Interviews with Two Strangers | June 16 – 28

Opening reception Tuesday June 16, from 6 to 8pm,  
Free Admission 

June 16-28, 2026

The Lobby at
74A East 4th Street
New York, NY 10003

by Carrie Sijia Wang

ABOUT

A video installation about the ways we connect in a machine-coded world, this project is made in collaboration with nine theatre practitioners who have helped shape the history of NYC’s downtown experimental theatre scene. In a series of framed encounters, each participant engages in two conversations: one with a chatbot programmed to simulate the artist’s conversation style and acting as her proxy, followed by an in-person discussion with the artist herself. The chatbot interaction is saved in text; while the in-person dialogue is recorded as video.

The conversations move through questions about how our ways of relating are reshaped by the tools we use. While a chatbot can always provide smooth answers with almost no lag time, the human-to-human interactions remain nuanced, messy, and layered. By situating theatre practitioners within an encounter with algorithmic simulation, the work probes what cannot be staged, generated, or proxied.

A black background with a black square.

La Mama is a world-renowned New York cultural institution dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre.