Production Tips for flawless leArnIngs
by Kirk Shimano Canadian Author
This darkly comedic play explores the implications of a future where education is entirely driven by data and algorithms.
A seemingly benevolent AI teacher attempts to “optimize” students’ personal essays with chilling efficiency.
The play delves into themes of conformity, rebellion, and the importance of authentic self-expression in a world that increasingly seeks to quantify and control human experience.
Average Producer Rating: 5.0 out of 5
Tips from past Producers
Our production used a Black Box style staging, so I had two students placed downstage left and downstage right with their backs to the front-facing audience. The other students were positioned in a more traditional position, with the teacher upstage center. This allowed the audience members on the sides to have a view of an actor's full face as well as the front-facing audience. Also, I had students dressed as robots greet stationed at the auditorium door, and as audience members entered, they had to read a CAPTCHA image. The actors said "beep boop".
As the play is quite language-rich, we found it important to keep the student characters and ensemble reactions animated to contrast with the teacher. Looking back, some moments could have been more dynamic to help keep the audience engaged and make the story clearer. With more time, we would have explored each character’s assigned animal more deeply, incorporating not only its personality but also its signature movements into the performance.