This paper presents a retrospective analysis of the Robots, Art, People, and Performance Laboratory (RAPP Lab), a transdisciplinary initiative exploring human-robot interaction through performance methodologies across nearly a decade of sustained investigation. Established in 2017 as a collaboration between the University of Canberra, Aalborg University, and Robological, RAPP Lab functions as a living laboratory where roboticists and artists converge to investigate embodied human-robot performance, with conceptual origins tracing back to foundational robotic performance works from 2011. Through workshops, public interventions, and performances, the Lab has evolved into a unique collaborative space, exploring robots as cultural participants rather than merely technological tools. This paper traces RAPP Lab’s evolution through three major iterations: RAPP Lab 01, which explored Indigenous choreography and media art; RAPP Lab 02, which extended participatory engagement into public spaces; and RAPP Lab 03, which investigated the systematic application of Meyerhold’s biomechanics and Lecoq’s Tréteau theatre methodologies to human-robot ensemble storytelling. Key findings demonstrate that workshop-based methodologies privileging curiosity, experimentation, and play can foster genuine connection between human performers and robots, while robotic constraints become creative affordances when approached through appropriate movement vocabularies. By centering diverse cultural narratives, RAPP Lab challenges dominant narratives in robotics research and performance studies, proving that robots can transition from maintainers of existing cultural practices to active participants and potential producers of new cultural forms. Through its living laboratory approach, RAPP Lab contributes essential methodological frameworks to the emergent field of cultural robotics, repositioning robots as modern-day myth-makers and cultural agents that reflect humanity’s evolving relationship with technology.