Ser o no ser: la identidad, desde el autómata al androide, en la escena

Abstract

Developing a character for the stage is one of the essential labors in theatre, since it implies more than representing the form: it requires the display of its humanity in order to connect with the audience members and get them to share, for a moment, that living world happening on the scene. The current technology has brought us closer to that “super marionette” desired by Gordon Craig for the creation of a higher art, of a more noble artificiality; however, from the robotics point of view, the modern automats may be rejected by people as they get close, but don’t achieve, the perfect human likeness. So, can the android be the wonder doll that is moved by the strings of the poet, as Diderot called the great actor? Or will it scare off the audiences that are confronted with a humanity that is so close, and yet so far?