We survived last weekend’s storm and are looking ahead to brighter things – namely, performing arts happenings that will broaden our horizons and change the ways we think. “Stage Spotlight” brings together events taking place in the theater scene of Somerville, Cambridge and beyond.
Two productions we’re highlighting this weekend ask us to expand our views within our changing worlds.
The first grapples with the role that AI plays in a “postliterary, postcreative world.” The performance extends the boundary of the concept of “stage” through the use of augmented reality. Check it out to see how this technology can affect the theater experience.
The second production calls for an amplification of perspectives that often feel excluded from mainstream media conversations by digging deep into the perspectives of Bipoc artists and communities.
Sept. 30 to Oct. 3: “The Weavers” (Building W97 at MIT, Cambridge)
This weekend MIT hosts “Future Fest,” a celebration filled with exhibits, public talks, open laboratories and performances, including “The Weavers,” a staging of the Nobel-winning play by Gerhard Hauptmann, directed by Jay Scheib. The show is an augmented-reality production, embedding the experience with additional virtual layers. The work is about the radical uprising of textile laborers, pushed to their limits while struggling to survive in an automated, mechanized world. What follows is a passionate portrayal of what it means to compete with machines, and whether one should resist or conform to societal norms when faced with perils from an increasingly roboticized life. During a time many fear that AI may one day take their jobs, the theme of “The Weavers” hits home.
Oct. 1-2: “Lift Every Voice” (The Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge)
“Lift Every Voice” is an annual event at the Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge that puts Bipoc playwrights, poets and spoken-word artists front and center. Five new works will be presented with the aim of generating dialogue between creators and spectators. What can you expect to see? Michelle M. Aguillon brings us “Unwrapped,” a story about how sisters must come together in the wake of losing their mother. Shay McQueenie’s “Peace Plan” centers around a young Black girl who is faced with mental health challenges while experiencing how they influence the people around her. There are additional pieces by Jamie Lin, Hortense Gerardo and Ciera-Sadé Wade.
