On Feb. 21 and 22, the Flynn Space opened its small stage for both human and robotic actors alike as part of a collaborative performance between the Seinendan Theater Company and Osaka University Robot Theater Project.In Robot Theater Project, actors from Japan and three robotic co-stars performed small skits. Such an unconventional endeavor was sure to raise an eyebrow, and the unique concept led to both shows being sold out.In the director notes, Oriza Hirata writes that the initial goal of the project was to change the status of robots from being merely displays at expositions to becoming essential elements of theater arts. In two smaller skits, Hirata and the cast explore what role robots might play in our future. Their use today as assistants to the elderly is extended to the sick as well as for the navigation of lands made toxic by radiation after natural disasters and war.In the first skit Sayonara, Geminoid F plays the role of a robotic assistant hired to read poetry to an ailing child. Designed to be complete robotic perfection, she is the android creation of robotic scientist Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro.Geminoid Fs features are strikingly human and elegant. As the stage lights illuminated her face, a gasp escaped from the audience. Her face looks warm, as if real blood, not wires, pulsed under her skin. Although she is unable to walk, the range of upper body mobility she is capable of is impressive, though distinguishable from that of a human.In a variety of languages including English, Japanese, German and French, Geminoid F and a young girl, played by Bryerly Long, converse. The conversation and poetry is slow as to accommodate for a robotic delay, but easy to understand.Sayonara also explores the robot lifecycle after their intended purpose is met or their hardware begins to malfunction. Geminoid F leaves the stage carried on the back of a robotic repairman, destined to monitor the Fukishima wasteland post-tsunami.The final performance titled I, Worker, again takes place in the home of humans cohabitating with robots. Two Robovie R3 robots used are house servants to a couple struggling with the monotony of daily chores and depression after the husband loses his job. The Robovie R3 robots goofy and cute mannerisms solicited laughter from the crowd as they interacted with the human actors. The bright color plastic of their bodies and wheel-like feet seemed more comfortable for the audience than Geminoid Fs eerily human features.The delay in speech was also more acceptable, as the Robovie R3s were clearly robots being robots, not robots being humans. I, Worker highlighted interaction between the two robots, specifically their awkward inability to please each other as easily as they can their owners.The Robot Theater Project will continue its six-city tour in the U.S and Canada, returning after to Japan. More information on the plays, actors and robots can be found at http://www.japansociety.org/event/seinendan-theater-company-osaka-university-robot-theater-project-sayonara-i-worker