Performing AI-Augmented Dramaturgy: The Case of The Frankenstein Complex

Abstract

The article analyses the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in contemporary dramaturgy and the challenges it poses for the actor’s creative work. The object of this research is the production The Frankenstein Complex, a collaborative production of the National Kaunas Drama Theatre (Lithuania) and the Dirty Deal Teatro in Riga (Latvia), based on the play The Frankenstein Complex by the Latvian playwright Kārlis Krūmiņš and AI. The article seeks to explore how the concept of character changes in an AI-generated text and the impact this has on the actor’s creative process.
Based on theoretical literature, the analysis of the play, and the production, it is argued that AI-augmented dramaturgy gives rise to a new type of character – the ‘generated character’ – which emerges not as a coherent dramatic subject but as a fragmented linguistic structure. These changes in dramaturgy also lead to a shift in acting practice: the role is created not so much by analysing and interpreting the dramatic character, but by performatively constructing the character from fragmented textual material.