Czarina Faith Abuso

How the all-female cast of ‘Anthropology’ brought AI and human emotion to life

Article (news)

Jemuel Tandoc

Push Team

<p>The all-female cast of the stage play <em>Anthropology</em> showcased what it’s like to lead a story centered on artificial intelligence and raw human emotions.</p><p>Written by American playwright Lauren Gunderson, the psychological thriller centers on Merril, a programmer who creates an AI resembling her missing sister to explore grief and longing. As she gets to know the AI, she begins to question whether she is controlling it—or if it is controlling her.</p><div style="text-align:center"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1774787436999Anthropology-1.jpg" style="width:660px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><p>Stage actress Jenny Jamora plays the fragile and unpredictable Merril. In an exclusive interview with <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>PUSH ABS-CBN</strong></a>, she shared that portraying someone who can be unlikable is challenging.</p><p>“I’ve been thinking about that a lot recently. There are recent events that bring that to mind kasi online, and I think you know what I’m talking about, viral things. I think there are so many unlikeable characters and actually, they’re really fun to play. The key is to really not judge them. I come into this not judging them, really finding out why they do what they do. There’s really a rationale naman to how everyone works, and so that’s one,” she shared.</p><div style="text-align:center"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1774787416031Anthropology-2.jpg" style="width:660px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><p>Jenny went on to explain how she found a way to connect with the character and understand her motivations.</p><p>“I do think being kind in real life also translates to maybe an energy that I think the audience can feel as well that we’re all doing this. We’re doing this play, I’m playing this character for good reasons and for, you know, walang malisya, no bad intentions. And doing it from a place of humility that I can always find something better with her, I can always give a better performance for the audience every night,” she added. </p><div style="text-align:center"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1774787396991Anthropology-3.jpg" style="width:660px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><p>Meanwhile, Maronne Cruz, who plays the artificial intelligence Angie, shared how she navigates the balance between being non-human and experiencing the very human struggles portrayed in the play.</p><p>“It’s becoming very real, a real person with real problems. It’s that shift, it’s that transition that’s hardest for me. But they’re both difficult in different ways. In AI, I can’t fully make real human expressions. I mean, I can but it’s limited. So parang being clear and conveying the emotions I want while still seeming AI— that’s the challenge,” she mentioned.</p><div style="text-align:center"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1774787384072Anthropology-4.jpg" style="width:660px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><p>On the other hand, Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante, who plays Merril’s supportive ex-girlfriend Raquel, shared how she related to the experience of loving someone deeply despite their shortcomings.</p><p>“For me, my character is very much similar to me. She’s very warm. She makes lemon curd, I make lemon curd all the time. I think I really related to her steadfastness and love for Merril and wanting to love her through her hardships. I mean, we all have our own personal experiences with people who have not loved them the way they deserve to be loved. I think I’m able to draw from those experiences that I’ve had with— sige, sa past exes ko. But for the most part, my exes are lovely,” she revealed.</p><div style="text-align:center"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1774787369671Anthropology-5.jpg" style="width:660px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><p>Meanwhile, veteran actress Jackie Lou Blanco shared her takeaways on portraying AI themes and exploring grief in the play.</p><p>“We always use technology and meron na rin mga ginagamit na AI for dating or for grief or for ano like in this place. So I think maganda siya kasi it opens your eyes and it makes you realize na, well at least for me, na technology should be there to assist and to make your life better. Pero sana not to replace human connection pa rin,” she said.</p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=476&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F2404604349965762%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=380&amp;t=0" width="380" height="476" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>She went on that being a real-life mom helped her the most in doing her scenes.</p><p>“The fact that I&#x27;m a mother also. Parang iniisip ko na lang na what if it happened to me? What if I lost a child? And then, syempre, maraming regret yung character ko dito, diba? I think mas madali lang ng konti for me because I have children and it&#x27;s easier for me to connect dahil nanay ako. So, parang ginagamit ko yon,” she added.</p>

<p>The all-female cast of the stage play <i>Anthropology</i> shared their insights on artificial intelligence today and how it reflects and intersects with human emotion.</p>

The all-female cast of the stage play Anthropology shared their insights on artificial intelligence today and how it reflects and intersects with human emotion.

EXCLUSIVE: How the all-female cast of ‘Anthropology’ brought AI and human emotion to life

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EXCLUSIVE: How the all-female cast of ‘Anthropology’ brought AI and human emotion to life

Jemuel Tandoc,

Push Team

Published March 29, 2026 08:32 PM PHT

Read More:

Anthropology

Jackie Lou Blanco

Jenny Jamora

Maronne Cruz

Mikki Bradshaw-Volante

theater

AI

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