reWILDing Genius -The New Colony
By Andrew Hobgood and Megan Johns
Directed By Andrew Hobgood
As part of the Steppenwolf Garage Rep 2014
Cautionary tale of the effects of cyber hacking is scary
Written by Andrew Hobgood and Megan Johns with input by the cast, reWILDing Genius is a tale of brilliant techie hackers, each expert and successful in their given cyber fields, who live together in an Uptown Chicago loft under the radar. This group of social dropouts are wondering through life until one newbie to the loft challenges the group to do an ambitious task that could change the world. These self-identified geniuses, cyber-vigilantes, hacktivists and online anarchists decide to ‘take down’ the health industry who are hiding the formulas to cure and/or suppress many ailments that could greatly benefit mankind and save thousands of lives. These experts are determined to hack into the data based of the largest pharmaceutical companies revealing to the world info that they hide in order to maximize their profits.
After we meet all the geniuses and grow to like them, we see the effects of the power that emerges once the hackers realize the ramifications of their endeavors. Could it be that in trying to save the world, that small group runs the risk of destroying it and many people with them? This work deals with groups like “Anonymous” and whistle blowers like Snowden as it asks questions about morality and ethics of hacking info and revealing it to the world. This clever, realistic, and highly plausible play begs to ask how far is too far as we try to save the world from ourselves?
The cast of Will Cavedo, Caitlin Chuckta, Sarah Gitenstein, Evan Linder, Morgan McNaught, Wes Needham and Stephanie Shum are both fully engaged as they had significant input into the script and their characters making reWilding Genius a polished and timely cautionary tale for the 21st Century. This is an intelligent play that asks important question as it puts faces on the faceless hackers who are becoming significant players in the online world. Will they save us or destroy us? This play will scare you.
Highly Recommended
Tom Williams