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Immersive Theatre

In his article “Immersive Theatre, Defined: Five Elements in Sleep No More, Then She Fell, and More,” Jonathan Mandell writes, “Immersive theatre creates a physical environment that differs from a traditional theatre where audiences sit in seats and watch a show unfurl on a proscenium stage with a curtain.” Here, you’ll find content about theatre that breaks the fourth wall and invites the audience into the experience in many different ways.

The Latest

On Theatre, Home, and Housing 
Essay
On Theatre, Home, and Housing 
by Jan Cohen-Cruz
16 January 2024
Using Technology to Heal Trauma
Podcast
Using Technology to Heal Trauma
by Tjaša Ferme, Heidi Boisvert
11 January 2024
Thinking Outside the Black Box
Essay
Thinking Outside the Black Box
by Rex Daugherty
7 December 2023
three people in a theatre
Seven Lessons Learned from Creating an Immersive Theatrical Whodunit 

Essay

Seven Lessons Learned from Creating an Immersive Theatrical Whodunit 


25 June 2018

Georgia-based theatremaker Corey Bradberry reflects on lessons learned after creating an immersive murder mystery play in a four-story historical theatre, and muses on how large institutions sharing resources with smaller companies can lead to new and innovative creative partnerships.

the​ ​parasite​
Essay

the​ ​parasite​

​ ​An​ ​Alternate​ ​Reality​ ​Game​ ​for​ ​Orientation

7 January 2018

For Orientation at the UChicago 2017, an alternate reality game was created by faculty, designers, and students that engaged social media, virtual reality and real life to encourage students to explore campus and build relationships with one another.

An Immersive Experience with Community
Essay

An Immersive Experience with Community

Take Them Into the Dirt

6 December 2017

Precious Yamaguchi takes part in Take Them Into the Dirt, a participatory production at OSF about legacy, storytelling, memory, and identity.

Will Future Storytelling Include Live Theatre?
Essay

Will Future Storytelling Include Live Theatre?

15 November 2017

Jonathan Mandell looks at the Future of Storytelling festival in Staten Island, New York, which featured exhibits, productions, and performances using virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality techniques and technology.

The New Theatre Season in Germany
Essay

The New Theatre Season in Germany

Occupation and Immersion

6 November 2017

Thomas Schmidt talks about the recent protest at the Berlin Volksbühne over the change of leadership and immersive theatre in Germany.

Sustainability in Inclusive Theatre
Essay

Sustainability in Inclusive Theatre

27 September 2017

Clarie Glubiak talks with several theatre companies at the forefront of the inclusive theatre industry asking about sustainability.

Kindness and Community Are My Ideal World
Essay

Kindness and Community Are My Ideal World

Broken Bone Bathtub and A Modern Theatre of Empathy

30 March 2017

Emily Cordes considers how Siobhan O’Loughlin’s immersive solo show Broken Bone Bathtub is a vehicle for audiences to find each other’s common humanity in a collaborative bath.

Afro-Cuban History in La Sirene
Essay

Afro-Cuban History in La Sirene

Rutas de Azucar / The Siren: Sugar Routes

24 January 2017

Cherry Lou Sy reflects on Lukumi Arts’ immersive production of La Sirene: Rutas de Azucar (The Siren: Sugar Routes), which explores the black history of Cuba through José Antonio Aponte’s book of paintings.

Location-Based and Audience-Aware Storytelling
Essay

Location-Based and Audience-Aware Storytelling

Grace Plains and Bodies for a Global Brain

8 January 2017

The process of creating two works, as part of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s participation in Google's Glass Creative Collective, that use audience's and actors' locations, identities, and choices as pivotal elements of their storytelling structures and investigating the simultaneous processes of dramatic writing/devising and writing code.

Rethinking Immersive Theatre
Essay

Rethinking Immersive Theatre

Inside the Wild Heart of Clarice Lispector

5 January 2017

Jonathan Mandell reflects on what makes immersive theatre, through the lens of Inside the Wild Heart, Group .BR’s immersive show about the late Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector.

Kitchen Theatre
Essay

Kitchen Theatre

Space for Grief, Community, and Activism

20 December 2016

Rachel E. Diken on Aglio e Olio, a “kitchen theatre” piece written and performed by Meg Persichetti and produced and directed by Laura Gilkey in Maplewood, New Jersey.

