The Svanda Theatre will present contemporary author's theater in Chicago and New York, as well as a new dramatic text written by artificial intelligence. Presentation of the THEaiTRE project will take place also at Bohemian National Hall within the Rehearsal for Truth Theatre Festival, organized by the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation and Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association.
AI: When a Robot Writes a Play
When: Sunday, June 12, 2022 at 1 PM and 7 PM
You can register here.
A two-part interactive afternoon will feature a screening of the experimental play AI: When a Robot Writes a Play, written in full by a computer, telling a story of a robot left to the mercy of various representatives of human society after its master dies. The screening will be followed by a workshop with instructors Daniel Hrbek, David Kostak, and Rudolf Rosa, offering participants the chance to collaborate with a robot on composing a script.
The session will be hands-on, participants are encouraged to bring their own laptop.
Can a robot write a play? How does its writing process look like? What kind of input can spur an AI’s creativity to construct a desired scene? How far has modern technology evolved in terms of robotic writing? The creators of the first-ever computer-written play will present the THEaiTRE project, which explores the creative possibilities of artificial intelligence in playwriting.
During the workshop, Rudolf Rosa will explain the origins of the project from a technical point of view and share his experiences in ‘training’ a computer to write theater lines. David Kostak will demonstrate how to work with a program that could become the writing tool of the future, describing the software’s possibilities and current limitations. Under his supervision, participants will have the opportunity to experiment with crafting a script with a robot.
The evening part consists of the stage reading of a play created fully by a computer. Follow the story of the married couple Ivan and Nina, whose lives become deeply impacted by incoming war. Permeation is the second play generated by artificial intelligence—a mix of love tragedy, war drama, and espionage thriller.
Examining the creative potential of artificial intelligence, AI: When a Robot Writes a Play was conceived as a project in 2021 by the Svanda Theatre in Prague during the centenary of Karel Capek's R.U.R, the iconic play from which the term “robot” emerged. Within a few months of the project’s launch, the computer generated images from the ‘mind’ of a robot as it responded to the emotions of everyday existence. Exposed from this process are robotic perceptions of basic human issues including birth, aging, and dying as well as quests for love or purpose.
Free and open to the public. Online registration through Eventbrite is required. Masks are required inside the venue.
The 2022 Rehearsal for Truth Theatre Festival is dedicated to the people of Ukraine fighting for their independence. 🇺🇦 Suggested donation ($10) will be used to support Ukrainian refugees. All collected funds will be donated to People in Need, a Czech non-governmental, non-profit organization with over 20 years of experience in helping people in emergencies all over the world.
Rehearsal for Truth Theatre Festival is a showcase of contemporary European theater organized each year in New York City. Conceived in 2017 as a shared endeavor of the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation (VHLF) and Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (BBLA), the festival honors the legacy of Czech playwright, dissident and political thinker Vaclav Havel.
Each edition of Rehearsal for Truth Theatre Festival addresses current sociopolitical trends in Central Europe, offering New York audiences a unique opportunity to witness the region’s theatrical zeitgeist.
More about the festival: https://www.rehearsalfortruth.org/
Project partners: THEaiTRE, TACR (The project TL03000348 THEaiTRE: Artificial Intelligence as the Author of the Play is co-financed with state support of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic within the ETA Program 3); Institute of Formal and Applied Linguistics at the Computer Science School, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Czech Republic; CEE Hacks; Prg.ai; Theatre Faculty, the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, and Czech Centers.
A part of the acting and artistic ensemble of the Svanda Theatre in Prague will fly to the United States on a 15-day tour from May 31 to June 14. In addition to two productions representing contemporary Czech drama, the Smíchov scene will also present the unique project THEaiTRE, connecting the world of theatre with the world of science. As part of this, a brand new theatrical text written by artificial intelligence will be presented for the first time in the USA in the form of a stage reading in collaboration with local artists.
More about the project: https://www.theaitre.com/
