Shakespeare's plays have a long, long history of being modded to fit the times. We've seen Macbeths do the running man, and Cordelias dressed like Susie Sioux -- and we've also seen
Forbidden Planet, so we know that Robby was just a tinned up Ariel. So
robots in Shakespeare? Sure, we've seen that before,
but what haven't we seen intertwined into bad theatre? Well, Texas A&M's just staged
A Midsummer Night's Dream to include robotic cast members. Working with Professor Robin Murphy, who heads up the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue, director Amy Hopper hacked the script a bit to include an
air robot -- which is about the size of a pizza, and has been used in military operations -- playing a fairy, and six small radio controlled helicopters. The robotics team used the opportunity to observe how cast and audience members reacted to the robots, and we're pretty sure the audience warmed to them far more quickly than they would to Christian Bale or Sean Penn.
posted November 20th 2009 12:28PM
I guess the Aggies weren't able to change the lightbulb in her dressing room.
@DanielT Outdid the cast of New Moon? Weekend at Bernies II outdid the cast of New moon.
I'm guessing that was a pretty safe jab, considering the nature of this blog. Not a whole lot of Twilight fan-people here, I'm guessing.
Sorry this is off topic but WTF happened to the old Engadget site? Not thrilled about this one :(
WAY too many ads....
@GadgetGeek They redesigned the site. I think its looks great!
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/19/welcome-to-the-next-engadget/
@GadgetGeek there are less ads now. Fact.
@GadgetGeek
Use Firefox with AdBlock Plus. pwns all the ads.
I do like the revamp in the 'replies'. i guess it's like everything else, just need time to adjust to it. I still liked the layout of the old site though...
@GhettoBanjo
There are like 3 ads and maybe we should click on them every so often. Thats how this site make money no..
I was hoping for a lot more knocks on Twilight. I guess people really really don't care about those damn movies. I better get out of here before someone sees me!
I'll admit to have seeing it last night. The title of this article is completely plausible, seeing as how the acting in that movie was virtually nonexistent.
(Vote me down all you want...but did you see how many chicks were at that theater? ;) )
Great to see my alma mater, Texas A&M, on Engadget! Gig 'em!
I'm agreeing with the guy in the background.
"Man, this is gay as hell."
@Look_Around_You
Never trust a man with hats on his knees.
I am glad they gave them purple hair and yellow fingernails so we could tell they are robots.
@glamajamma... uh that's not a robot. That's a chick with purple hair and yellow nails. The glowy thing that she's reaching towards is one of the robots...
whoooosh...
Best headline ever
for real... anything is better than this vampire hype.
Bring back the Zombies!!
Didn't Richard Wakefield do this already?
(Rama II, 3 and 4)
Quick - someone post this to a Twilight fan forum!
Sure, the average IQ of the readers on this site will drop sharply, but we'll get more publicity. Right, Engadget?
I don't get it, this happens all the time. Gizmodo comes out with a story and 2 days later it finally appears on Engadget.
Whoop!
Big deal! Lots of plays on Broadway have robotic actors, too bad they are humans in disguise.
Its not hard to beat anything twiligh
I think you mean Siouxsie Sioux
Sure the robots can outact the cast of New Moon, but the cast of New Moon is much more robotic than the robots. Take them to Texas A&M so they can see what robots will look like in the future.
AMSD seems to be everywhere these days. The DTC has their own adaptation playing in the new theater in the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Was freaking amazing. Robots or not, it would be pretty hard to beat. Hmm... robots...
Really it's not saying much that this is better acting than any member of the Twilight cast, but still true nonetheless.
So the only robots were the little flying contraptions? The headline implies the *entire* cast were robots?
So, a few stoners at A&M figure out a way to have the school pay for their remote control helicopters and Engadget picks it up as "Robots Do Shakespeare"?
Engadget, you've been had!
Or, it's just another slow news day and the weekend crew simply MUST exceed their story quota!
they should have used those flying robots to lure some more people into the building...