#The UNsocial Network

Disclaimer: this is a personal art project, and in no way linked to other content hosted on this domain

Act 1

The Noise - Visually stage is busy, dancers wearing roller skates. All holding mobile phones. Skating/dancing whilst heads are down. Frenetic, lots of movement and somehow managing to not crash into each other. Wearing florescent clothing to add to sense of sensory overload. In this song we get an overarching scene setting of how we are all made to feel quite busy, overwhelmed and emotionally driven by social media.

'Truth' is trending - In this number we get our first glimpse of Jonas. An aspiring, young, political figure. He sees value in social media, and understands how it could be weaponised for political purposes. Soloists perform in a spotlight, we hear from a variety of citizen voices. When Jonas is singing he is behind a presidential lectern. At 1:30mins we get a glimpse of 'madame algorithm' she is lounging in an upper tier of the stage, watching the action below.

The truth is not what it seems...

Lines in the sand - Stage lights come up and dancers are paired, facing each other to left and right of stage. A wrist of each partner is bound by a ribbon, there is sand scattered on the stage between them. The choreography of the song follows the dancers coming together, not quite being able to touch, then drifting back. This scene explores the effect social media is being to have on people's ability to interest physically, face-to-face.

Madame Algorithm - We now hear from Madame more formally. Lights up and she is laid in a luxurious bed, burlesque style attire, and a silk dressing gown. As the song builds, she is up from the bed, and joined by other burlesque dancers on stage. This song is exploring the the seductive nature of the technology, how it wants to make you feel safe and loved, fuel your dopamine levels, get you hooked with love.

The Great Disconnect - This scene returns to a similar setup to the first. Lots of dancers, all with phones in their hands. Distracted and scrolling. This time they are guessed and aged as members of a community. Children, parents, older people, those clearly supposed to be at work, all hyponotised by their screens.