Written and Performed by Proboscis
Co-Artistic director Jeff Mills

Directed by James Donlon

Music Composed by James Connolly

Projections designed by Dwight Bellissimo.

Prospero’s Black Box is a one-person clown show that explores the absurd connection between Shakespeare’s Prospero and Google’s Geoffrey Hinton as they wrestle with the power of Artificial Intelligence. Both resign their powerful positions and abandon their “rough magic.” In real life, Hinton (considered the Godfather of Artificial Intelligence) recently resigned his senior position at Google, claiming the AI technology he created is a danger to humanity. In this highly participatory solo show (the audience plays a huge role in the storytelling) the clown tries to solve the problem of the black box with hilarious and provocative results. Proboscis Theatre Company of Chicago was founded in 2010 by Jeff Mills. We create a theatrical world that is physically daring, dramatically gripping and visually gorgeous. Our multidisciplinary approach mixes masks, puppets, live music, circus and clowning with traditional dramatic acting styles.