Script available from Broadway Play Publishing.

–

In the darkly comic drama, social media content moderators lose their mind at work as they struggle to perform well enough to get a better job at the Company, whose mission is to ‘Connect the World’ but whose platform is increasingly becoming an unruly tool for global discord and the worst the human Id can devise.

–

Assessors’ Choice

– The Offies

Nomination: New Writing (Play)

– Fringe Theatre Awards

“Moderation is a wake-up call, illustrating the personal and political consequences of an unmoderated, addictive digital landscape. Its timing is impeccable, especially as social media gurus have recently abandoned content moderation… It holds a mirror up to us all, challenges us, and never once lets us off the hook.”

– Everything Theatre

“The action takes place in a pre-Orwellian corporate world, where social media content moderators trawl through conspiracy theories, anti-semitic rants, and snuff films … Like a Beckettian pair, they trudge through their dismal lot while still finding room for mundane conversation and the odd dad joke during their strictly-timed break periods. It’s a very current work in the age of disinformation and AI … Kautzman’s interest in the psyche within this world make[s] for … a thrilling piece of palm-sweat-inducing theatre.”

– A Young(ish) Perspective

“Kautzman’s searingly topical new play, MODERATION is the darkest of dark comedies. It is unmistakably an American work, but its themes resonate across the world, just as the actions of the techbro oligarchs of Silicon Valley do … This is a tightly written gem of a play. Intelligent and engrossing on social media, it is equally astute on the politics of office life and what works when climbing the company ladder. Kautzman knows about the importance of human relationships, and conversely, the dire consequences of their absence … at once horrific, tragic and darkly comedic.”

– The Peg

“A perceptive look at the gig economy, the play is relatable to many… An engaging and lively piece of theatre: who knew a windowless basement office could be so fascinating?”

– LondonTheatre1

–

From 2020-2024, MODERATION received readings from the Blank, Broad Horizons, Spooky Action, and Up theatres and the Valdez Theatre Conference. An audio production of the Spooky Action reading was adapted by Crying Hill Media, for online release.

Bad Mouth Theatre Company premiered MODERATION in Saint Paul, Minnesota at the Hive, October 2024, co-directed by the playwright and Meghan Gunderson. The production featured Amanda Forstrom and Matthew Saxe as SHE and HE and the talents of Ryan Condon (Sound Design), Maren Findlay (Stage Manager), Abbie Lucas (Video Design), Shawn Phillips (Original Music) and Ariel Pinkerton (Lighting Design).

In the premiere production, the set consisted of two desks, two rolling office chairs, and greyscale then photonegative projections on the upstage wall (and actors) during content moderation.

In March and April, 2025, MODERATION received it’s UK premiere at the Hope Theatre in London, with Over Here Theatre Company, directed by Lydia Parker and featuring Alive Victoria Winslow and Robbie Curran.

More at moderationplay.com.