It dawned on my this morning that I have tried in recent posts to convey some of the joy and excitement Patrick and Mototsugo discuss cryo-ballisticsI have been enjoying in Japan, but that I have not mentioned the individual people. It is mainly they who have made this adventure so enriching. It is a wonderfully diverse and complimentary group from a wide range of institutions and backgrounds. Here they are in the order that their business cards fell out of my name tag holder.

Mototsugo Ueno, our “Rocket man” from Yamanashi Prefectural Science Centre gave us drive, energy and goodGrandpa Cathy under the influence of the crazy glasses humour. Kate Moore, one of Scitech’s finest kept us giggling and did some excellent work packing our road cases (the cardboard boxes used to transport our props to the performance space). Yuko Okayama, our facilitator from Miraikan, has been simply fabulous. She managed to find the perfect balance of humour, oranisational rigour, problem-solving skills and generosity of spirit. Hiromi Kurokawa, also from Miraikan has been a source of great ideas, committed performance and a fun-loving demeanour. We have also enjoyed the company of Museum Victoria’s Bernard Caleo. An accomplished comic artist (that’s comic, the noun although most his drawing this week has made me smile a lot) and performer, Bernard’s performance as the blue-wigged Mother is a highlight. And now it's runny again - Megumi and the oobleckI can only guess the psychological damage this performance might have caused to children in the audience. We brought a bit of Queensland with us in the form of Pete Cowes, from Queensland Museum. Pete played the father, married to Bernard's character. As if that wasn't challenge enough, he also managed a nifty bit of Japanese lip synching - hilarious.  

Akihiro Kumagai from Morioka Children’s Museum of Science is a good thinker with a fantastic sense of humour; he is also a sensational singer, as last night’s karaoke revealed. Questacon sent us Patrick Helean and Cathy Petocz. Patrick is our Australian Facilitator and is a source of boundless creative energy, wonderful support and heart-warming diplomacy. Cathy is another deep well of creativity. An accomplished musician, Cathy’s skills were revealed in the finale of our show as her Grandfather character rose to prominence in the centre of the stage. Mizuho Awakawa (Coco) of Hiroshima Children’s Museum brought an effervescent personality and an insightful mind, and was perfect as one half The twins, Mami and Cocoof our “twins”. The other half of the twins was Mami Ikeuchi, from Fujikawa-Razuka, Taikenkan Donbura. None of us will not forget Mami’s smile, her ideas, her performance or her skills with an AirZooker. We have been privileged to work with Megumi Ohashi from Hamamatsu Science Museum  as well, and whenever I think about her playing with oublek or using small balloons to impersonate a koala, I nearly giggle out loud. Megumi’s preparedness to try anything with a smile was great, and we are all wearing the beautiful string tie things she made us with pride. Pete and Bernard present an interesting angle on parentingMitsuru Kudo came with us from ANU and has been superb from the beginning, as an interface between the cultures. He has guided us (sometimes he didn't get completely lost), supported us, translated for us, ate with us and laughed with us.

Well, I must say I feel better for recognising everyone in our group, because these are the people that made it all work. There are more stories to be told about karaoke, taxis, MANGA, Fu-Fu and food, but they will have to wait for another time. Right now, as our group is dispersing it feels good just to see them to together again on this page.

Wow, what big smoke rings you have Grandpa!We came, we saw, we ate, we laughed and we sang. The show was performed yesterday and by all accounts (not just of the performers) it went well. I was particularly pleased to hear that many people found some of the more theatrical and unusual aspects of the show surprising and interesting. Coco, Hiromi, me, Megumi and Pete prepare to get wet (at least I do)This whole experience has been an opportunity to do something different, to be a bit more creative and to take some risks, so that sort of feedback is encouraging. It was absolutely worth the limited sleep. Testament to this habit of sleeplessness is the fact that we went to bed after 2am (and will be at breakfast by 8:45am) and this is considered a sleep-in.

We celebrated with a magnificent meal, plenty to drink and - of course - karoke. 

Congratulations too everyone for a job well done and for new friendships across the world.

Yes, this is candy. . . . perhaps the best of ways. Our experience in Japan continues to both surprise and delight. from the enormous and eclectic array of candy flavours (could Japan have been the inspiration for Bertie Bott's 'Every Flavor Beans'?) to the immaculately kept taxis with their wonderful range of light fittings and of course the people. There is a new surprise around every corner and in every sentence. 

Today we rehearsed the whole performance several times, ironing out the kinks, re-thinking the story and honing the technical procedures. There is something immensely satisfying about meeting a challenge creatively and as a group. This can of course mean hard work, but hard work feels great when you share a goal, when creative solutions come from all directions and when the mood is energised and supportive. It also helps when there is a constant supply of soft drinks and chocolate and cake, and an hilarious blue wig, mainly worn by a tall Australian man playing a Japanese woman. There will be photos - stay tuned.

The Science Agora was officially opened tonight. We have one rehearsal on the stage tomorrow morning and then we're on. A live show developed from scratch with 12 strangers from 2 different countries for one show only. If you happen to be in Tokyo tomorrow, it might be worth coming down to see if we pull it off.

We finally have a narrative!I am currently in Toyko at the Japan-Australia Science Perfomers Exchange. To cut a long story short, about a dozen of us (half from Japan and half from Australia) are spending just over a week exchanging ideas about science performance and communication and developing a new show to be performed once only at Miriakan's Science Agora. It is also expected that there will be significant cultural exchange and interface. This has been one of the best parts of the program and less officially, the people involved are fabulous.

There is a significant language barrier to overcome, but we have many helpers and a hard-working interpretter, and it's amazing what one can communicate by wild gesticulation, mime and faux Pictionary. From both Japanese and Australian performers, there are still occasional moments of repeating the same word over and over at a blank face and of 2 people desperately nodding their heads in the mistaken hope that this will somehow make them understand each other. Thankfully these moments are becoming rarer.

It is quite exhilarating seeing different minds linking concepts, discovering scenes and growing characters. I always like working with other creative people, but there is a heightenned awareness of the process in this case. You have to ride  through the frustration of waiting for a translator before letting your latest brilliant idea burst out of you, and I am not the only one who has literally been shaking with excitement, like a child on Christmas morning.

It's also nice to meet other people involved science performance, this strange subset of science communication (itself a pretty odd occupation). It makes you a feel a bit less weird. Now I'm off to try some apple vinegar flavoured chocolate.

The science communication scene in Australia is a pretty active and well-connected place. There are loads of talented people and lots of groups and organisations doing great work. Well now there's one more. RIAus (Royal Institution, Australia) has been officially launched in Adelaide. The launch ran across 4 days and included presentations by neuroscientist Baroness Susan Greenfield, palaeontologist Natalie Schroeder, and Dr Rob and Julia Cleghorn from Scope. There were Daleks, The Bouncers and Le Benz. There was great live music from Great Big Science Gig and families were kept rocking with Rock Chick and Science Geek. The realy good news is that RIAus has big plans for the future, all over Australia, so I'm looking forward to more great science inspiration, excitement and conversation.