The No Proscenium Podcast

Darren Lynn Bousman, Clint Sears, and Gordon Bijelonic are the terrifying trio behind the all-new Theatre Macabre, which recreates Paris' infamous 19th Century Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol in 21st Century LA, with an immersive twist. This is, of course, the team that brought us the often controversial Tension and Lust experiences and who made a splash by partnering with the Russo Brothers to bring that universe to Las Vegas.  Theatre Macabre is an all-new stand alone show, and the team is bringing their A game as they look to reinvent how they tell immersive stories. Whatever happens next: we're bound to be talking about it for months to come. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kathryn Yu and Anthony Robinson -- the keystones of our editorial board -- join Noah Nelson for a talk about the state of immersive as we see it now. So grab your beverage of choice and pull up a chair, it's NoPro After Dark. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 49 Boxes is a singular puzzle based storytelling event, the latest incarnation of which focuses on the life of Floyd G. Thayer-- one of the most famed illusion creators of all time. Host Noah Nelson sits down with Michael Borys, the information and story architect of The 49 Boxes to talk about the origins of the show and his career as an untraditional storyteller. Look for announcements about the next set of experiences from The 49 Boxes this week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sara Beil and KJ Knies are one of LA's most interesting behind the scenes pairs in immersive. By day Sara works for ThinkWell, the major themed entertainment design firm, as a multimedia writer and producer. KJ, meanwhile, works for Giant Spoon, the company that has been behind some of the splashiest immersive activations (SXSWestworld, The InkHole) this year. By night the two work on indie projects, like the Hollywood Fringe sleeper hit What Went Wrong, and the immersive enhanced production of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest that got LA audiences talking. Disclosure: KJ writes for us from time to time, but we're the one's who are lucky to have him. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeff Wirth has been a lot of things in his life: university professor, computer programmer, ballroom dancer, and clown. These days he's the wandering sage of interactive performance, leading the Interactive PlayLab which is best known for the Deep Dive think tank that created work that was both intimate and large scale at the same time. Wirth has been crisscrossing America leading workshops in interactive acting techniques and design, and after a recent stop in Los Angeles he sat down with our own Noah Nelson for a philosophical deep dive of their own. Also this week: we kick things off with an impromptu field report from The InkHole, the latest promotional pop-up from the Giant Spoon/Mycotoo team, which brings the curious into the fabulously felt world of The Happytime Murders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our friend Mikhael Tara Garver dropped by this morning for a chat about how she integrates social impact into her work -- for entertainment, causes, and brands -- and how immersive and experiential work are uniquely suited for creating long term social change. Here's one we wish could be longer, and it pairs well with the conversation we just had on EXP*DSN. Mikhael Tara Garver has been directing and creating immersive work for 18 years. She is an experiential architect integrating live and technology for brands, social impact, and storytelling.  Catch up with MTG on Instagram.     Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We sit down with the founder of Presence, which aims to be a kind of Patreon for experiential artists, Damian Madray to talk about his own life as an experience designer and why he decided to built a platform for other makers. Damian is also the co-host of the upcoming EXP*DSN, aka Experiential By Design, a live web show that features conversations between pioneers in experience design. The show kicks off on August 2nd, and will feature director Lynsey Peisinger who produces participatory work with The Abramovic Method. It will also have some weirdo named No Ha Nel son.  Oh, wait. That's me.    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Think Tank Gallery impresario Jacob Patterson invites Noah over to the studio to share the scoops on Think Tank's latest projects in LA. They've got three big shows opening in the next few weeks, including the Sea-Saw residency on the Santa Monica Pier which will feature local favorites like The Guest & The Host, #Metaforyou, and Lola Kelly. Plus it's Jacob and Noah, so you know the convo gets off the rails and into some ish. Brought to you by Meow Wolf and our generous Patreon backers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Once upon a time Sean Stewart was a science fiction novelist. Then, one day, he got a call asking if he wanted to take part in a little world-building project. One based around a Steven Spielberg movie.  That movie was A.I. and that project would become known as "The Beast," the first Alternate Reality Game. Now Sean works for Magic Leap, the secretive company in Florida that is working on augmented reality. But we're not here to talk about that. We're here to talk about making participatory stories. Sean plays Jedi Master to Noah's padawan learner. This is a very, very good episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week your host, Noah Nelson, was in Qingdao, China for the Sandbox Immersive Festival. This week he's back, solo, to talk about some of what he observed there and about the emerging thinking around XR -- the term being given to all of immersive technology -- and how that relates to live immersive. This being Noah talking into a microphone, you know that we get into a few tangents, including thoughts about what it means to become a bit jaded as a reviewer, and what incoming designers need to be thinking about when they approach immersive work for the first time. Show Notes: Jesse Damiani's piece on XR UI design. Room Escape Artist on tariffs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.