By Eva Trieger in La Mesa, California
Did you know that the 2010s have been dubbed the Decade of Disruption? I just learned about this moniker that points to all of the devices, apps and advancements in technology that have entered our lives and perhaps threaten to take them over. Artificial intelligence, once the stuff of sci-fi dreams has become a reality, and in the wrong hands, may be a weapon of mass destruction.
Lamplighter’s Community Theatre hosts Playwright and Director, Lisa Balderston, who has written a provocative and suspenseful play about the use and abuse of AI at a private Christian university.
Academic integrity is not something new. However with the advent of ChatGPT, Creao, Google Gemini and other chatbots, the opportunities for students to get “help” writing papers and essays is virtually endless. The stakes are high if the student’s thievery is discovered. Penalties could range from earning a zero for an exam to actually being expelled from the institution. But what happens when the crime originates with the professor? This is the topic of Balderston’s latest play, Let’s Chat.
This young playwright is quickly establishing herself as a master of intense human drama and handles delicate topics with insight, sensitivity and palpable accuracy. She is gifted at creating tension and demands that her audiences experience the tough choices for themselves.
Professor Abigail Gracie (Ruth Russell) opens the play by instructing her Literature class about their mid-term exam. She encourages them to rely on what they’ve learned through her lectures and the readings to respond to the questions on the test. She reminds her students that while she knows they’re taking the exam on their computers, they are expected to do their own work.
As a dedicated 22-year veteran college professor, this young woman has exchanged a life of adventurous travel and family in favor of teaching writing and literature to college students. Additionally, she has intentionally made herself indispensable to the school, pitching in wherever needed, volunteering for committees while juggling five courses and caring for her elderly father. As testimony, cards and letters from appreciative students are displayed on a corkboard in her office.
Enter McKenzee (Lizzy Brennan Poole). A young woman, enrolled in Professor Gracie’s class is desperate to boost her grade to keep her scholarship. If her GPA slips, she will not maintain her status and will be forced to return home to live with her parents and attend a community college. This bright, feisty coed comes to Professor Gracie’s office to plead her case…and to threaten her teacher with cheating by allowing AI to create the midterm test.
Is what’s good for the goose good for the gander? Does the student really have leverage over her teacher? Professor Gracie seeks answers in the faculty lounge from her cohorts: somewhat compassionate Nancie Ortiz (Wendy Hovland), and very sardonic Professor Patrick Givens (Martin Wojtysiak). This emotional see-saw provides much to chew on. Is there one single rule for everyone, or does age and position have their privileges?
Each actor brought his/her all to the stage and fulfilled every facet of their character. Whether the character called for indignation, shame, menacing, empathy, or humor, each cast member delivered in spades. The play is fairly intense and emotions are taut, but thankfully the scene in the faculty lounge has several comic moments to soften the edges.
Theatregoers are encouraged to keep an eye on this playwright. The retired adjunct professor of Dramatic Writing and Literature has now penned nine plays. Having attended readings and productions of some of her other offerings, I believe we can expect more honest expressions of the human experience from Lisa Balderston.
Let’s Chat will run through June 14 and tickets may be purchased online at www.lamplighterslamesa.com or by phone at 619.303.5902.
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Eva Trieger is a freelancer specializing in the coverage of the arts.