ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — This June, Different Strokes! Performing Arts Collective will debut the latest play by local writer/actor Travis Lowe, “Love and Other Vices.”
The play takes place in a possible near-future, in which the human race farms out all their memories, thought-processes and decision-making to an artificial intelligence they refer to simply as “Vice,” a shortened form of “Devices.” When a man and woman are brought together after crossing paths with a roving band of anti-Vice performers, including a clown, a tumbler and an acrobat, they begin a whimsical road trip of self-discovery and exploration of the raw, beautiful imperfections that make us human.
“Love and Other Vices” will run at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings, June 4-20, and at 3 p.m. on June 21, at the Tina McGuire Theatre, The Wortham Center for Performing Arts, 18 Biltmore Ave., Asheville. General admission tickets are $15. Find yours here.
The down-Lowe on “Love and Other Vices”
Lowe said the concept for “Love and Other Vices” came to him after he completed a project-development contract with Google.
“I saw how AI works, where it was going and what they meant to do with it, and it worried me a lot,” he said, specifying that it was the potential dumbing-down and flattening-out of society that had him most concerned. “This is a play declaring war on all that, [and instead] keeping our messy individual selves.”
With “Love and Other Vices” being a statement against over-reliance on technology, Lowe recalled how ironically appropriate it was that he had to finish writing the play with pen and paper by candlelight during the power outages that followed Tropical Storm Helene.
The play will be directed by Different Strokes!’s recently-added production manager, Rodney Smith.
“We are very much on the same wavelength,” Lowe said of Smith, adding that he is a master of skillfully using witty dialogue. He went on to say that the fact both he and Smith had worked in the modern tech field gave them a unique insight into the dangerous allure of AI. Smith has also directed multiple productions within the sci-fi/fantasy genre, so should be perfectly-suited to “Love and Other Vices.”
While this will be Lowe’s first play to be directed by Smith, it will mark his third play to be produced by Different Strokes!. Lowe said he loves the company’s devotion to producing thought-provoking theatre that bridges cultural gaps and affects social justice.
“Whatever they produce, they almost always have you thinking about it and talking about it on the way home,” Lowe said of the company’s previous shows, adding that those are not only the kind of plays he likes to see, but also the kind he likes to write. “It’s something that I really appreciate about theatrical production and Different Strokes! always does that. So, I’m very honored that they have chosen this play to produce. Hopefully, it will do the same thing.”
Lowe said he is excited for audiences to see his newest work and to sit among them experiencing the play through their eyes.
“I sincerely, on the top level, hope that they rethink just how much we are relying on machines to do our thinking for us and remember to remain curious and not look for easy answers,” Lowe explained, clarifying that “Love and Other Vices” is not only meant to be thought-provoking, but also intensely entertaining.
Lowe said he wrote the play with the active goal of using theatrical magic to inspire the audiences, as well as paying tribute to the classic romantic comedy.
“It’s entertaining, it’s a love story, it’s a magical adventure,” Lowe said. “All things which I love in theatrical works, but it also has a lot to say about where we’re going with AI and device-dependency, and outsourcing our identities and our memories to machines at this point.”
This world-premier play will encourage its audience to “stay jagged and rare,” and not to be reduced to the “mean” of their own identities. “Love and Other Vices” is a celebration of the human spirit, a challenge against humanity’s dependence on technology and a reaffirmation of delight in all that is seen as ordinary in our extraordinary world.
For more information on “Love and Other Vices,” or to purchase tickets, visit www.differentstrokespac.org.