Tahquitz High School theater teacher Monica Reichl always searches for timely and relatable scripts for her students to perform at the Hemet school. This year, she has chosen “The A.I. Play” by Don Zolidis, to be presented on Nov. 14 and 15 at 6:30 p.m.
The hour-long comedy centers on high school student Eleanor who uses a chatbot to write a paper on “The Great Gatsby” for her class assignment. That leads to the chatbot writing the best essay ever and having Eleanor sent to a special school for genius children. It turns out that every other student there used a chatbot to get into the school. The chatbots dictate their personal lives by guiding them in what they say based on the persona they want to present.
Monica Reichl, who has been the theater teacher at the high school since it opened in 2007, said she read the script about a year and a half ago and enjoyed it but decided to do a different play last year.
“And now it seems in our meetings and trainings, we have more and more conversations about A.I., I have more and more students using it, thinking we, as teachers, can’t spot the difference,” she said. “So, Eleanor delivers the message of the story, that it isn’t about turning in that perfect paper or achieving ‘success’ based on things created for us, but rather that we should fail and struggle and that is when the learning happens.”
Eleanor is played by Olivia Peña, a senior who has been in theater for the past seven years. She plans to pursue theater past high school and “maybe Broadway someday.” She said, “Eleanor is definitely a leader, a procrastinator and a little awkward.” She said she found the play very relatable since she herself had to turn to online research when she was assigned to read the classic novel in her English class and had no idea what she was reading about.
“I love theater because I’m able to express myself and be someone else and not myself which is the most socially anxious and awkward person you’d ever meet,” Olivia said. Of all the comedies, dramas and musicals she has appeared in, she said she prefers drama the most. “I joined choir just to improve my voice for theater.”
Ellie Ballard is a junior who has been cast in the role of Minerva, Eleanor’s chatbot. She has been acting her whole life and has been in theater and choir for the past two years. She is also in the school’s band and takes studio dance, focusing on tap, ballet and pointe. She wants to attend UC, Irvine for dance and prefers musical theater productions.
“I like that the role of Minerva is different in that she gets to control a person’s movements,” Ellie said. “Minerva is a very dramatic character, and she shows that. There are some plot twists in a show that is funny, dramatic and over the top at times. It is fun for us to perform, and I think it will be fun for others to see it.”
Reichl’s goal is to choose plays that she thinks the students will like and it appears this one accomplishes that.
“Casting is the biggest challenge and the most dreaded part of my job,” Reichl said. “A lot of times I look at the students I have and imagine them in different roles, but then the auditions come around and one I thought would be great in one role just didn’t quite nail it, but then surprises me in a different part. But every time I post a cast list, I know some students will be thrilled and others will be devastated.”
Julia Reyes spent her pre-high school career as a homeschooled charter school student who always took acting and improv classes. “I really enjoy theater and hopefully one day I can be in a production like a movie,” the sophomore said. Her character in this play is Joe-Bob, who she describes as a paranoid conspiracy theorist at the school for genius children. She likes the character development that takes place during the course of the play. Although she also played a male role in the school’s spring production, the talented actor said she can play different roles despite gender. Although Joe-Bob was her third choice when she auditioned, “I was happy with the role I got and still enjoy it to this day.”
Julia also likes how relatable the characters are and the jokes that come and go. “In this show, some of the minor roles are the funniest. I’m happy to be in this production with so many amazing people,” she said of the cast of about 20. She said the play has a nice balance of funny and serious, due to the subject matter at the center of it all. Julia sees artificial intelligence as a “solution but also our doom at the same time.”
Senior Madison Tyra has been acting since she was in seventh grade. Her favorite genre is musicals because she loves singing. She describes her character Ali as “a peppy, talkative girl obsessed with getting into college.” She said her joyful and happy tendencies in real life carried over into her character. “This is a fun comedy about high schoolers struggling with A.I.,” she said. “I try to stay off A.I. for schoolwork but enjoy it for games and storytelling.” Her favorite part of being in this play is the fact she is joined onstage by her best friend, Milah, so they can share as characters what they have in real life.
While Madison has been exploring higher education opportunities for her eventual goal of becoming a math teacher, she will be going on a mission for her church after high school graduation.
Greydon Gudat is a sophomore who has been in theater since third grade, attending lots of camps and being involved in choir and dance. He said that although he really loves the performing arts, he doesn’t see it as a career path, stating that he will most likely enter the education field. His character is Rider but being that he wants to be considered the “cool” guy, he opts to spell it Ryder. Greydon said the role offers a great demonstration of range and shows off how much he can stretch as an actor. “I love complex roles; I love to stray from my own self and convince the audience that I am that character,” he said.
Drake Rodgers is a student at Renaissance Valley Academy-Springs Charter School who participates in theater classes at Tahquitz. He plays Minerva’s father in this play and said he was happy to get the part in the hilarious, family-friendly show. “I like the comedy of my role,” he said. “When I read the script, I liked the story. I do like the message it tells which is basically, don’t cheat your way through life.”
Working so closely with the actors in the play, Reichl said it led to a few discussions about students not getting away with using artificial intelligence as cleverly as they think they do.
“There are times when A.I. can be a great tool, but it ultimately does not replace their imagination, their curiosity, their skills,” she said.
The Tahquitz High School Performing Arts Center is at 4425 Titan Trail (off Cawston Ave.) in Hemet. Parking is free and doors open at 6 p.m. for the 6:30 p.m. shows on Nov. 14 and 15. Tickets are $5 each. For more information, [email protected].