The No Proscenium Podcast

David Rosenberg & Glen Neath, Artistic Directors of DARKFIELD return to the podcast to talk about their latest work, the interactive audio experience ARCADE. A twist on the company's signature immersive audio storytelling formula, ARCADE features a branching narrative as you guide your avatar through a world ravaged by endless war.SHOW NOTESARCADEDARKFIELDThe Los Angeles Immersive InvitationalWorld Premiere Screening in LA: The Broken Bone Bathtub Documentary Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the show NoPro’s Chicago curator Patrick McLean hops into the host chair for a conversation with Miguel Angel Rodriguez, Co-Executive Director of Chicago’s own Albany Park Theater Project and Jennine Willett, co-artistic director of the NYC based Third Rail Projects about the two company’s ongoing collaboration over the years and its current incarnation — the immersive theatre experience Port of Entry.SHOW NOTESAlbany Park Theater ProjectThird Rail ProjectsPort of EntryThe Los Angeles Immersive Invitational Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're joined this week by Robert Farid Karimi – whose work of late has included a series of interactive analog immersive game experiences involving topics such as community-police relations and the illegal detention of Central American immigrant youth – and who is the co-director of the Public Practice + Generative Play StudioLab and serves as Assistant Professor in the Music, Dance and Theater department at Arizona State University.It's a fantastic discussion about meaning-making.SHOW NOTESRobert Farid KarimiWorlds In Play: The Mint Experience!LA Immersive Invitational Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week it’s an AFTER DARK style episode featuring host Noah Nelson and NoPro Arts Editor Laura Hess as they have a conversation that covers the AI works in the LA Art show, the use of AI in Immersive, a bit on the Wonka debacle because we recorded this like three weeks ago, and the overall nature of immersive work particularly as it applies to the art world. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the show we’re joined by Ivan Carić and Emily Carding of The Key of Dreams, the follow up to the hit overnight immersive experience in the Welsh countryside which was reviewed for us last year by Ellery Weil, who also joins us on the pod for the first time.The Key of Dreams draws on the literary tradition of weird fiction to create a strange and thrilling experience in Treowen Manor an early 17th-century manor house in Monmouthshire where guests stay overnight.We dive in deep on what goes into delving into the realms of the uncanny in a historic locale in this week’s interview.SHOW NOTESThe Key of Dreams Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the show: we reveal the winner of the 2024 No Proscenium Audience & Editor Awards.Check the site for the full list of Nominees & Winners.SHOW NOTESThe 2024 No Proscenium Audience & Editor AwardsThe 2024 Los Angeles Immersive Invitational Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the show our dear friend Graham Wetterhahn is here with us to talk about the upcoming Los Angeles Immersive Invitational, which is produced by his company After Hours Theatre Company in collaboration with The Immersive Experience Institute… and we’re unveiling seven of the teams that will be participating in this year’s invitational — and it is QUITE the lineup.The Invitational’s Sunday Showcase is coming up on April 21st at the Nocturne Theater in Glendale and the tickets are ON SALE NOW and you can find a link right here in the show notes. SHOW NOTESThe 2024 Los Angeles Immersive Invitational (Tickets)After Hours Theatre CompanyThe Immersive Experience InstituteThe 2024 NoPro Audience Awards (Backers Only)The 2024 NoPro Reader's Special Award Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the show we’ve got a DOUBLE HEADER!First up Amy Ashton & Mia Fiorella of La Jolla Playhouse’s WITHOUT WALLS FESTIVAL will be here to give us a preview of the fest that is headed back to the UC San Diego campus for the first time since 2015 this April 4th - 7th.Then Samantha Gorman & Danny Cannizzaro of Tender Claws, the studio behind NoPro favorites like The Under Presents and Virtual Virtual Reality are here to talk about their latest release: STRANGER THINGS VR which launched on Meta’s QUEST platform last week.SHOW NOTESWithout Walls FestivalStranger Things VRThe 2024 No Proscenium Audience Awards Nominees2024 NoPro Audience Awards Ballot- (Backer Access Only)2024 NoPro Special Reader Award Ballot Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the show artist Risa Puno joins us to talk about some of their latest work, including the upcoming Group Hug at the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia and Unresolved Rage Game, developed with theatre artist Ran Xia which was recently at Worlds in Play at ASU’s MIX Center in Mesa Arizona.We go deep into the motivation behind both pieces and how Puno explores emotions through game mechanics. Content Advisory: there’s some frank talk about the wave of hate directed at Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders that the pandemic unleashed and that includes some strong language including the identification of slurs that were directed at Puno themself. Telling you that upfront so that you’re not caught off guard.SHOW NOTESRisa PunoGroup HugUnresolved Rage Game at Worlds in PlayLos Angeles Immersive Invitational Sunday Showcase Backer Exclusive Pre-Sale Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joining us on the show this week is designer Jaden Andrea, most recently the Art Director of Gather, the virtual gathering spot for remote teams that was home to more than a few interactive experiences during the height of the pandemic, and who has done installation work at Lightning in a Bottle, Neotropolis, and Burning Man. SHOW NOTESJaden Andrea (portfolio)Nostalgia PurgatoryGatherNeotropolisLightning in a BottleCASTINGNYC Immersive WeekendLA Immersive Invitational Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joining us this week is Ben Enos, Senior Director of Product Design at The Escape Game to talk about his path from being an escape game super fan to heading up a team at one of the largest location based game companies in the U.S.SHOW NOTESThe Escape GameNYC