The No Proscenium Podcast

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 Snyder, NoPro’s London Curator — and not only do Shelley and Jack deftly avoid serious spoilers (although those who love to go in cold, consider yourself forewarned) they also have one of the frankest conversations about making immersive work I’ve had the pleasure of listening to in quite some time. – Noah

SHOW NOTES

• The Manikins
• Deadweight Theatre
• The Overlook Film Festival 2025 Events

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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 take in, and we’ve picked out the ones we’re most intrigued by in our annual SXSW FOMO Guide, which is up on the site and linked in the show notes.

Which includes a panel your podcast host is moderating.

• The Secret Life of Monsters: The Gateway Experience
• Traces: The Grief Processor 
• The 2025 SXSW FOMO Relief Patch (A NoPro Guide)
• From Creator To Closer: Your Path To Greenlight (SXSW panel w/Noah)
• The 2025 NoPro Audience Awards

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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.

• XPLAND
• The XLIST Nomination Process 2025
• Audience Discount Code for Nominations: XLISTNOPRO25
• The XLIST 2023
• The 2025 NoPro Audience Award Nominees
• Ballot Access for The 2025 NoPro Audience Awards (Backer Only)

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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 to talk about the state of immersive theatre as a whole, based on a recent essay he wrote entitled "What Happened to Immersive Theatre? How traditional and immersive theatre could rebuild together."

• Dark Library Paris: 1925 
• After Hours Theatre Company
• What Happened to Immersive Theatre?
• Witness
• The 2025 NoPro Audience Award Nominees
• Secret Cinema: Grease
• Universal Horror Unleashed in Las Vegas Tickets On Sale Announcement

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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 Reality Game forum known as the Unforum, as a static archive that captures a key moment in time.

SHOW NOTES

• Center for Immersive Arts
• The Unforum (Archive)
• Planning Your Escape
• Mystery Ave.
• NoPro’s 10 Most Anticipated New Immersive Works of 2025 (Part I)
• Immersive Review Rundown: Worlds Beyond, Worlds Within
• CALL SHEET FEBRUARY 2025

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This week we are joined by Scott Cramton, the founder of American Immersion Theater which includes The Murder Mystery Co., who put together thousands of interactive events around the country each year — many of them for private clients — but who have once again returned to public shows most recently with Speakeasy Die Softly at Carmine’s in Times Square in New York City.

• American Immersion Theater
• The Murder Mystery Co.
• Speakeasy Die Softly
• NoPro’s 10 Most Anticipated New Immersive Works of 2025 (Part I)
• Immersive Review Rundown: Worlds Beyond, Worlds Within
• NOW PLAYING: ThotBot Implantation Center
• NOW PLAYING: Last Call Theatre presents Love Game
• CALL SHEET FEBRUARY 2025

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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.

• Actor's Equity Association

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.

• LA Fires: How You Can Help (compiled by Kathryn Yu)
• GoFundMe for immersive actor Brandon Bales’ family to find a new place to live
• GoFundMe for 2023 Next Stage Immersive Summit speaker Wendy McClellan Anderson
• GoFundMe for 2025 Next Stage Immersive Summit speaker Suzanne Down of Cirque Berzerk
• LA Immersive Industry Mixer at Squirrelor's Tavern

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A quick check in from LA as the fire situation evolves, including updates on The Next Stage Immersive Summit, which at present is still on at the Pasadena Playhouse Jan 17-19.

We will check in next week.

• GoFundMe for Suzanne Down to recover from the Eaton Fire

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