“Zebra 2.0” by Saviana Stanescu is a Sci-fi rom-com that engages questions of artificial intelligence, humanity, immigration, belonging, simulation, and consciousness through the uncanny friendship of an undocumented woman in the USA and an A.I. who counts zebras.
We – and ‘Zina’ – first meet ‘Al’ as it analyzes pixels in crowdsourced photographs of zebras, able to communicate with a human user in very basic ways and existing solely on a large computer monitor on the stage. As the two start interacting, over the course of 50 nights, Al and Zina learn from and change each other, opening up more and more and swirling us through questions of consciousness, language, love, the nature of existence, how humans treat each other, and whether two misfits can find fulfillment in this crazy, mixed-up world. As this intimate rom-com moves towards its climax, the characters become gradually subsumed into a romantic-comedy film, projected in the playing space, where they can finally meet “IRL” – In Real Life.
More info: http://www.anomalousco.com/zebra
Tickets: https://newohiotheatre.org/programs/ice-factory/zebra-2-0/
Zebra 2.0
by Saviana Stanescu
directed by Jeremy Goren
with contributions from data scientist Dr. Niki Athanasiadou
Performed by Alina Mihailevschi and Tim Craig
Co-produced by AnomalousCo and Wistaria Project
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