The No Proscenium Podcast

This week we’ve got a really unique edition of the podcast because a year ago I messed up!Last August I interviewed Doug North Cook, the CEO & Creative Director at Creature a new VR video game studio & label that draws upon the team's deep roots in both video games and VR, and is using a model that means indie studios can get the benefits of working with a larger publisher without giving up control over their work.And then I forgot to share the interview!So we're making up for it by sharing that one and a new interview where we catch up with Doug now to talk the label's releases and the state of video games and VR gaming in what has become an inflection point of a year.SHOW NOTESCreatureStarship HomeThrasherSXSW Panel Picker: From Creator to Closer: Your Path to Greenlight

We’re celebrating this milestone the best way we know how — by getting members of NoPro’s esteemed Review Crew together to wax philosophical about the state of things in the immersive cosmos. This time out associate producer Parker Sela, New York City correspondent Nicholas Fortugno, and New England Curator Leah Davis join host Noah Nelson for a discussion that touches on the notions of “immersive before immersive” and “immersive after immersive” — and while we’re at it there are bits about Plastic Bag Store currently at MASS MOCA, Hatch Escape’s The Ladder, and Emursive’s Life and Trust.SHOW NOTESThe Plastic Bag Store at MASS MocaThe Power of Plastic Parody (REVIEW)Hatch Escape's The LadderLife And TrustNoPro's August CALL SHEET

This week: we’re back to the double header groove, first with a stop to chat with Aaron Blanton & Este Olivia, owners The Ghoulish Sanctuary, a Haunted Mansion inspired Airbnb in Kissimmee, Florida and then we look to the future with Corvas Brinkerhoff, one of the co-founders of Meow Wolf to talk about his new venture the in-development SUBMERSIVE, an immersive art spa that is planned to launch in Austin.  SHOW NOTESThe Ghoulish SanctuarySubmersive

Listen in on host Noah Nelson's first conversation ever with legendary ARG designer Adrian Hon as they talk about game design, escape games, defining immersive, training actors and more. It’s a winding conversation between two folks who love this stuff more than anyone reasonably should.SHOW NOTESAdrian HonEdinburgh Fringe Immersive Creators Meetup w/Adrian HonZombies Run!Perplex City

This week on the show we have another double header, this time focused on escape game companies with a theatrical flair… or is that theatre companies who got the escape game itch?First: Tina Keenan, Managing Director of Toronto’s Secret City lets us on on their secrets: from their days of working with SCRAP to bring the escape game pioneer’s work to Toronto all the way to THE PERFECT BITE, their collaboration with Netflix.Then Jeffrey Carpenter & Tami Dixion of Pittsburgh theatre company Bricolage (OjO: The Next Generation of Travel) and Rod Schwartz, Owner of the escape game company ENTER THE IMAGINARIUM — tells us about how their partnership formed to create some of the most lauded escape experiences on the East Coast.SHOW NOTESSecret CityThe Perfect BiteThe Wedding PartyBricolageEnter The ImaginariumCOMING SOON: Hiker TrashCOMING SOON: SEEKThat Everything Immersive Facebook post we need to you like/share/comment

This week on the show: NoPro London Curator Shelley Snyder talks with Parabolic Theatre's Owen Kingston about the return of Bridge Command to London.Plus: Majestic Repertory Theatre's Troy Heard, writer & director of the new immersive adaptation of Jane Austen's EMMA and actress Coco Lane Rigbye (Emma) join host Noah Nelson to dish on the new production that opens this week in Las Vegas.SHOW NOTESBridge CommandJane Austen's EMMANoPro's Front PageSomething Wicked Stirs In Kansas City (Field Report)DIY Publicity 101 for Immersive Creators (July 30)DIY Publicity 101 for Immersive Creators (Aug 6)

This special edition of the podcast features NoPro's Nicholas Fortugno, Parker Sela, and Noah Nelson along with special guest Jeff Crocker (Mister & Mischief) as they trade notes on Julia Masli's ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, in full Spolier Cast mode.SHOW NOTESha ha ha ha ha ha ha (Boston)ha ha ha ha ha ha ha (Washington D.C.) Julia MasliEscape From Godot

Sometimes the timeline just makes you break format, which is what we're doing this week as an avalanche of projects have been unleashed. This week's episode sees us covering work in the fields of theatre, VR, escape games, and role playing games. Let's break it down:First up, Jef Aldrich & Jon Taylor, the creators of the Düngeonmeister series of books of unconventional tabletop roleplaying game supplements join me to talk about their latest, The Deck of Many Drinks, and nerd out about some of the truly obscure RPGs they cover in their own podcast Systems Mastery.Then David Spira & Peih-Gee Law of the Reality Escape Podcast join us to talk about the upcoming RECON: Reality Escape Convention - the escape game owner & enthusiast gathering that is coming to LA this August.Body of Mine creator Cameron Kostopoulos joins us to talk about the award winning VR project's leap to the Meta Quest store.And finally theatre makers Keight Leighn & Erik Blair drop by to talk about the upcoming D8 S(t)imul8 in LA.ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTESNoPro’s 10 Most Anticipated New Immersive Works of 2024 (Part II)

This week a double feature double dip with two segments on Neotropolis, the cyberpunk festival in California's Mojave Desert that invites revlers to shed their mundane lives and embrace a neon soaked, cybernetically enhanced alternate reality. We kick things off with a panel featuring NoPro’s own Anthony Robinson, Reality Escape Pod co-host Peih-Gee Law, and Live Action Attraction’s Brett Jackson — who were part of the same camp at Neotropolis and in the case of Peih-Gee and Brett were part of this year’s story team for the event. They give us a player and makers eye view of the festival.Then we dive even deeper with Jared Butler, founder of Wasteland World, and the creator of Neotropolis and Wasteland Weekend who brings us the origin story of these events and lets us in on how it all comes together. SHOW NOTESNeotropolisWasteland WeekendPeople Make Games: We Roleplayed the End of the World with 4000 Other PeopleReality Escape PodRecon: Reality Escape ConventionLive Action AttractionsImagi-Ne'er-Do-Wells