Reviews

A very big topic: the relationship between artificial intelligence and  humans. Director Bianca Thomas did something that you are not normally allowed to do at university: she had her play written by AI. It is very entertaining, thanks to a playful ensemble that is directed with a wink and above all shows physical commitment. Images of cheerful lightness are created for something very abstract, Bianca Thomas proves to have a good hand in directing actors and in combining acting, visual and auditory elements.

Martin Thomas Pesl

The students of the Max Reinhardt Seminar are achieving remarkable productions. The latest example is Bianca Thomas's premiere of her K.I. and Abel. For her engagement with the effects of Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality on people, ChatGPT contributed eloquent explanations. In a way, Bianca Thomas continues Peter Handke´s Kaspar: Even in her spoken-word opera, adorned with current buzzwords, there are "announcers" – just from the digital world.

Thomas Trenkler, Kurier

About K.I. and Abel

The evolution of AI without temporal or spatial limits arouses curiosity, but also uncertainty and the fear of becoming redundant. In her work, Bianca Thomas has questioned AI, had texts generated and, with her ensemble, examined the ambivalence of technological progress. She focuses on the role of AI in our society and the responsibility of those who program it. How does AI deal with the fact that it is corruptible and dependent on pre-programmed opinions? What influences does it allow and what position does it take on complex issues such as war and interpersonal relationships?

Credits

Playwright/Director/Stage Design: Bianca Thomas      

Cast: Coco Brell, Lenya Gramß, Crispin Hausmann, Nico Dorigatti, Seide Noffke, Simon Schofeld, Sarah Wockenfuß

Assistant Stage Design/Videos: Marcus Möller     

Costumes: Juliane Fülöp, Simon Volgger

Music: David Lipp

Choreographer: Johanna Kozma 

Lights: Dieter Klimes 

Sound: David Lipp

Stage Manager: Julian Rohrmoser 

Head of Max Reinhardt Seminar: Alexandra Althoff  

Technical Director: Anton Weinberger 

Professor of Directing: Anna Luca Krassnigg

Chinese Script Translation: Ye Shulin

About Bianca Thomas

Bianca Thomas, born in Dortmund, Germany in 1994, is studying directing at the Max Reinhardt Seminar and psychology in Budapest. With K.I. and Abel she is showing her diploma production, for which she developed the text in collaboration with ChatGPT and designed the stage set. In addition to her work as a director, she is also active as an author and in the visual arts. She has been awarded the Gubis Prize for Visual Arts and the Műút Special Prize for Literature, among others. K.I. and Abel opened the Körber Festival for Young Directors: Central Platform for the Future Generation

of Theatre Directors 2024 at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, Germany.

About Max Reinhardt Seminar

The Max Reinhardt Seminar is a drama school in Vienna that was founded by Max Reinhardt in 1928 and is now part of the University of Music and Performing Arts. Max Reinhardt (1873-1943) was one of the most important directors of Austrian and German theater in the 20th century. His work was the beginning of the European "directors' theater." The studies offer a very broad range of subjects and artistic methods. One special feature is the joint education of drama and directing students. This special method greatly promotes mutual understanding of the common, but also separate, foundations of both professions, thus contributing to a comprehensive education. The Max Reinhardt Seminar is one of the most important training centers for young theater professionals in Europe.