Dorsen further explains her work in an interview with Exberliner.com, “When I first made two chatbots talk to each other, they got stuck on this ‘hello – hi there’ back and forth. The outcome is a juxtaposition of banalities. Even we humans don’t really invent anything new when we talk. It is through the re-arrangement of existing words and concepts that we create something unexpected, something new. This is exactly what the chatbots do [in this work].”
In the tradition of mediaeval mystics such as Ramon Lull and Albertus Magnus, who once strove to build mechanical men with feathers, bronze and levers, aspiring to resolve the most difficult philosophical problems, the chatbots are a contemporary answer to the question of the artificial mind. What world of thought can arise when two computers sit down together and reflect on what they have in common with usPS? The goundbreaking HELLO HI THERE is an intimate collaboration between man and machine – an intelligent and, alarmingly often, creative and funny dialogue on humanity in the age of its digital reproduction.
When HELLO HI THERE premiered in and toured throughout Europe earlier this year, Sigurd Ziegler of Morgenbladet wrote, “Annie Dorsen’s post-human performance puts our understanding of what it means to be human to the wall…the flash of humanity in these machines is not only stunning, and formally flawless, but also significant.” Helmut Ploebst of Der Standard called Ms. Dorsen’s play “brilliant.” And Kleine Zeitung said, “Can machines really entertain? In Annie Dorsen’s "Hello Hi There" they can, and furthermore they manage it in more than 80 million different ways.”
Conceived and directed by Annie Dorsen, HELLO HI THERE has production design by Kate Howard, systems design by Jeff Gray, scenography and lighting design by Edward Pierce, and chatbot software design by Robby Garner.
Obie award–winning director and writer Annie Dorsen works in a variety of fields, including theatre, film, dance and, as of 2010, digital performance. Most recently, Hello Hi There premiered at the streirischer herbst festival, Graz, and has been presented in Oslo, Bergen and Berlin, before arriving in New York in January 2011.
She is the co-creator of the 2008 Broadway musical Passing Strange, which she also directed. Spike Lee has since made a film of her production of the piece, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009, subsequently screened at South by Southwest Film Festival and The Tribeca Film Festival, and was released theatrically by IFC in 2010 before being broadcast on PBS’ Great Performances.
VENUE: 9th space, located @PS122, 150 First Avenue@9th Street, NY
The guest performances of Ferienlager – The 3rd Generation and Klassentreffen – The 2nd Generation are presented by Kultursprünge@Ballhaus Naunynstrasse, as part of the project Reflections on Muslim Immigration in Germany, in collaboration with Deutsches Haus at NYU, supported by the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany New York, funded by Auswärtiges Amt - Foreign Ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany.
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Ending Racism In About An Hour | Open: 05/11/10 Close: 06/04/10
WRONG! Racism has redoubled — no, re-quadrupled — its efforts. Because now that a black man — or a half black/half white man if we want to split not so nappy hairs — is leading the free world, the stakes just have gotten much, much higher, especially for the really racist racists. And racism hasn’t run this rampant since Martin Luther King, Jr. had that dream. While the economy fails, racism is thriving. Whether it’s Rush Limbaugh’s & Glenn Beck’s daily treason, OR tea parties that look like casual Fridays at Ku Klux Klan rallies, OR Henry Louis Gates getting arrested for having a sticky door, OR the state of Texas deciding that the only good history book is a WHITES ONLY history book, OR the continued broadcast of BET, OR Tyler Perry… being Tyler Perry, OR the one-two-three cinematic punch of The Blindside, Avatar, and Precious. Meanwhile the 2010 Census STILL wantds to know how many "negroes" are out there. And all the while black people wonder, “Did we get a black president OR a president who is black?” Well, W. Kamau Bell is here to make (non)sense of all of it all. The Curve is a comedic exploration of the current state of America's racism, combined with a little (unknown) history, a little Powerpoint, and a whole bunch of Kamau. And because racism is always attacking in new ways and from new angles, Kamau attacks back by constantly adding new material. The Curve is a seamless mix of stand-up comedy, video and audio clips, personal stories and solo theatrical performance.
Binding was the inaugural production of Theatre C, which commissioned the work, and is a close collaboration between Zaritt, director Basmat Hazan, and producer/dramaturge Carlos Armesto. Violent, tender, and erotic, the dance/theater work portrays a solitary man's quest for love and connection. Breaking free from his repressions, he propels his body into a rapture of violence and tenderness.
Binding is a commission by Theatre C, created for the soloNOVA Arts Festival. Binding was nurtured and supported by LABA: The National Laboratory for New Jewish Culture at the 14th Street Y in Manhattan.
For additional information, please visit www.theatrec.org.