Playwriting with Large Language Models: Perceived Features, Interaction Strategies and Outcomes

Large Language Models (LLMs) are sparking debates about creativity, intellectual property, and artistic integrity. This paper focuses on creativity, defined as consensual agreement among domain experts. It presents an inductive analysis of seven semi-structured interviews with professional playwrights who engaged in a longitudinal project with the aim of writing a theatre script using commercial systems. Overall, participants regarded LLMs as unsuitable for playwrighting. However, they enjoyed the experience and identified utility for editorial tasks and brainstorming. A significant obstacle was associated with the politics embedded in LLMs. Not only did these systems avoid a language that could offend sensibilities, but they also refused to engage in taboos and conflicts, which are the core of dramaturgy. Other system features (speed, exploitation, and unpredictability) were sometimes considered conducive and sometimes detrimental to creativity. Participants experienced difficulties and tried to build common ground by trial and error. Often, this strategy evolved into role play: the playwright instructed the LLM to enact characters. The interaction provided hints of inspiration and fostered suspension of disbelief and ontological reflection. However, it often led to technology rejection. Comparing and contrasting our insights with related work, we conclude by opening new directions for research at the boundaries of HCI and AI.