Directed by Caltech Theater’s Brian Brophy, “Socially Unacceptable” follows three Facebook content moderators who are hired to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Feeling lucky to have a job, these new employees spend their days in a virtual world, Zoom conferencing with teammates for full workdays.
As they screen the site’s most violent and offensive posts, these content moderators begin to deal with the dangerous psychological effects of the job, and their lives become increasingly interconnected both on screen and off.
In “Socially Unacceptable,” playwright Matt Steinberg shows us five characters: the idealistic dreamer, the ambitious recruit, the easy-going confidant, the frustrated expert, and the manager just trying to hold it all together. Together they face the worst the internet has to offer — that which is completely socially unacceptable.
“Socially Unacceptable” explores the growing conflicts between big tech and health, and the cost at which our digital world looks the way it does.
“Socially Unacceptable: will run for three performances:
- Thursday Feb. 25, 2021.
- Friday, Feb. 26, 2021.
- Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021.
Each performance will start at 5 p.m. followed by Q-and-A with the playwright and students.
A ticket is $5 for non-Caltech students, $10 for JPL/Caltech employees and $20 for everyone else. Tickets are available at bit.ly/2P3VJ1O.
