The No Proscenium Podcast

This week on the show we’ve got another double header. First up,  Jake Pinholster the Dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Creative Producer & Director Scarlett Kim — the producers of Worlds in Play , join us to talk about the upcoming gathering of play practitioners—game and theatre artists alike— which is coming to Monticel...

This week on the show we’ve got an extra-long double header with some real clarity of purpose as we take a look at IMMERSIVE inside Theme Parks. First up, Mike Ostrom , Manager of Entertainment and Events for Six Flags Magic Mountain and WOW! Entertainment Inc’s Mark Brymer join me to spill the details on DC Heroes & Villains Festival - an immersive theatrical takeover of   and Six Flags...

Today on the show we’re talking about this year’s Tribeca Immersive offering at the Tribeca Festival which is currently running in New York City. This year the lineup has come together thanks to a unique partnership between Tribeca, Onassis ONX , and Agog: The Immersive Media Institute. To tell us how that all came together we’ll be joined this week by Casey Baltes , VP Tribeca Games & Immersi...

This week on the show we go into the field for a visit to Sypher Arts Studio where Labyrinth Masquerade founder Shawn Strider and producer Jacquie Adorni give us a tour of the treasure trove of costumes that make up the living tapestry that is the Labyrinth Masquerade — the Twenty Seventh edition of which will take place this coming August 15th & 16th at the Historic Biltmore in Downtown Los A...

Little Cinema's Jay Rinsky joins us to talk about his most ambitious project yet:  bringing The Matrix — the 1999 blockbuster that defined action movies for a generation — to Cosm’s titanic video domes. In classic Little CInema style they’re using theatrical techniques to bring the world of The Matrix outside the film frame and onto the wrap around canvas of Cosm’s big screens. SHOW NOTES The...

This week on the show we are joined by Katy Naylor of Voidspace to talk about Voidspace Live, the interactive arts festival which is coming up in London June 7th & 8th and which is featuring a wonderful cross section of London’s always bubbling immersive & experiential scene. SHOW NOTES Voidspace Live The Next Stage Immersive Summit NoPro Backer Focus Group (Round One - Pillar of the Commu...

We wrap up our Detor into Andor: A Star Wars Story's second series with one more trip along the Rimma Trade Route to talk with Jay Bushman about the final arc – ever – of the series which pushed Star Wars storytelling in bold new directions. Spoilers Abound. SHOW NOTES Night Drive - Synthwave Cyberpunk by Elysium Sound Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the show we are joined by Donna Personna & Mark Nassar two of the three writers — along with Collette LeGrande — of The Compton’s Cafeteria Riot which has returned to San Francisco’s Tenderloin after a successful run in 2018. The immersive, interactive play brings to life the 1966 uprising in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district that was one of the first acts of organized LGBT...

Another Detour into the world of Star Wars as storyteller extraordinaire Jay Bushman joins NoPro host Noah Nelson to dive into the incredible third arc of Andor's second season. SHOW NOTES Detour: Jay & Noah Talk Andor Season One Who's The Bossk: Episode 224: Lonni, You're Out of Your Element with Noah J. Nelson Pros & Cons Season 2 Aaron Burr's Farewell Address Night Drive - Synthwave Cyb...

Jon Pedigo is known to the NoPro universe as one of the creators of Bar of Dreams , which has charmed audiences on both the East and West Coast and to attendees of the 2022 Los Angeles Immersive Invitational as part of the team that created the brilliant Well, Well, Well that year. Well, Jon will be back this weekend at the LA Immersive Invitational, teaming up with Karlie LeClare and Keight Leigh...

This week on the show we’re marking the imminent Halfway to Halloween point of the year with two interviews. First up: Jason Egan of Egan Productions - whose Saw , It , and Blair Witch escape games are perreniall favorites in Las Vegas , joins us to talk about his origins in haunts, and his latest endeavor: The John Wick Experience at AREA15 .  Then David Markland , co-founder and executive d...

As we near Episode 500 I want to start experimenting, exploring other ways to connect with members of the immersive creative community. One idea I've been toying with is a side-project where we talk with creators about works they love and that inspire them, and so that's what we do this week with long time backer, storyteller extraordinaire Jay Bushman. Jay and I have known each other for nearly 1...

Another double header this week as first we're joined by Winston Fisher , Chief Executive officer of Las Vegas' AREA15 to talk about their 20-acre expansion this year which will see attractions like Felix & Paul Studios’ Interstellar Arc , The Museum of Ice Cream , and the highly anticipated Universal Horror Unleashed .  Then Graham Wetterhahn of After Hours Theatre Company and Nick Rhein...

