Hey there.
It sure has been an eventful week here in Immersiville. You probably need a little context to decode the news of the week. So here we go: last Saturday word got out about problems with a show. By the end of the day we had a pretty harrowing account of just how bad things could have gotten. Lucky for everyone, they didn’t. The good news is that the community came together in the wake of this near miss. Editorial guidelines are being changed to try and cut a more serious incident off at the pass.
This week also saw the Southern California immersive creative community announce the formation of LEIA: The League of Experiential & Immersive Artists. (Full disclosure: yes, I named that sucker. Yes, I worked backward from the acronym.) The founding committee is filled with creators who have worked on everything from DIY underground shows, escape rooms, festivals, and Sleep No More. In other words: this is real, people. Read the announcement document. Expect more details in the weeks and months ahead. Building a non-profit member organization from scratch is tougher than it looks.
THIS WEEK ON THE PODCAST
The guys from Scout Expedition Co. join us, as does Meredith Treinen of grief. Plus we get into the stuff we mentioned above, and have some FoST Fest tickets to give away.
SHOWS
Boston: Waiting Rooms
At the Museum of Science
London: Kabeiroi
A new 6 hour experience from immersive pioneers Punchdrunk
LA & SF: Whisperlodge’s Full Slate
The ASMR phenomenon brings events & workshops to the West Coast
LA & SF: Abide
An experiment in sound opens new vistas for Screenshot Productions
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LA: Dancing In The Place ‘Betwixt’ Worlds (The NoPro Review)
Exciting work from a new company in LA
LA: Tripped
A Hallucinatory Experience in VR
NYC: Into the Veil
Atlas Obscura’s yearly takeover of Green-Wood Cemetery returns
NYC: Oh My Sweet Land
An intimate one-woman play staged in home kitchens across New York City (and beyond).
STORIES
Beyond what we talked about above…
Groundbreaking Immersive Theater Piece Tackles HIV Stigma | HIV Plus Mag
A Home for Magic in NYC: A Talk With The Conjuror’s Club’s Vinny DePonto | NoPro
Immersive entertainment has a naming problem | Bryan Bishop at The Verge
VIDEO: How to start an escape room business by Cross Roads Escape Games| Room Escape Artist
Welcome To The Party: A Taste of the Secrets of ‘Safehouse ’77’ | NoPro
An LA house party in the 70’s with a spy vibe? Groovy.
How This VR Creator Can Make Your Eyes Fall Out Of Your Head | Forbes
THE BIZ
SF: Neo-Futurists Auditions
Ensemble for The Infinite Wrench
Justin Fix (Creep LA) to the LA immersive community
Open letter at Everything Immersive
Jon Braver (Delusion) in response to Justin
Open letter at Everything Immersive
On The Founding of The League of Experiential & Immersive Artists (LEIA)
From the LEIA founding committee.
Discussion