Blog Stage: "You knew it was bound to happen sooner or later.
According to AFP, a South Korean-developed robot 'actress' has been performing the title role in 'Robot Princess and the Seven Dwarfs.'
The five-foot-two inch tall Eve Robot 3 (EveR-3) was developed by South Korea's state-run KITECH in 2006. The android speaks in both Korean and English, and exhibit 16 different facial expressions."
15 comments:
This girl is incredible sucessful, smart and talented. She tackles roles that are artistically great and particularly challenging. I just wonder what the deaf and blind community will have to say about her performance. I read an article on the blog about the outrage over her being cast, but I think it is a strong choice. I think the deaf and blind community will agree and see that she is quite talented and able to play a particularly challenging role like that of Helen Kellar with justice and grace. Although I know some will be angry that a deaf or blind actor wasnt cast. There are always those that don't agree and cant be swayed. Hopefully Mrs. Breslin will be able to sway those views.
The concept of robot actors is interesting. Of course, as (and if) the technology gets more and more accurate, Actor's Equity will have a thing or two to say about the use of robotic actors. While currently, the technology probably hurts and eclipses the art, once it gets more refined, there are many potential applications that will not harm the roles of human actors. It is possible that the robots could be used to perform physical acts that actors just can't get their bodies to do. In addition, I wonder if (when the costs go down in a long long time) it would allow for increases in touring productions and bring theater to more places. Of course even when the technology becomes cost-effective, there will still be a stigma against robot actors and a perception that humans are better and more sophisticated.
While this does speed up the count down until the robot uprising, the EveR-3 based on the video below the blog is awesomely interesting to watch perform. While robots and other anomotrons have been playing rolls at Disney and other theme parks across the world for a while now, the EveR-3 actually seems to have some level of acting skill behind it. The video shows just how much through has gone into the design and construction of this robot since it's movements and facial shifts while a little slower and jerkier then present in a human, all seem quite natural and accurate for the tone present. Now the real question is would the robot programmer fall in Iatse or Equity?
I feel like I'm watching something from StarWars. I have a problem treating it as a dialogue between two characters and not an actor addressing a "thing". I would be curious to know how fellow cast members feel about interacting with a robot. And how that affects the way they go about rehearsals etc.
I also have a problem supporting this. I think that by making robots "actors" in productions, you really are taking away a sense of intimacy that is part of the theatre experience. One of the things that is always said about why theatre is such a collaborative art is because of the collaboration between the actors onstage and the audience watching. What happens when you take that away? I think it's going a bit to far.
I have to say that this really creeped me out when I first saw it. Robots are really cool, but I don't want to think about possible ramifications of this--ie trying to replace actors. All of that aside though, this is a really interesting step forward. If I think about this as an advanced puppet, it's REALLY cool. The technology involved is fascinating. I wonder how they made her look so realistic. Involving robots like this as puppets could have really interesting effects on the future of theater.
I'm still fascinated with the idea that theatre has given way to automation in such a way. The fact that a human-driven, story telling art has found it perfectly acceptable to let robots do the job that people have been doing so much better for longer is a tad strange to me.
Perhaps I just have an issue with the integration of art and science in this way, but I feel that theatre is more about the feelings that drive it to become something spectacular are lost when inhuman things are put into the mix. The technology is spectacular--we've gone a long way in creating realistic skins and facial expressions to keep up with the programming--but doesn't belong onstage.
I have to agree with Annie. I feel that this particular use of automation in theater is rally creepy. Overall, I feel that theater is an artistic expression, of not only the set design and design of the show, but also that of the actor. By intigrating this robot actor in the show, it takes away for the artisitic license of the actors in the show. At some point, will there be a show that will have an entire cast of animatronic actors? and will this still be considered theater?
On stage EveR-3 is acting with Korean traditional dress which is made by famous desinger's dress and learning Korean traditional opera, Pansori, from famous singer.
I think robot performance is 21c version of puppet which has been going on ever since long time ago. I think this digital puppet performance also can touch the heart of the audience. It will be possible to play the show just by robot actors. As 3D virtual actor,avatar, is familiar with us, robot actor also will be familiar to audience. Then, human actor may have to compitive with robot actor. I heard that EveR-3 got an actor's fee 2000$ .
No! The whole point of theater is it's live and up close and personal! Robotic actors would ruin everything. Plus they're really creepy. Robots are useful for many things, but contributing to theater is just not one of them. People should be spending their time and money on innovations that enhance the theatrical experience, not take away from it. I would rather see the Spiderman musical than watch a play with robotic "actors."
This reminds me of traditional puppets theatre in Japan. This robotic theatre is a ultimate high technology version of puppet show. I think this new experiment is the next generation of theatre genre!
In Japan, there is a traditional puppets theatre Bunraku/ Joruri.
See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV938f46Wpg&feature=related if interested...
This is just puppet. But the subtle movement and facial expression the operator creates evoke very sentimental and sometime romantic sensation in audience. People tried to use puppets for storytelling even we have actors. Why? Because the performance can softly or sometimes impressively handle touchy subjects, controversial love affairs (considered more severely as a sin in those days) and desperate efforts to better life among human by projecting their hope to the puppets.
Having a robot perform a role is kind of an interesting idea, but I think it’s one that overall should try to be avoided. I think the idea of using robots as sort of more modern version of a puppet as others have said might be a good idea, but the connotation of robots replacing actors is a going a little too far for me. While it is a different way of looking at theater and it’s good that they are experimenting with it, I think on the whole that acting should stay within the realm of human actors, partly because I think that’s what the audience comes to see in a theater production, is the live emotions of people onstage and I think having a robot, however well designed and programmed, is never quite the same as just having a normal person.
The idea of introducing robotics in a performance capacity in theatre makes me kind of apprehensive as to where this kind of theatre is headed. The article makes it sound like this robotic actress is being used as a draw for audiences, and therefore more financial profit, which I'm not really okay with. I think it could be interesting to experiment with using technology in this way, but I would hope that this kind of technology will be used sparingly as it develops. I don't think a future stage full of robotic is necessarily a good direction to head in.
I remember when they were first coming out with robot teachers which I thought was a bad idea. With actors, however, I think that it might not be as bad. Seeing as to how they have to perform the same thing over and over again, then they may not have to make the type of decisions that the teachers would. I just think that if this begins to get too big as an enterprise that acting unions might have something to say about it...
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