Genre: Comedy, Stage Play

Length: 10 minutes

Casting
Any race or ethnicity, twenties to forties
1 middle-aged man
1 young man
1 middle-aged woman
1 young woman

Synopsis
A couple of political hacks have to rein-in a candidate whose algorithm has gone rogue.

Excerpt
AVIGDOR: You know what I’m talking about from my last email.
KIRBY: You’re displeased.
AVIGDOR: To put it mildly.
ZINEB: Kirby, the things Nathaniel’s saying are very bad. They’re insulting to many people, they’re harmful to the campaign, and they could be very bad for the country.
MARSHA: As we said, it’s out of our hands.
KIRBY: We set the system up, we do not—
AVIGDOR: Bullshit! You built this system and you have to fix it, following instructions from us.

Production needs
Set
A conference room: 1 six-foot table, 4 chairs.

Costumes
Modern office casual.

Props
None.

Sound
None.

Production History
Ersatz Intelligence was part of the “Theatre Roulette” festival at MadLab Theatre, Columbus, Ohio, in 2025.