We’ve taken a bit of a break, but we’re back. I’m afraid I’m pretty much a one-man band here and it takes some work to get these out there. I certainly enjoy it and I hope you do as well. Feel free to let us know how it’s going and what you like and don’t like. The idea is to start taking this interaction to the next level. I’m thinking in terms of seasons and finding ways to really interface with the shows we’re producing. We succeed when we get you involved. As always, your comments and thoughts are welcome, so please leave them on the Substack or feel free to email me.
If you haven’t seen McNeal at PURE, it’s a mind-bending play that Ayad Akhtar has given us. It speaks to the integration of AI into an artist’s life—in this case, a famous novelist. More so, it asks what we take from each other, stories and moments, and what happens when we can do that on a large scale. And in seconds. We had a great talk-back after the show with Sharon Graci, Josh Wilhoit and Dr. Bill Manaris. This week’s return to the podcast is a replay of that conversation. Next time out we’ll have McNeal himself, actor David Whalen. Look for that in the next few weeks. From there I’m going to try something new with the podcast—I’m going to make a kind of diary of the directing of our next show, Gaslight. Hopefully we’ll have an interview with Steven Dietz along the way.
For today, however, we go back to last week after the show and our talk-back with Sharon Graci, Josh Wilhoit, and Bill Manaris.
AUDIO above, Video below!
PURE CONVERSATION
Because the best conversations don’t end at curtain call.
Saturday, January 17 following the performance
Josh WilhoitSenior Director of Software Development and PURE Core Ensemble member
Dr. Bill ManarisProfessor of Computer Science and Director of the Computing in the Arts program at the College of Charleston
CITY PAPER REVIEW by Maura Hogan
CHARLESTON DAILY REVIEW by Mark A. Leon
“A brilliant and transfixing new play” —The Atlantic
“A gripping, razor-sharp portrait of a writer coming undone.” —The New York Times
“A brilliant, unsettling look at genius, ego, and the cost of creation.” —TheaterMania
“Explosive. Unmissable.” —Vulture
Good writers borrow, great writers steal. Jacob McNeal is a great writer, one of our greatest, and a perpetual candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. But he also has an estranged son, a new novel, old axes to grind, and an unhealthy fascination with Artificial Intelligence. From Pulitzer Prize-winner Ayad Akhtar, McNeal is a startling and wickedly smart examination of the inescapable humanity—and increasing inhumanity—of the stories we tell.
STARRING
David Whalen°Sam SmithJoy Vandervort-Cobb°*Andrew PuckettJourney TownsendSylvia JefferiesRyka Khanna* PURE Core Ensemble° Appears Courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association
