Teamwork in AI era: Theatrical Production

AI today can write stories, compose songs, generate visuals, and even perform through robots that move like actors on stage. It looks like machines could take over every part of a production. But a crucial question remains: where does authorship belong?

Theater has always been a human art form. Unlike film or digital media, it happens live in a shared space, in real time, with real people. A performance is not just the combination of text, sound, and images. It is the outcome of teamwork: directors, designers, actors, technicians, and audiences collaborating moment by moment.

AI may simulate performance, but it cannot replace the collaborative process that makes theater powerful. Only humans know emotions, and only human performers can truly express them and bring the story to life. A robot might deliver lines or execute choreography, but it cannot understand the meaning of the story or the intent behind the choreography, nor can it respond with authentic emotional nuance or connect deeply with other performers and the audience. A projection may be generated by code, but it gains meaning only when it interacts with human voices, bodies, and feelings.

If machines generate and perform content without humans, authorship becomes blurred. Who owns the story? The programmer, the algorithm, or the data it was trained on? Human theater thrives on something entirely different. It is built on intentional authorship, meaningful choices, and the emotional bonds that only collaboration can create.

The heart of theater is not just the final product but the process. The rehearsals, the arguments over meaning, the shared problem-solving, the empathy built between artists. These are irreplaceable human powers. They form the invisible architecture that allows audiences to feel something real.

AI can assist in theater. It may suggest scripts, generate imagery, or even embody a role through robotics. But the essence of theatrical creation, which is teamwork, authorship, and the uniquely human capacity to feel and express emotion, will always belong to people. That is what keeps theater alive.

Mamiko collaborated with Grammy award winning opera singer Will Liverman & live painter Marcela Avelar at National Sawdust in Brooklyn NYC.