Working Through Times of Change

2025  ·  live performance

Working Through Times of Change is a live performance adaptation of "Talking About Work," a single-episode call-in advice show for anxious corporate employees produced in the late 1990s. The original production, with its slick tone, confidently bad advice, and lack of political imagination, struck me as an instance of AI cultural logics from a time before “AI” as we now know it existed. My adaptation is a participatory workshop featuring audience breakout sessions. It includes live audio/video processing, ersatz wood paneling, and a SadTalker deepfake which addresses the audience directly.

The performance is co-hosted with Dr. Faith Ralston, an HR consultant and psychologist from Minneapolis who is housed within a glowing glass head. Fielding questions from the live audience, Faith provides relatable, actionable guidance on managing one's anxieties in a time of widespread firings and economic destabilization.

Stagings:

2025 - Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago

2025 - ELO Conference, York University, Toronto

2025 - Digerati Experimental Media Festival, Denver

See also:

All Hands Meeting