One Queen’s Highly Personal/Subjective Reaction to Taylor Mac’s A 24-Decade History of Popular Music
Essay

One Queen’s Highly Personal/Subjective Reaction to Taylor Mac’s A 24-Decade History of Popular Music

15 December 2016

Rob Oronato on Taylor Mac’s A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, a “communal, intelligent, erotic, participatory, spectacular performance art concert; a marathon survey dedicated to destroying through exposure the racism, patriarchy, supremacy, and fascism suppressing the fabulosity of all our country’s different beleaguered Others over the years.”

“We're Not Learning History...We're Living it"
Essay

“We're Not Learning History...We're Living it"

Underground Railroad Game and the Resurgence of the History Play

17 November 2016

Rosa Schneider reflects on history plays, history, and pedagogy in Undergound Railroad Game created by Jennifer Kidwell and Scott Sheppard with Lightning Rod Special playing at Ars Nova in New York City.

My Tension Experience, Part 2
Essay

My Tension Experience, Part 2

2 November 2016

In this second installment, Megan Reilly discusses her participation in Ascension, the second phase of The Tension Experience, and reflects on agency for audience members in this immersive experience.

These Rooms
Essay

These Rooms

A Dynamic Theatrical Event Reveals Ireland’s Hidden Histories

26 October 2016

Talya Kingston on These Rooms, devised and directed by David Bolger and Louise Lowe, at the Dublin Theatre Festival.

My Tension Experience, Part 1
Essay

My Tension Experience, Part 1

Exploring Extreme Immersive Theatre

16 September 2016

In this first installment, Megan Reilly shares her experience with the first phase of The Tension Experience, a project that’s a cross between immersive theatre and an Alternate Reality Game.

Conversation with Colleen Rua
Essay

Conversation with Colleen Rua

17 August 2016

Playwright and producer Samantha Mueller talks to director and educator Colleen Rua about their mutual passion for immersive theatre.

Mixed Reality and the Theatre of the Future
Essay

Mixed Reality and the Theatre of the Future

22 July 2016

Researcher and lecturer Joris Weijdom of HKU University of the Arts Utrecht, Netherlands on what the Internet of things, transmedia, and mixed reality might mean for theatremakers and theatremaking. 

Helping an Audience Collaborate with One Another
Essay

Helping an Audience Collaborate with One Another

13 July 2016

In this installment, Damon Krometis shares his experience with garnering audience collaboration and gives tips on how to best include audience members in a performance. 

The Benefits of Not Being a Guest
Essay

The Benefits of Not Being a Guest

How being a Playwright In Residence affected the World Premiere of My Latest Play (I think.)

22 June 2016

Playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb reflects on the production process of his play A House Tour of the Infamous Porter Family Mansion with Tour Guide Weston Ludlow Londonderry.

Stage Managing Immersive, Site-Specific, and Participatory Theatre
Essay

Stage Managing Immersive, Site-Specific, and Participatory Theatre

8 March 2016

Erin Mee explores the role of stage manager and shares Stage Manager Sophia Lana Cohen’s perspective on working with This is Not a Theatre Company.

Who Is It For? Practice, Spectatorship, and the Body
Essay

Who Is It For? Practice, Spectatorship, and the Body

5 March 2016

Caridad Svich considers spectatorship and audience in anticipation of the 10th NoPassport “Dreaming the Americas” theatre and performance conference on Monday, March 14, 2016.

The Immersive Actor
Essay

The Immersive Actor

14 February 2016

In this last installment, Producing Artistic Director Tami Dixon reflects on the role of the actor’s relationship with audience members in immersive theatre. 

Immersive Theatre, Defined
Essay

Immersive Theatre, Defined

Five Elements in Sleep No More, Then She Fell, and More

9 February 2016

Jonathan Mandell explores five common elements in immersive theatre, and what makes immersive theatre successful.

Creating and Managing a Deep Structure and a Responsive Surface
Essay

Creating and Managing a Deep Structure and a Responsive Surface

1 February 2016

In this installment, Hannah Nielsen-Jones shares her process for stage managing OjO in Pittsburgh and San Diego.