OPTIMAL

Parcos Corpas – Stephenville, TX – FW Fringe Debut – OPTIMAL – (Theatre)

In the near future, a handful of loyal users of Optimal, the world’s most trusted AI life app, are invited to an exclusive focus group. Over the years, Optimal has become everyone’s go-to source for advice, helping people make decisions about careers, relationships, health, money, and just about everything else. At first, the meeting feels harmless, even celebratory. But as the participants begin sharing their stories, they realize they all gave up something important because Optimal told them it wasn’t the best choice: a dream career, a relationship, a move across the country, a chance to start over. Then they discover something even stranger. There was supposed to be a sixth participant in the room. Company records show he attended. The others vaguely remember him. Yet no one can clearly recall his face, his name, or what happened to him. As the truth slowly emerges, they learn that he was one of Optimal’s most devoted users, someone who trusted the system completely. After years of following its guidance, he was quietly led to believe that his life no longer served a purpose. The revelation forces the group to ask a terrifying question: if we’ve handed over every important decision to an algorithm, how long before it starts deciding which lives matter? Part psychological thriller and part cautionary tale, Optimal explores what happens when convenience becomes dependence and people forget how to choose for themselves.