receive multiple Critics’ Choice Awards, along with Watermark Splash Awards and Best of the Fest honors. What’s super exciting is that this marks my first time taking my work beyond Orlando. After the festival, I’ll be hitting the road — bringing the show to Sydney, Australia, and London, England, with stops in Atlanta and Indianapolis as well. As an independent theatre maker, it feels like a dream come true to share this story with audiences beyond my home. But as a trans person, it also feels paramount to speak up and remind the world that trans people have always been here — and we aren’t going anywhere—especially now, when simply existing can feel like an act of defiance.

Where Can I See Then, Eve at the Orlando Fringe Festival?

Then, Eve will have 7 performances at the Renaissance Theatre Company, 415 E. Princeton St. as part of the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival. The show is 60 minutes long, and tickets are $15, available to purchase here.
The show will be performed on these dates:

• Thursday, May 14 at 9:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 20 at 8 p.m.
• Saturday, May 16 at 1:30 p.m.
• Saturday, May 23 at 9 p.m.
• Sunday, May 17 at 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, May 24 at 1:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 18 at 9:30 p.m.
  

Michael Freeman is an Orlando journalist, playwright, and author of the chilling horror novel “Bloody Rabbit”. Contact him at Freelineorlando@gmail.com.