The No Proscenium Podcast

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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