I'm sure we've all had this thought sometime in our life. It's only natural. We are human, living in a modern world. There is no shame in it since the question has crossed all of our minds.
What would theater be like if it had robots?
But thanks to the years of study at Osaka University, our long hopes can finally be answered. Through their Robot Theater Project, the University has created robots to act on stage with other more organic actors to perform plays that would otherwise involve either elaborate costuming or the active imagination of the audience.
Here is some information about the plays:
Imagine a time when "robot maids" are commonly found in family households. That's the much-anticipated setting of these two heartrending short plays by Oriza Hirata, founder of Japan's celebrated Seinendan Theater Company. InSayonara (android and human actors), an android is bought to console a girl suffering from a fatal illness, but when its mechanics go awry, the meaning of life and death to humans and robots comes into question. InI, Worker (robots and human actors), a husband's struggle to cope with the loss of his child is juxtaposed with the malaise of one of his robots, which has lost all motivation to work. This double bill was developed in collaboration with Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro, a leading international researcher on robotics and Director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory at Osaka University. Sayonara will be performed in English and Japanese with English subtitles. I, Worker will be performed in Japanese with English subtitles.
TICKETS $28/$25 Japan Society members
Thursday, February 7 performance is followed by a MetLife Meet-the-Artists Reception.
Buy Tickets Online or call the Japan Society Box Office at (212) 715-1258, Mon. - Fri. 11 am - 6 pm, Weekends 11 am - 5 pm.
The six-city tour of this program also includes: 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
I know your life won't be complete unless you see this amazing show for yourself. I'm lucky that my school is giving a webcast of it for free (officially the best University ever other than Osaka University). You should check it out if you live in these cities. I'm sure it will be a once in a life time chance, or will it?
I'm sure we've all had this thought sometime in our life. It's only natural. We are human, living in a modern world. There is no shame in it since the question has crossed all of our minds.
What would theater be like if it had robots?
But thanks to the years of study at Osaka University, our long hopes can finally be answered. Through their Robot Theater Project, the University has created robots to act on stage with other more organic actors to perform plays that would otherwise involve either elaborate costuming or the active imagination of the audience.
Here is some information about the plays:
I know your life won't be complete unless you see this amazing show for yourself. I'm lucky that my school is giving a webcast of it for free (officially the best University ever other than Osaka University). You should check it out if you live in these cities. I'm sure it will be a once in a life time chance, or will it?
http-~~-//youtu.be/Uo-4RQPEHIk