By Walter Murphy . . .
SMART is a new play presented by the Ensemble Studio Theater (EST) in association with Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (Sloan). EST presents new original and challenging works, and Sloan’s mission is to combine science and technology with the humanities. SMART neatly fulfills this shared vision, as the play tells a story about the effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the personal relationships of the play’s three characters. Playwright Mary Elizabeth Hamilton masterfully demonstrates technology’s potential for benefit and abuse in this very human story.
Act I opens in a Brooklyn apartment with daughter Elaine (Kea Trevett) setting up a virtual assistant named Jenny (voiced by Sherz Aletaha), for her mother Ruth (Christine Farrell), who is recovering from a stroke and exhibiting halting communication. Ruth has aphasia, an illness that affects cognitive and communication skills. Elaine believes that Jenny will help her mother and secondarily alleviate some of the guilt and anxiety she feels when not with her mom. Enter Gabby (Francesca Fernandez), the tech remote specialist in the midwest, who begins monitoring in-home interactions to personalize the system’s speech interpretation so that Jenny can respond effectively and accurately for Ruth. It becomes evident that Ruth’s health is in decline. And we learn that Gabby’s father also has health issues. Although she serves initially as a distant remote tech support, Gabby discovers a kindred spirit in Elaine and develops feelings for her.
Act II opens with a closing of the distance between Elaine and Gabby, literally and figuratively. When her father passes, Gabby moves back east to NYC and begins looking to buy a house. By chance, Elaine is a realtor. Who knew? Actually, Gabby did, having had access to Elaine and Ruth’s personal information. The two become friends, then lovers. One night, Elaine and Gabby join Ruth for a dinner that ends badly. Later, alone, Ruth falls, leaving her terrified and injured. The couple had gone to Gabby’s place. While Elaine is out of the room, Gabby checks on Ruth through Jenny and hears the fall. With little explanation, Gabby urgently encourages Elaine to leave, to go home. Elaine arrives home to find her injured mother. Later, suspicious of Gabby’s insistence that she depart, Elaine asks Jenny to play back the previous night’s conversation. Elaine hears Gabby’s voice asking Ruth if she is all right. Although injured, Ruth survives. The scenario highlights one of the key points of the play—it is a fine line between aid and overreach when accepting AI technology into a home. The playwright makes the point that even overreach has its benefits. Elaine was able to come to the aid of her mother.
As mentioned, the play is about relationships, personal and technological. Yes, there is the concern that AI is consuming our futures: “Are we going to be replaced by robots?” But even the initially hostile Ruth mellowed when she realized how easy it was to hear her favorite music. However, I felt the play was mostly about adults (young adults) caring for their parents. Elaine and Gabby both have parents in health decline and much of the dialogue is about navigating their lives while dealing with ailing parents. Possibly, as a result, they feel adrift and yearn for someone to give them direction. Each ask, “What should I do? . . . I just want someone to tell me what to do.”
Playwright Hamiltion makes many SMART choices. For example, she cleverly selects an aphasia test, an illness that affects communication skills, as a task Jenny can use to help Ruth. She creates a character (Gabby) who crosses the line between aid and overreach, exactly the fear one has about accepting AI technology in a home. Additionally, Gabby believes that AI can help her father’s condition so she is definitely a proponent of the technology. As justification, she points out to Elaine “If I didn’t act, your mother would still be on the floor.” Additionally, the writing is not without humor. For example, for those suffering insomnia, Jenny has a cure: reading exuberant reviews of tupperware . . . ZZZ
The performances, including Jenny, are excellent, displaying the range of reactions the play’s scenario creates—frustration, flirtation, anger, humor, sarcasm, indecision, grief, guilt, happiness, sadness, loss, acceptance. Christine Farrell masterfully and convincingly portrays Ruth, interspersing halting speech and actions with glimpses into a funny and complex woman who is fading away. Elaine’s (Kea Trevett) and Gabby’s (Francesca Fernandez) actions perfectly capture the frustration of waiting for their lives to begin. When will it be their time?
Direction by Matt Dickson is SMART and economical. For instance, multiple scene shifts happen in a very limited space. So, some scenes happen off center stage. Coordination between lighting (Colleen Doherty), and audio (Josh Samuels) was seamless and spot on. Jenny’s audio was perfectly timed as if live. (Maybe it was?) The one note I would give from the performance I attended was when Gabby reveals her interference and rationale for it —“I want to train AI for better responses.”—I thought a longer pause would have let the drama of the moment settle more forcefully.
Staging also had space challenges that the designer (Yi-Hsuan (Ant) Ma) overcame. Act I captured the look of decades of clutter that Ruth collected. Act II presented minimalist decor more fitting with the oft-moved lifestyles of Elaine and Gabby. One scene played out among unpacked boxes.
Jenny is introduced into the home to help Ruth. The story hews closely to that reasoning and doesn’t portray AI as an insidious commercial influencer. Discussion of AI can be a fearful rabbit hole, but SMART presents that discussion gracefully by focusing on people. People who only want the best for their loved ones.
SMART. Through April 23 at Ensemble Studio Theatre (545 West 52nd Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues). www.ensemblestudiotheatre.org
Photos:Carol Rosegg
