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First-Year Engineer Students Navigate Ethical Dilemmas Through Interactive Theater Experience

POSTED ON: April 13, 2026

photo of three people on stage in school auditorium

Director Luísa Galatti counting the votes after one of ethical choices presented by the play.
Actors Giorgia Valenti, Ana Moioli, and Janet Kilonzo in a scene from the play

Actors Giorgia Valenti, Ana Moioli, and Janet Kilonzo in a scene from the play.

First-year engineering students recently explored the complexities of ethical decision-making through an immersive theatrical experience presented as part of the School of Engineering’s Professional Development Workshops and Seminars series. In March, students participated in A B Play, written by Anel Carmona and performed by Et Alia Theater, an international women-led theater company known for its interactive productions focused on ethics and emerging technologies.

The play followed two scientists and long-time friends who develop an AI-powered drone bee designed to address the global pollination crisis. After one scientist accidentally releases 20 experimental bees from the colony, the pair must recover them before anyone arrives at work the next morning. Along the way, they face a series of ethical dilemmas that force them to weigh competing responsibilities, risks, and consequences.

Throughout the performance, students actively shaped the story by discussing the ethical implications of each decision and voting on how the scientists should proceed. Their choices directly influenced the direction and outcome of the play, encouraging students to confront real-time ethical questions related to artificial intelligence, scientific accountability, and corporate ownership.

Following the performance, playwright Anel Carmona joined director Luísa Galatti for a post-show discussion moderated by Dr. John Osburn, coordinator of the seminar series, and Lisa Shay, Associate Dean for Educational Innovation. Cast members Giorgia Valenti, Ana Moioli, Janet Kilonzo, and Sofia Terceros Arce also participated in the conversation and Q&A session with students.

This marked the fifth year that the School of Engineering incorporated interactive theater into its ethics programming for first-year students. In previous years, Et Alia Theater presented R.U.A.I., written by Giorgia Valenti, which reimagined Karel Čapek’s classic science fiction play R.U.R.: Rossum’s Universal Robots through the lens of modern artificial intelligence. The initiative began in 2022 through an Innovation Grant awarded to the late professor Daniel Lepek and launched with performances of an interactive adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s Enemy of the People.

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