The Perils of Artificial Intelligence in Theatre Production Design

by Chris Peterson, OnStage Founder

This past week, it was reported that a theatre in Seattle was utilizing generative artificial intelligence in the creative of their design elements. The Feast Theater company is staging Elmer Rice’s 1923 play “The Adding Machine” in a new production titled “The Adding Machine: A Cyborg Morality Play.”

According to reports, the theatre used A.I. to help create scenic and costume designs. It also employed chatbot tools, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude, to create characters that interact with the play’s five human actors. Throughout the performance, actors will prompt the AI tools onstage and receive responses via text or voice in real-time. While approximately 80% of the play's text remains fixed, the remaining portions require the cast to improvise during these AI interactions.

While this is the most AI I’ve ever seen used in a show, it’s not the first. Last year, the Broadway revival of “The Wiz” came under fire for its unconfirmed but seemingly use of AI designs.

As AI systems grow more sophisticated, many are calling for their use in creative industries such as film, music, and theatre. On paper, the idea of AI in theatre production design may seem appealing, promising faster designs, more precise calculations, saving money, and the ability to enhance storytelling through technology. However, beneath these promises lies a troubling reality: AI in theatre production design threatens human creativity and the richness of the theatrical experience itself.

While AI may be capable of generating visually appealing designs or manipulating lighting and sound with technical precision, I don’t believe that it has the intuition to create designs that resonate with audience members. Theatre production design is not merely about technical perfection—it is about understanding the subtleties of a script, interpreting the director's vision, and I don’t think AI has those capabilities…yet.

Another concern I have is the potential loss of creative jobs. If AI systems begin to take over these roles, we risk devaluing the labor and creativity of these skilled artists. Theatre is already a notoriously underfunded industry, and the introduction of AI could accelerate the existing pressures on the creative workforce, leading to further job cuts and reduced opportunities for designers. We’ve already seen something similar to this with productions using pre-recorded music tracks rather than live musicians.

In a world where AI-generated designs become the norm, we might see a future where human creativity is sidelined in favor of efficiency and cost-cutting measures.

I also worry about the ripple effect this might have on the need for training and what this means for BFA Theatre Design & Technology programs.

AI's growing presence in theatre production design poses significant risks to the integrity of the art form. It threatens human creativity, eliminate skilled jobs, and reduce theatre to a soulless process. Theatre is, and always should be, a celebration of human ingenuity, emotion, and connection—something no machine can replicate.