Robohub.org
 

Robots on stage


by
20 November 2012



share this:

The Japanese theater company Seinendan and Ishiguro Laboratory at Osaka University are exploring new dimensions of human-robot-interaction on stage, a new field involving a fusion of theater, arts and science.

Credit: Seinendan, Sayonara



I,Worker
The first full-scale robot-human theater production “I, Worker” in 2008 featured two robots named Takeo and Momoko and a young couple, the Mayamas, who live with two robots. While Momoko plays an essential role in the family through her work, Takeo suffers mental illness and loses his motivation to work. This play casts a question of what work means to us as humans, by portraying a robot that cannot work, although by definition, robots were made to work.

Sayonara
The short play Sayonara tells a story of a young girl facing terminal illness and her gentle caretaker android who reads poetry to her. But when the androids mechanics go awry, the meaning of life and death to humans and robots comes into question. Sayonara asks challenging and provocative questions about the essence of life, death and what it means to be human. The interaction between actor and robot provides a compelling narrative and exudes a powerful philosophical tension.

In 2013 the robots will be on tour in the U.S.:
Wexner Center for the Arts (Columbus, OH),  January 31-February 2
Philadelphia Live Arts (Philadelphia, PA), February 15-16
Flynn Center for the Performing Arts (Burlington, VT), February 21-22
Canadian Stage (Toronto, Canada), February 26-March 2
Andy Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh, PA), March 8-9.

More info here.



tags: , ,


Wolfgang Heller





Related posts :



Interview with Kate Candon: Leveraging explicit and implicit feedback in human-robot interactions

and   25 Jul 2025
Hear from PhD student Kate about her work on human-robot interactions.

#RoboCup2025: social media round-up part 2

  24 Jul 2025
Find out what participants got up to during the second half of RoboCup2025 in Salvador, Brazil.

#RoboCup2025: social media round-up 1

  21 Jul 2025
Find out what participants got up to during the opening days of RoboCup2025 in Salvador, Brazil.

Livestream of RoboCup2025

  18 Jul 2025
Watch the competition live from Salvador!

Tackling the 3D Simulation League: an interview with Klaus Dorer and Stefan Glaser

and   15 Jul 2025
With RoboCup2025 starting today, we found out more about the 3D simulation league, and the new simulator they have in the works.

An interview with Nicolai Ommer: the RoboCupSoccer Small Size League

and   01 Jul 2025
We caught up with Nicolai to find out more about the Small Size League, how the auto referees work, and how teams use AI.

RoboCupRescue: an interview with Adam Jacoff

and   25 Jun 2025
Find out what's new in the RoboCupRescue League this year.

Robot Talk Episode 126 – Why are we building humanoid robots?

  20 Jun 2025
In this special live recording at Imperial College London, Claire chatted to Ben Russell, Maryam Banitalebi Dehkordi, and Petar Kormushev about humanoid robotics.



 

Robohub is supported by:




Would you like to learn how to tell impactful stories about your robot or AI system?


scicomm
training the next generation of science communicators in robotics & AI


©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence


 












©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence