Moderation
Price range: $15.00 through $15.95
Description
In this darkly comic drama, social media content moderators lose their mind at work as they struggle to perform well enough to get a better job at the Company, whose mission is to “Connect the World” but whose platform is increasingly becoming an unruly tool for global discord and the worst the human Id can devise. MODERATION is a ripped-from-the-headlines, doom-scroll thriller about the effect social media has on our increasingly fractured society.
Production Info
Full Length Dark Comedy (about 90 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Contemporary Costumes
Press Quotes
“As someone who recently extricated himself from the clutches of social media after years of trying, I couldn’t help but connect deeply with the content of this play … I now want everyone to see it: bring friends, family, even your pet goldfishes (trust me, you’ll get it when you see the play)… Kautzman’s carefully crafted script quickly cracks open the claustrophobic basement world of HE and SHE to reveal a thrilling mystery that works on so many levels … The sense that they are trapped by all too familiar circumstances into being moderators, creators and users of social media content, as well as disposable human parts of a merciless capitalist organisation, is distressingly familiar and more than a little uncomfortable … While the play offers plenty of philosophical food for thought (which, frankly, is what gets me out of bed in the morning), don’t mistake that for a lack of drama. The relentless 80 minutes that somehow mirrors the hideous working conditions of the two main characters is impeccably paced. It enthralled and thrilled me in equal measure … MODERATION is a wake-up call, illustrating the personal and political consequences of an unmoderated, addictive digital landscape. Its timing is impeccable … It holds a mirror up to us all, challenges us, and never once lets us off the hook.” —Simon Finn, Everything Theatre (UK)
“The action takes place in a pre-Orwellian corporate world, where social media content moderators trawl through conspiracy theories, anti-semitic rants, and snuff films … Like a Beckettian pair, they trudge through their dismal lot while still finding room for mundane conversation and the odd dad joke during their strictly-timed break periods. It’s a very current work in the age of disinformation and AI … Kautzman’s interest in the psyche within this world make[s] for … a thrilling piece of palm-sweat-inducing theatre.” —Eoin Fenton, A Young(ish) Perspective (UK)
“Kautzman’s searingly topical new play, MODERATION is the darkest of dark comedies. It is unmistakably an American work, but its themes resonate across the world, just as the actions of the techbro oligarchs of Silicon Valley do … This is a tightly written gem of a play. Intelligent and engrossing on social media, it is equally astute on the politics of office life and what works when climbing the company ladder. Kautzman knows about the importance of human relationships, and conversely, the dire consequences of their absence … at once horrific, tragic and darkly comedic.” —Simon Ward, The Peg (UK)
Author
Kevin KautzmanKevin is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter originally from North Dakota. He holds degrees from the University of Minnesota (BA, History & Philosophy '03) and the University of Texas at Austin (MFA, Creative Writing, Michener Fellow '13). He lives in Saint Paul. Kevin first studied playwriting at the Royal Court's young writers program and has received both the Jerome and Michener fellowships as well as a number of awards and scholarships, including the UK International Student Playscript (COYOTE), the Kernodle and the Southwestern Playwriting awards (DREAM OF PERFECT SLEEP) and the Sewanee and Kenyon playwriting scholarships. His IRIS with Red Eye in Minneapolis was named best playwriting by Lavender Magazine's year in review, 2010. He has been a finalist for the Yale Drama Series (THEN WAVES), the Pen Center USA (THEN WAVES, WOLF CRY WOLF), and the Princess Grace (DREAM OF PERFECT SLEEP) awards in addition to the Lila Acheson Wallace program at Juilliard (MODERATION). His drama DREAM OF PERFECT SLEEP was nominated for an Offie and is available from Oberon. His work has appeared in the UK and US at including the Finborough, History Theatre, the Living Theatre, Page 73, the Playwrights' Center, Red Eye, Spooky Action Theatre and Theatre503. In 2017 Kevin worked on BBQ Films Emmy-nominated live theatrical ECoin Launch Party, in support of MR ROBOT. Most recently his new play MODERATION received a Zoom workshop with Spooky Action Theatre and was named a semi-finalist at the Austin Film Festival. In collaboration with London-based director Abbie Lucas, he’s at work on two original feature screenplays and a concept for television. He also hosts a podcast about things people love, called GET THIS as well as a podcast about the dark side of creativity called ART OF DARKNESS. He is co-founder of the experimental theatre writers Cut Edge Collective.
Book Information
| Publisher | BPPI |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 12/18/2024 |
| Pages | 56 |
| ISBN | 9798888560433 |
Special Notes
by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC
www.broadwayplaypublishing.com
