Script Analysis
Setting
Location
The play takes place in Fargo, North Dakota.
Environment
The environment is humid and foggy, with heavy air and limited visibility. The temperature is around 70°F, and the fog creates a damp, hazy atmosphere that makes everything feel uncomfortable and tense. This setting supports the unsettling tone of the story.
Time
Date
July 10, 2023
Season and Significance
The story takes place in the middle of summer. July is an important choice because it is typically warm, humid, and foggy, especially in the early morning. It also aligns with peak mosquito season, which makes the events of the play feel realistic and believable.
Characters & Relationships
All of the characters are part of the same insect community and are connected through survival, food, and shared danger.
Charlie and Iris are siblings who rely on each other.
Christina and Blair are close friends.
Burt acts as a provider for the mosquitoes through his blood bar.
Svetlana is pregnant with hundreds of mosquito babies.
Jorg flirts with and pursues Christina.
The mosquitoes depend on humans for blood, even though humans pose a deadly threat.
Social Structure & Beliefs
There is no formal government in the insect world. Their society is informal and based on survival and social roles. Burt becomes an unofficial leader because he controls access to food.
The insects do not follow a religion or belief system. They believe in survival, feeding, and reproduction, doing whatever is necessary to keep their community alive.
Character Functions
Burt – A tick who owns the blood bar and acts as a caretaker and provider.
Svetlana – A pregnant mosquito desperate to feed her unborn babies.
Ursula – A wise, sarcastic mosquito who speaks from experience.
Blair – A realist who protects Christina and keeps her grounded.
Christina – A romantic mosquito who is fog-poisoned and often provides humor.
Iris – Fog-poisoned and optimistic, representing vulnerability.
Charlie – Iris’s protective brother and an emotional anchor of the play.
Isabel – Curious and experimental, especially with unfamiliar food.
Kellen – Dramatic and shaken after escaping a spider.
Jorg – A lazy, vegetarian flirt who causes tension.
Voiceover (Dad) – A human spraying insecticide.
Voiceover (Boy) – A human whose arm is used as a food source.
Protagonists & Antagonists
Protagonist
Charlie is the protagonist of Bite Me. The emotional core of the play centers on his relationship with Iris and his determination to protect her. His actions drive the story forward, and the audience experiences the danger and tension of the insect world largely through his perspective.
Antagonists
The main antagonists are the humans. Although they are not intentionally cruel, their actions—especially spraying insecticide—pose a deadly threat to the insect community and ultimately lead to the insects’ deaths.
Events Before the Play
Before the play begins, Charlie and Iris had already been through a lot together. Most of their swarm was lost early on, leaving them with only each other to rely on for survival. Because of this, Charlie became very protective of Iris, always watching out for her and putting her safety first.
As time went on, food became harder to find in their environment. Iris struggled more than the others because she was smaller and weaker, and the lack of food began to affect her physically and mentally. The fog in the area made things worse, leaving her confused and fog-poisoned. One morning, driven only by hunger and instinct, Iris wandered away from Charlie without realizing the danger she was in.
In her dazed state, Iris drifted toward Burt’s blood bar, a crowded and chaotic place where insects gather to feed. Charlie noticed her disappearance just in time and panicked, afraid he might lose the only family he had left. He rushed after her, determined to protect her no matter the risk. This moment sets the emotional stakes of the play and explains why Charlie’s actions are driven by fear, love, and survival.
Theme
Bite Me explores how small, everyday human choices can have major consequences for tiny creatures. The play shows that insects have their own communities, struggles, and routines, even though humans rarely think about them. Through humor and contrast, the story highlights themes of survival, misunderstanding, and how fragile life can be when environments are suddenly disrupted.