Broad Street Review: There is nothing cold or unfeeling about theater artist Annie Dorsen’s work—perhaps surprising when that work features two chatbots quoting the Bible and Shakespeare onstage. Since 2010, Dorsen has explored what she calls “algorithmic theater.” Working in collaboration with computer programmers, Dorsen creates theater where custom algorithms perform in place of or alongside human actors.
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The idea of “algorithmic theatre” is so interesting because at what point is it removing the things that make theatre special? When the actors are robots or computers no longer capable of feeling emotion, is that a fascinating and unique experience or a horrific and chilling commentary? Is the experience of just sitting in a dark room and seeing something performed enough to elicit an emotional reaction for the audience, or does it require human connection between human actors? It’s a little unnerving to think that traditional and emotional theatre can be taken out of it in Dorsen’s work, but I think it’s even more enchanting and inspiring to hear these questions even being asked. I would love to see one of these performances and discover for myself what kind of feelings and responses come from seeing beloved classics portrayed by machines. I would be interested to learn more about this topic.
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