“Disconnected: The Stories We Stand to Lose” returns to Chance Theater

From left to right: Lucas Matchett and Blaise Dunham. Photo courtesy of Irvine Theater Company / Dan Meyers.

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Disconnected Returns — Bigger, Bolder, and More Urgent Than Ever

What began as a daring artistic experiment in Irvine is now taking center stage at one of Orange County’s most respected venues. Disconnected: The Stories We Stand to Lose returns this March as a visiting artist production at Chance Theater in Anaheim.

Created by Irvine Theater Company (ITC), the festival features seven original short plays exploring how technology is reshaping human connection, from dating apps and influencer culture to elder isolation, online gambling, and artificial intimacy. The original production was built in just seven weeks using a neuroscience-informed, brain-based rehearsal process that prioritizes attention, embodiment, and memory over traditional line drills. Six actors even stepped forward as first-time playwrights, generating new work from the ground up.

Then came the twist.

One of the seven plays was written entirely by artificial intelligence and audiences were invited to guess which one! Across roughly 160 attendees, opinions were sharply split. The experiment wasn’t about AI’s cleverness. Rather, it was about the power of live performers to generate meaning, coherence, and emotional truth irrespective of the script’s origin.

The response was undeniable. Seventy-seven percent of audience members reported actively reflecting on their own relationship to technology. Post-show discussions stretched long past curtain call. One attendee described the evening as “incredibly thought-provoking,” admitting that the experience had inspired them to put down their phone and vow to be more present.

Now, Disconnected evolves again.

With a major donor underwriting the use of a newly acquired 10’ x 20’ LED volume, ITC will integrate dynamic digital scenography while keeping live performance at the heart of the experience. The production’s remount also features a striking, non-human, AI avatar character (not part of the guessing game) whose presence raises haunting questions about grief, dependency, and artificial comfort. In one unforgettable storyline, a man chooses interaction with a digital avatar of his deceased wife over purchasing the medication keeping him alive. Sounds like daring subject matter.

Presented through Chance Theater’s Visiting Artists Program, Disconnected isn’t just a return engagement. It’s a journey that blends innovation and intimacy, technology and touch, spectacle and shared human presence.