This week we’re joined by Margaret Chandra Kerrison, who is here to talk about her latest book The Art of Immersive Storytelling: Strategies from the Gaming World.  Many of you know Margaret from her time with Walt Disney Imagineering where she worked on some projects dear to our hearts like Galaxy’s Edge. These days she is Senior Creative Director for TAIT. Before we get into the episode — i...

This week we’re joined by Alexander Patterson, founder of Beat The Bomb and we go on the origin story journey of the New York based company which traces its roots to Alex’s time with Tough Mudder all the way to its post-pandemic expansion, including the opening THIS WEEKEND of Beat The bomb Denver — the SEVENTH overall. SHOW NOTES Beat The Bomb Beat The Bomb Denver The 2025 Los Angeles Immers...

This week on the show: another double header. FIrst up: Mikhael Tara Garver and Jenny Koons of Culture House Immersive are with us to talk a bit about the work going on over there, including a fair amount about working with creatives from outside the realm of immersive to bring their worlds to life. Then we check in with friend of the show Yannick Trapman-O’Brien, who is celebrating an anniversary...

This week on the show we’ve got a double header. FIrst up: Amy Ashton and Mia Fiorella  of the La Jolla Playhouse  will help me make a path through the lineup of this year’s Without Walls Festival , which is coming up April 24-27th on the campus of UC San Diego. Then Jimmy Reckitt and I talk about making Vampire LARPS which is exactly what he does as the Head of Story for By Night S...

This week we are joined by Jack Aldisert of Deadweight Theatre, creator of The Manikins , which was the talk of the London immersive scene throughout 2024 — so much so that some legendary figures on that scene became collaborators — and which will be coming to the Overlook Film Festival in New Orleans this April and is sure to be all the talk there. In the host chair for this discussion is Shelley...

This week on the show we’ve got a look at two of the experiences in this year’s SXSW XR Experience Competition —  The Secret Life of Monsters: The Gateway Experience and Traces: The Grief Processor  — we have the key creatives behind both joining us on the pod in a double header. Once again the SXSW lineup is filled with as many XR experiences, IRL activations, and smarty pants panels a person can...

This week on the show we’re joined by Erica Boeke, CEO of XPLAND — which covers the business of experiential from awards shows to activism, sports to immersive — and who are gearing up for their second XLIST — which puts the spotlight on the most creative visionaries in experiential. Nominations for which are open RIGHT NOW. SHOW NOTES XPLAND The XLIST Nomination Process 2025 Audience Discoun...

This week on the show we’ve got a double feature. First up: Graham Wetterhahn of After Hours Theatre Company and NoPro’s own Parker Sela stop by to talk about  Dark Library Paris: 1925 , a new immersive cocktail experience that’s running in North Hollywood at present. Then: immersive theatre creator Michael Bontatibus, whose company Witness we have covered in the past here at NoPro, joins us...

This week on the show we’re joined by Planning Your Escape author and one of the creators of the upcoming Mystery Ave. in Portland, the one and only Laura Hall — who will not be talking about EITHER of those things but instead talking about the Center for Immersive Arts — her project to help preserve key parts of the history of immersive art. That includes the resurrection of the classic Alternate...

This week on the show, Stefanie Frey the Director of Organizing & Mobilization for Actor’s Equity Association — joins us to talk about how Equity — the union for actors and stage managers — has been expanding its membership into places like escape rooms and themed restaurants that touch upon our world of immersive experiences. SHOW NOTES Actor's Equity Association Hosted on Acast. See acast.co...

This week on the show, the Review Crew – in the form of NYC curator Allie Marotta, East Coast Editor at Large Blake Weil, Exec. Editor Emeritus Kathryn Yu, NYC correspondent Penelope Ray, and host Noah Nelson – gather to talk about the end of Sleep No More ’s era defining run in New York City and the last run of shows and parties at the McKittrick Hotel, the show’s venue in Manhattan’s Chelsea nei...

The original plan for this week was for us to have no episode while The Next Stage Immersive Summit was on. Because of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in LA brought about by the wildfires The Next Stage is postponed. We'll have more on the plans for that at a later date. In the meantime check the show notes for how to help those in LA. Show Notes LA Fires: How You Can Help (compiled by Kathryn Yu)...