This article is the third in a series of five articles on helenair.com discussing Carroll College faculty perspectives and experiences with AI.
What is the purpose of theatre? And what does theatre have to do with a series on AI? I’m honored to offer the third article in this five-part series as I serve as director for Carroll College’s upcoming production of Anthropology by Lauren Gunderson, opening Friday, February 20. This production is not simply a play; it is an experiment, one that uses theatre as an entry point to deeper conversation.
I’ve been involved in theatre since seventh grade. Today, I teach at Carroll College and Grandstreet Theatre, and I am pursuing a graduate degree in Pedagogy—how we teach theatre. I believe deeply that theatre is a place to practice our humanity. It strengthens empathy, fosters connection, and offers what director Anne Bogart once described as a “gym for the soul.” Educational theatre, in particular, allows us to rehearse for real life.
What is it about this art form—this act of gathering together to watch other human beings embody a story—that has persisted for over 2,500 years? This is the question I begin with in the Theatre History class I teach. Plagues, radio, film, television, and now generative artificial intelligence, have all been heralded as the death of theatre. Yet theatre endures, even if its purpose ebbs and flows. Like the Ancient Greeks, I believe it remains a place where communities can gather, not to escape the world, but to ask questions together—to explore uncertainty, imagine possibilities, and create meaning through a shared experience.
When I read Anthropology, it felt like alignment rather than coincidence. The play’s intimate cast, emotional rigor, and socially urgent questions made it an ideal vehicle for an experiment: Could we use theatre to explore issues in our community? Gunderson often describes theatre as a ‘thought experiment’ in the vein of Einstein—a space where imagination allows us to try out ideas, test solutions, and sit with complexity. Theatre offers a uniquely human way into that process.
I find myself increasingly concerned about how technology is shaping our lives under the guise of progress. I struggle with questions of screen time, shortened attention spans, and what is lost when imaginative play and human connection are replaced by dopamine-driven distractions. We are often told that AI saves time, but I am not seeing that time reinvested in art, community, or meaningful connection. Instead, it seems we fill the reclaimed hours with more work, more hustle, more scrolling, and thus more isolation. That’s why the idea of choosing to gather together and experience a story feels almost radical and deeply necessary.
Our production of Anthropology is not intended to argue for or against AI. This play presents both its benefits and its risks, raising questions about dependence, consent, and connection. In order to maintain that connection after the applause ends, I asked my colleagues to help me take the experiment to its next phase by designing a series of community engagement events that extend beyond the curtain call. After the play ends, audience members are invited to participate in the experiment; to reflect, create, discuss, and learn together—exploring not just what AI can do, but what it can’t, and perhaps what it shouldn’t be allowed to do.
For over two millennia, humans have gathered to watch stories embodied by other humans—not always in formal theatres, but in community. Often, the intention was not simply to be moved, but to be moved toward reflection, dialogue, or action. Anthropology invites us to do just that. And, perhaps most importantly, to stay with the questions a little longer. Join us.
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Julia Harris, MA, is an Instructor of Theatre and Coordinator of Staged Health at Carroll College. She is also on faculty with Grandstreet Theatre School. Anthropology is the culminating project of an MFA degree in Theatre Pedagogy.
Helena IR: Why theatre, and why now? An invitation to 'Anthropology'