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Robots Debut In Japanese Theater Production

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the first-the-auto-industry-now-our-actors dept.

An anonymous reader writes "BBC News and CNET Cutting Edge are reporting on a new play starring at Osaka University, in which two Mitsubishi Wakamaru robots interact with human actors and move around the stage. Named 'Hataraku Watashi' ('I, Worker'), the play is authored by Oriza Hirata, a renowned playwright. It focuses on a robot who complains about his boring and demeaning jobs."

5 of 75 comments (clear)

  1. I for one welcome old meme. by GMonkeyLouie · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Anyone looking forward to the day that robots become better at acting than humans can ever be? Don't need their own stunt doubles, can be actually destroyed on camera after showing something that passes for human emotion, will work for whatever salary they're programmed for... Think people will care that they're not real?

  2. Life imitates art once again by dkleinsc · · Score: 4, Interesting

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Darfsteller

    As good a read now as it was in 1955.

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    I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
  3. Re:They wrote a play... by Joe+Tie. · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That always struck me as horrible about the droids as well. I was always surprised more people weren't bothered by it. They're constantly being killed, and nobody even cares.

    --
    Everything will be taken away from you.
  4. It's a fake! by Locke2005 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Ever see "Victor, Victoria", where the title character (Julie Andrews) got rave reviews as a female impersonator because she actually _was_ a woman pretending to be a man? How long before some robot actor gets lauded for being "so lifelike, just like a human", and then we discover that it's really a human actor inside a robot suit? Weren't there actually people inside CP30 and R2D2 (at least in some shots)?

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  5. Re:It is good... by Tetsujin · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Fark picked Keanu Reeves as the "robot actor." A more fitting pick, I believe.

    Keanu Reeves Happy - :-|
    Keanu Reeves Sad - :-|
    Keanu Reeves Really, Really, Angry - :-|

    "Whoa."

    --
    Bow-ties are cool.