The No Proscenium Podcast

The last time British-Iranian theatre maker Javaad Alipoor joined us was way back in May of 2021 when we talked about Rich Kids: A History of Shopping Malls in Tehran — which at the time we said was “an incredible multi-media theatre piece that links a constellation of Big Ideas into an incredibly human story.”His most recent work Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World is just about to wrap up it's tour of the US and is the final part of a trilogy of plays – after The Believers Are But Brothers and Rich Kids – that interrogate how technology, global politics and fracturing identities are changing the world.Exploring the themes of the trilogy is exactly what we do in this wide ranging conversation with one of our favorite artists to talk with.Warning: there is a description of a fairly gruesome murder, but we do not dwell on it for long. We do dwell on geopolitics on this episode which was recorded before the election in the United States.SHOW NOTESThings Hidden Since the Foundation of the World - Washington D.C. DatesThe Javaad Alipoor CompanyThe Denver Immersive InvitationalLA Fall Immersive MeetupThe Next Stage Immersive Summit

After our annual break we are back this week on a double header.First up, the one and only Nick Moran of Phantom Peak will be joining us to talk about the London favorite, which has conjured a Wild West town not far from the Canada Water station. What is in that Canada Water and why are there so many platypuses involved?We WON’T learn the answers to those questions but we will learn all about Phantom Peak and why it’s taking so long for it to make it to the United States in this dynamic conversation with Nick.THen we have a visit with Rita Orlov of PostCurious to get the details on the game at the center of their latest Kickstarter Campaign: Ministry of Lost Things: Lint Condition - A Puzzletale which has just 12 days left in its already successful campaign. SHOW NOTESPhantom PeakMinistry of Lost Things: Lint Condition - A Puzzletale The Denver Immersive Invitational ShowcaseLA Immersive Meetup for Fall '24The Next Stage Immersive Summit

This week on the show we gather the Review Crew to chat about our various Spooky Season and Autumnal Escapades. Nick Fortugno, Blake Weil, Katrina Lat, Laura Hess, and Patrick McLean join host Noah Nelson as we go coast to coast over to London, and into the wilds of VR in search of chills and thrills.SHOW NOTESThe Next Stage Immersive SummitDenver Immersive InvitationalBeetlejuice Beetlejuice: The Afterlife ExperienceJimmy Fallon's TonightmaresHouse of Exquisite Corpse IV: SuperstitionsPhantom PeakShadow Traffic (Lost Horizon Night Market)You Can't Scare Me

This week on the show we’re joined by Wesley James and Dallas Nichols of Phoenix based design + build firm LINE LAB for a conversation about building unique immersive environments for places like The Nemesis Club, and Platform 18 and the UnderTow Tiki Bar at Century Grand - all of which have received glowing reviews and accolades.But before we do that we’ll we kick things off with Tia Shearer Bassett, organizer of The From Home Fest to tell us all about this immersive festival which you can experience from your own home starting on Oct. 26th. SHOW NOTESLine LabThe Nemesis ClubCentury GrandThe From Home FestThe Next Stage Immersive Summit

This week we’re joined by Carmel Clavin of Spectacle & Mirth, who just wrapped a tour of two immersive works — Journey to the Kingdom of Hypnos and City Liminal — to talk about the challenges and opportunities of touring immersive work around the globe through the network of Fringe Festivals and beyond.And we break down the Badge Pricing and On-Sale dates for the 2025 Next Stage Immersive Summit.SHOW NOTESSpectacle & MirthBadge Pricing & On Sale Dates for the 2025 Next Stage Immersive Summit

This week we’re climbing The Ladder of success with Terry Pettigrew-Rolapp and Tommy Wallach of Hatch Escapes in Los Angeles as we talk about The Ladder, their long in development new game that turns escape game conventions on their ear and establishes itself as a new can’t miss immersive attraction. SHOW NOTESThe LadderHatch EscapesThe Immersive Industry Report SurveysThe Next Stage Summit ScholarshipsGhostRave (Use code GRPG for 10% off)

This week we heading to heaven and a galaxy far far away… sort of.The Heaven is Cowboix Hevvven, currently being built inside Meow Wolf’s RADIO TAVE in Houston, and we’re talking to Cole Bee Wilson, the creator of this new space which is Meow Wolf’s first fully functioning dive bar inside one of their exhibitions. We talk to Cole from just outside the worksite, in the middle of a busy build, and it’s a fantastic chat.Then we connect with Mike and Emily Hyde of Hyperspace Props, the popular crafters of cosplay elements and replica card game decks from Star Wars.We get into how this literal mom & pop operation got started, and how they've become a lynchpin for a fan community that has found their own way to immerse themselves into a galaxy of outlaws and scoundrels.SHOW NOTESMeow Wolf's Radio TaveCowboix Hevvven Hyperspace PropsThe Immersive Industry Report SurveysThe Next Stage 2025 Scholarships

Another double header!First up, today is iPhone pre-order day, and that makes it a great day to drop my interview from July with Adam Lisagor, the man behind Sandwich — the firm that got its start making ads for apps and companies big and small because of the the original iPhone and has gotten BACK into the app development game for the Vision Pro with the apps Television and Theatre — with the later being used to broadcast a live event captured in 3D and Spatial Audio at this June’s Apple World Wide Developer Conference.This conversation with Adam, whose work I have long admired, is one of the most philosophical I’ve had all year, and hopefully will give you a nice think about media and the tools we use to make and consume it.Then, NoPro’s roving correspondent Martin Gimenez brings us an on-site interview with On Site Opera’s  General Director & CEO Piper Gunnarson as its next and Artistic Director Sarah Meyers recorded at this year’s World Opera Forum and annual North American Opera Conference hosted by the LA Opera this past June. They dig into the past, present, and near future of the company, including the recently announced World Premiere of Lucidity which runs November 14-16 at Abrons Arts Center in New York City.SHOW NOTESSandwichTelevision (Apple Vision Pro)Theater (Apple Vision Pro)Video: playing with dalle3 images, luma image-to-video, and suno music. (X)How Sandwich streamed The Talk Show Live in 3D on Vision Pro (six colors)On Site OperaLucidityThe Next Stage 2025 Scholarship Applications

We kick off our Spooky Season 2024 coverage with an LA double header.First up: Justin Fix, Stephanie Turek, and Daniel Montgomery of JFI Productions are here with us to talk about the return of CREEP — the show that started it all for JFI and which has been one of the foundational rocks of LA’s Spooky Season for nearly a decade now.This year’s CREEP is a collaboration with the CBS series GHOSTS, and we’ll learn how that teamup is making a difference with the 2024 show.Then Matt Dorado — known to many in the LA scene for the Drunken Devil series of parties and the Live and DIne In LA supper club, returns with an all new venture: Monster Party. A more intimate affair than the days of Drunken Devil, Monster Party is set during the McCarthy Era Lavender Scare, as Dorado and his team weave together a horror tale from America’s LGBTQ history.SHOW NOTESCREEP x GHOSTSMonster Party