←Recommendations of Sapience

I had the pleasure of seeing the world premiere of SAPIENCE at Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland. Burbano's lush and humane script deftly weaves together a tapestry of emotion and connection - across species - with a delicate, intimate clarity and pervading curiosity. A gorgeous incubator for shared understanding, SAPIENCE draws on big topics and asks powerful questions while staying true to its smart, relatable and kind-hearted center. Brava.

Enjoyed everything from the title to the ending. Thoroughly impressed by Burbano's handling of loss, mortality, intelligence, and connection. Highly, highly recommended.

“Sapience” is a boundlessly ambitious and sharply observed play about the intersections of science, neurodiversity, and the shortcomings of human communication. Burbano creates a compelling protagonist in Elsa, an Autistic primatologist whose struggles to teach an orangutan English are mirrored with her cousin Miri, whose non-speaking Autistic son also struggles to communicate. The final 35 pages are one gut punch after the next, as the metaphorical jungle Elsa creates for herself gradually overtakes the stage—a great challenge for designers. Finally, “Normal is a place to hide” may be one of my favorite lines in a contemporary play.

With the deft touch of an expert dramatist, Burbano explores questions of who we are and what makes us human in a journey that’s both wrenching and compassionate but always entertaining. SAPIENCE offers an empathetic look into the immigrant experience, the experience of being neurodivergent, the experience of facing one's mortality, and through Wookie, the experience of never being understood - one every human person knows all too well. Mostly, this beautiful play is about love…

I had the privilege of watching Sapience virtually as a production with the Moxie Theatre. This is a beautiful play that addresses language, communication, love and grief with such care and grace. I hope that this play is performed across the country as it deserves every success and award. Brava.

A wryly, mournfully funny play about the delicate interconnections between humans and animals. A play about science, autism and the pressures of hyper-normalization in a culture that stresses ableism at nearly all costs. Written with affection, warmth and compassion.

Sapience is a beautifully written play that gives us a fascinating look into difference and how we as humans connect or miss connecting with each other based on the various ways we manage our differences, how communication can succeed or fail on the slimmest of edges. I was so moved by the light hand of Burbano that inspires deep meditations into the nature of our mortality and our creativity. Lovely work!

So many big questions wrapped in a gorgeous package that celebrates difference while underscoring the universal need to connect. This play deserves all the attention it's getting!

I love learning things from a good science play, and Sapience did not disappoint! Burbano also uses the play to bring up fascinating questions about neurodivergence and loneliness, among other big ideas. There's a lot going on here (in the best way), and it's best to experience it for yourself - give this play a read!

A masterful work. Burbano creates characters with autism, but shows us that they have hopes, dreams, flaws, and virtues like the rest of the world. In other words, people. Her story has a message, but it is not laid out for us. Instead, we are enraptured in the story, and from there, we see what it is the characters have to say. This is definitely a play I'll be thinking about, and I think you will, too!