Immersive Weekend CASTING in NYC Pre-Sale Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joining us this week is Gry Worre Hallberg the artistic director of Copenhagen based Sisters Hope a performance group and movement organized around the idea of a creating “an ecological awareness of connectivity” outlined in the book Sensuous Society – Carving The Path Towards A Sustainable Future.Sisters Hope was the group behind the event Sensuous Governing, which took place at the Danish Consulate in Edinburgh as part of the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe, which is where our own Toronto correspondent Katrina Lat encountered the group’s work. Katrina will also be joining me today as co-host.SHOW NOTESSisters HopeSensuous GoverningThe Best Immersive at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023 Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the co-creators of the hit show The Order of the Golden Scribe: Initiation Tea — writer/director Arlo Howard and producer & puzzle-master Shuai Chen — join us to talk about their show which not only made multiple members of our Review Crew’s Best of 2023 list but also got a coveted Golden Lock from Room Escape Artist — all ahead of a return engagement in New York City which kicks off on February 11th.SHOW NOTESThe Order of the Golden Scribe: Initiation TeaCOMING SOON: The Order of the Golden ScribeCOMING SOON: The Tiger's BrideNYC Meetup (Waiting List Active)LA Meetup (Waiting List Active)CALL SHEET Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week  Sean Cawelti and Chelsea Sutton of Rogue Artists Ensemble — the LA based company behind works like Kaidan Project: Walls Grow Thin, and Señor Plummer’s Final Fiesta — are here with us for a quite lovely conversation about their upcoming projects including the one-off Carousel of Fools taking place in Santa Monica this month and the full length immersive show Schlitzie: Alive and Inside the Decaying Sideshow which is slated for later in this year.Show NotesCarousel of FoolsSchlitzie: Alive and Inside the Decaying SideshowKaidan Project: Walls Grow ThinSeñor Plummer’s Final FiestaRogue Artists EnsembleNoPro NYC Meetup (Jan 29th)NoPro LA Meetup (Jan 29th) Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joining us this week are Eric Garcia & Kat Cole co-directors of Detour, the San Francisco based performing arts company, whose website says everything you need at a glance in big bold letters: “DEVISED THEATRE. DANCE. DRAG. IMMERSIVE.”In 2023 they brought us We Build Houses Here, and this March they will be workshopping a new production set in the same world as that show: The Twilight Aristocracy.This month the company is offering a series of workshops on devised theatre and drag performance — we’re going to talk to them about all of it. Hosted by Noah Nelson.SHOW NOTESDETOURDevising Immersive Theater: Craft, The Ensemble, & Audience ExperienceNYC Meetup Jan 29th @ 7PMLA Meetup Jan 29th @ 7PM Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we continue our annual end of year tradition of inviting our colleagues to a round table to look back at what was. For 2023 we're joined by Sabina Graves of i09, Todd Martens of the LA Times, and Scott Stein of CNET to talk about they year we’ve had in immersive — both on the live and digital side — how folks in media outside our field see it, and where they hope this is all going in the near future. SHOW NOTESSabina Graves at i09Todd Martens at the LA TimesScott Stein at CNETLove a TV Show? Now You Can Live It. (Alexis Soloski for The New York Times) Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the show we've got three segments with members of the NoPro Review Crew checking in from across North America to share parts of their "Best Of" lists for 2023.Joining us are: Edward Mylechreest (NYC), Nicholas Fortugno (NYC), Blake Weil (Philly/East Coast At Large), Katrina Lat (Toronto), Laura Hess (Arts Editor), Patrick McLean (Chicago/Remote Editor), Martin Gimenez (At Large), Kevin Gossett (LA Reviews Editor), and Danielle Riha (Denver).Hosted by Noah J. Nelson.Show NotesNoPro’s Best Immersive Moments of 2023NoPro's Best Immersive Shows & Experiences of 2023 (Coming Later Today) Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the show we’re joined by Co-Founder and Senior Creative Director of Meow Wolf, Caity Kennedy;  Sr. Art Director of Mighty Coconut Don Carson, and returning guest Lucas Martell, founder of Mighty Coconut and creator of Walkabout Mini Golf — aka NoPro’s favorite social VR game.Why? Because of the recently released Walkabout: Meow Wolf expansion, silly. It’s the Reese’s Peanut Butter cups of VR experiences that takes two great things — Walkabout Mini Golf and Meow Wolf’s Numina space from Convergence Station in Denver — and turns it into something wholly unique which brings out the best IN both team’s work.SHOW NOTESWalkabout Mini GolfMeow WolfWorlds In Play (Jan 2024) Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: a special trip out to COSM's test center at the University of Utah campus for an EXCLUSIVE interview with Ricardo Romaneiro, the latest artist collaborator to be announced by the immersive media company. We also talk with COSM CEO Jeb Terry and the head of COSM's Studios & Labs Neil Carty about the content and strategy they've developed for the launch of the Hollywood Park experience center in LA in 2024.All that plus host Noah Nelson's impressions of COSM's tech and the in progress preview of Romaneiro's LIQUIDVERSE: Microcosm & Macrocosm project which blends live musical and visual elements with pre-rendered material on the wrap-around LED screens in COSM's venue.SHOW NOTESCosmE&SCosm & Ricardo RomaneiroRicardo RomaneiroCosm & Nancy Baker CahilCosm & UFC(This episode was made possible thanks to travel & accommodations provided by COSM.) Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Long time listeners and readers know that we’re big fans of the dungeon crawling extravaganza Demeo and its follow up Demeo Battles, both of which are part of the Demeo Action Role Playing System, and which are available now on Steam (PC + VR), Meta Quest and Pico (VR). Joining us on the pod today is Gustav Stenmark, producer of Demeo Battles for Resolution Games the Stockholm-based games studio.Show NotesDemeoDemeo BattlesResolution Games Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.