Written by Saviana Stanescu
Directed by Jeremy Goren
With contributions from data scientist Dr. Niki Athanasiadou
Featuring: Alina Mihailevschi and Tim Craig
Projection/Video Design: John Jannone, Michi Zaya, Amy Liou
Scenic Design: Xinan Helen Ran
Lighting Design: Duncan Davies
Music/Sound Design: Ras Badejo
Final video Camera and Editing: Matt Lewis/Sound Flash Films
Production Stage Manager: Erika Bracy
Produced by AnomalousCo, Wistaria Project, and The Romanian Cultural Institute
Producing Team: Aaron Ellis, Diana Zhdanova, Jeremy Goren, Jordan Friend, Kathryn Mederos Syssoyeva, Rachael Langton.
Production manager: Kathryn Mederos Syssoyeva
Assistants to the Director: Toni Mello, Stewart Harrison
Graphic Design: Billie Starship
Zebra 2.0 was commissioned for the inaugural Science in Theatre Festival by Transforma Theatre in New York in 2021. Development of Zebra 2.0 was supported by a North American Cultural Laboratory Deep Space Residency.
A mind-bending, heart-rending – and funny – transmedial performance experience, Zebra 2.0 engages questions of artificial intelligence, humanity, belonging, consciousness, and reality, at the heart of which beats the story of the uncanny friendship between Zina, an undocumented immigrant woman, and AI, who appears on a large computer monitor. Over the course of 50 nights, Al and Zina swirl us through their tale of language, love, and learning. Will these two misfits find fulfillment in this crazy, mixed-up world before the powers that be can interfere?
In November 2021, Transforma Theatre presented one performance of Zebra 2.0, commissioned from playwright Saviana Stanescu with consultation from data scientist Dr. Niki Athanasiadou and directed by Jeremy Goren, at the inaugural Science In Theatre Festival in Manhattan. Goren, Stanescu, and Athanasiadou decided to move ahead with further development and presentations. The ICE FACTORY presentation of this evolving project is co-produced by AnomalousCo, a predominantly queer/woman-led, feminist, transdisciplinary performance collective, and Wistaria Project.
