'The Adding Machine' asks if AI has a future in the theatre

Soundside

When tech companies began announcing advanced artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT, there was widespread enthusiasm. AI was going to make mundane jobs more efficient; it was going to reshape entire industries and creative processes; and it was going to free up time for humans to do things that were, well, more human – things like creating art.

But in the last few years, it’s been artists themselves raising the alarm around automation. Some see AI as a cool new tool, or another color on the palette; others argue it’s an existential threat to industries that were already struggling to stay afloat.

For local theater director Ryan Guzzo Purcell, the bleeding edge of AI in art is something we can’t approach from an either/or point of view. His latest production with The Feast is a reinterpretation of “The Adding Machine,” a 100 year old play about automation by playwright Elmer Rice.

A new version of the play at Seattle University’s Lee Performing Arts Center updates that notion for modern times, leaning into the question of dealing with automation by incorporating AI at practically every level: the stage design, the production – even the performances.

Soundside producer Alec Cowan spoke with Purcell to learn more about the intersection of technology and stagecraft after attending a recent showing.

Curious about seeing the play yourself? The show runs through Sunday, Oct. 6. You can find tickets here.

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Guests:

• Ryan Guzzo Purcell, artistic director at The Feast, a Seattle theater company, and director of "The Adding Machine: A Cyborg Morality Play."

Related Links:

• What's Next | The Feast (the-feast.org)
• The Adding Machine: A Cyborg Morality Play - Seattle University
• How Seattle theater company The Feast’s play using AI turned out | The Seattle Times
• KUOW - Artists vs. AI: where innovation meets unwelcome imitation

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