ARTiculate Playreading Series: Anthropology by Lauren Gunderson with theatre KAPOW

About the play, Anthropology

"I have no answers. I have nothing but rage and sorrow. And so yes I built you because this is what I do. And honestly it's not that hard, you're basically a chatbot."

Merril is one of Silicon Valley’s leading software engineers, but her life disintegrates when her younger sister Angie vanishes on her way home from college.

A year later, when the police have long abandoned their search, Merril assembles all the digital material Angie has left behind and sets about building herself a digital simulation of her sister.

The resultant “virtual Angie” offers some solace until it begins to reveal new details about the real Angie’s disappearance.

A moving exploration of the intersection of family, technology, and legacy, Anthropology is the timely new play from award-winning playwright Lauren Gunderson.

Gallery Exhibits Overview

These exhibitions spark conversation about technology, artificial intelligence, and the enduring value of touch and process, while filling the Gallery with work that is both immersive and thought-provoking.

Visitors will move between Elsie Kagan’s fluid, AI-informed landscapes and Mina Kim’s tactile, hand-wrought forms, encountering two very different yet deeply resonant explorations of contemporary life.

The event includes readings of plays by contemporary playwrights whose work relates to the current exhibitions, followed by a tour of between lines and breath (works by Mina Kim) and the drop falls (works by Elsie Kagan).

Mina Kim's artwork is featured in the promotional image for this event.

Themes Explored

• Technology and creation
• Time and cyclical processes
• The limits of representation
• Artificial intelligence
• Emotion and memory
• Physical versus virtual experience
• Grief and recovery

About theatre KAPOW

Now in its 19th season, theatre KAPOW (www.tKAPOW.com) is a Manchester, New Hampshire-based ensemble theater company that presents great works of dramatic literature from across ages and cultures.

The company believes that sharing stories on stage inspires healing conversations about societal issues. A core ensemble of performers, designers, directors, and technicians works together to program and produce compelling theatre alongside guest artists who round out production teams.

Since its founding, theatre KAPOW has been recognized for the quality of its artistic work and its contributions to the community. The company has received 17 New Hampshire Theatre Awards, including four Best Production awards and 13 awards honoring individual artists.

In 2021, theatre KAPOW received the Silver Lining Resilience Award as part of the Governor’s Arts Awards, recognizing artists who “created, developed, implemented, or supported innovative solutions for the arts during the COVID-19 pandemic.”