The No Proscenium Podcast

This week on the show, a very Season One style episode wherein host Noah Nelson talks to Ellie and Alex DiBerardino of Say Nothing and Leave, the creative team behind the Test Pilots series, along with their oftentimes collaborators Sarah Lew and Danthony, the director and creator of Baby Man. All of which was at Second Place Studios at the Hollywood Fringe Festival last month.We get into what makes the shows work, how the four met up in the underground immersive scene – yes, we still have one of those; no, we will not explain – and other elements of what comes with taking part in something like 40 different runs during Hollywood FringeSHOW NOTESSay Nothing and LeaveTest PilotsChange Your MindDanthonyBaby ManSarah LewEnormous Things: The MusicalReally Big SpoonHollywood Fringe FestivalSecond Place StudiosMirth Arts Foundation

This week we're talking about the state of XR -– from what's happening with the new tech to the out-of-home experiences that are actually drawing audiences – with a ridiculously talented panel of practitioners, professionals, and press.Joining host Noah Nelson in the virtual NoPro studio Scarlett Kim (Center for Unclassifiable Technologies and Experiences) , Ray Mosco (General Immersive), Rory Mitchell (Mercantile), and NoPro's Toronto curator Katrina Lat.SHOW NOTESScarlett KimRaymond MoscoRory Mitchell - Mercantile AgencyKatrina LatSony Pictures Invests $100 Million in Cosm, Shared-Reality Venue Owner (Variety)LIVE from AWE 2026 ft. Malia Probst, Mary Matheson, and Shelley Peterson (The AI XR Podcast)Tender Claws: Body ProxySiggraph 2026AWE NiteThe Immersive Experience Institute

This week on the show host Noah Nelson is joined by The L.A. Times' Todd Martens, ARGNet owner Michael Andersen, and NoPro's own Kathryn Yu to spin stories from Knott's Ghost Town Alive, do some close reading of a new Harvard Business Review article on immersive experiences, and react to the big Sphere-related news of the week.SHOW NOTESMr. Todd's Wild Ride (L.A. Times)ARGNet‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ Set to Screen at Sphere Las Vegas in 2027 (Variety)Why The Best Immersive Experiences Succeed (Harvard Business Review)Understanding The Immersive Audience (Immersive Experience Institute)Knott's Berry Farm's Ghost Town AliveOne of the Best Larps I Ever Played Was at a Theme Park (ARGNet)Pageant of the Masters (Festival of the Arts - Laguna Beach)Museum of Make Believe (Laguna Beach)KcymaerxthaereTest Pilots (Hollywood Fringe)

Out of the blue, we're back, with season 2 of the podcast.This summer we're catching up with our favorite folks, hanging out and talking what we've seen, what they've been making, and generally celebrating the fact that immersive is here and not going anywhere.To kick us off in the new era we're joined by: associate producer of the podcast, and an immersive creator in her own right Parker Sela, Executive Editor Emeritus of No Proscenium and co-founder of The Immersive Experience Institute game designer Kathryn Yu, and Artistic Director of After Hours Theatre Company Graham Wetterhahn.The topics du jour are the Without Walls Festival and L.A.'s immersive scene which has been really hopping this year.SHOW NOTESThe Immersive Experience InstituteAfter Hours Theatre CompanyWithout Walls FestivalTea Party at the End of the WorldSuzikAgain AgainThe Apple Avenue Detective AgencyHandle With CareNight WatchL.A. Immersive SceneDatalandDark Library: The Time MachineYou Must Be Here For The ReadingHatch EscapesUndersignedDrowned Out ProductionsConfessionThe Elysian's Spaghetti FestivalBrassroots DistrictHollywood FringeYoko Ono: Music of the MindHospital of EmotionsGhost Town AliveBeyond L.A.The Still PointMasquerade

Our guest on this special edition this week is Charles Melcher of the Future of Storytelling who you might know from his own podcast and who is the author of the new book The Future of Storytelling: How Immersive Experiences Are Transforming Our World which is available now.Charlie’s book is really a fantastic snapshot of the world of immersive storytelling as it stands today, containing both an extensive catalog of expeirences AND essays that provide an framework to understand what makes this work… well.. work.Best of all — we’ve got a copy of the book to give away.Plus: an update on Season Two production!SHOW NOTES The Future of Storytelling: How Immersive Experiences Are Transforming Our WorldBook Excerpt: The Future of Storytelling (Plus Giveaway)FoSTSpotlight Series: Yannick Trapman-O'Brien

This week, a visit to Dungeons & Dragons The 20-Sided Tavern in Los Angeles – where the show is wrapping its current stand this weekend before heading off to Scottsdale, Arizona and Dallas, Texas.We sit down with Alex Stompoly, one of the Tavernkeepers of the Tavern to talk about the unique role he plays in the production which is part MC, part rules lawyer, and carries with it some creative heft of its own.SHOW NOTESDungeons & Dragons The 20-Sided TavernAlex StompolyNo ProsceniumEverything Immersive

We're still on hiatus, but we recently got a chance to visit the new home of The Willows in LA and talk with Justin Fix and Stephanie Turek of JFI Productions as we toured the new home of one of LA's favorite immersive shows. The show has gotten a glow up in this new production, and fair warning that there are a few audio spoilers of new elements. If you're not deterred by that, come along and explore the new space with us, maybe encounter a real ghost, and get a bonus mansion tour thrown in as part of the bargain.SHOW NOTESThe Willows

We've reached the end.Of Episode 500 and Season One.Which means one last word from our host.See you in Season Two.(But don't act too surprised when we pop up a few times for some specials between now and then.)