Podcast · Arts & Books
by Noah Nelson/No Proscenium · English · Arts & Books
Exploring the renaissance in immersive theatre and interactive events. Hosted by Noah Nelson, creator of No Proscenium, a free events listing newsletter in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco. Visit NoProscenium.com to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio
9 Oct 2026 · 10 min
This week on the show: a quick check in on what's on the site and what's to come on the podcast for the season. SHOW NOTES The Other Kind Of Trauma Ward: 'Below' Haunts The Hospital of Emotions In L.A. (The NoPro Review) L.A.'s Haunted Hayride Scares Up Some Fun At Griffith Park (Review) 'A Halloween Carol' Puts A Surprising Spooky Season Spin On Dickens (Review) Everything Immersive Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S2 · E11 · 25 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 23 min
We kick off our Spooky Season podcasting with a visit from Juliet Bennett Rylah and Kevin Gossett who have been exploring SoCal's horror and haunt realm for us this Fall. We dive into Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, Knott’s Scary Farm, Six Flag's Fright Fest, and Candle House's The Pineapple. Spoilers ahead for the mazes. Content advisory: language and some adult themes. SHOW NOTES Universal's Halloween Horror Nights Knott’s Scary Farm The Beating, Twisted, Heart of SoCal’s Haunt Scene Endures: Knott’s Scary Farm 2026 (The NoPro Review) Fright Fest Fright Fest: Always "The Other" SoCal…
S2 · E10 · 11 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 11 min
This week our own Katrina Lat reports back from Venice Immersive 2026 where she shares her highlights -- mostly -- of the festival's grand collection of XR experiences. SHOW NOTES Venice Immersive 2026 Venice Immersive Video Diary 2026 Venice Immersive 2026 FOMO Guide Solwata Raj'in (We Shall Return) In 36,000 Ways Empire At Sea Sunset Motel Finding Frida The Pigeon Ring Nevatars Back To The Experience Nel Blu Octopocalypse Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
28 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 22 min
Martin Gimenez and Thomas Jancis report from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on what they've been up to, and Martin interviews Sauna Theatre co-founder James Grieve along with Clair Korobacz and Julian Rickert of Australian theatre company one step at a time like this. Plus: Noah with a few words of thanks about the New York Immersive Invitational. SHOW NOTES 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe Festival Diary Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026 FOMO Guide Onward To Edinburgh! (Podcast) Sauna Theatre one step at a time like this Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S2 · E9 · 14 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 45 min
This week we're joined by Majestic Repertory Theatre's Troy Heard whose Prom Night '99 was recently attended by NoPro team members Briana Roecks & Anthony Robinson , as well as host Noah Nelson. The four also were all at the most recent edition of Midsummer scream -- the world's biggest Halloween & Horror convention in Long Beach for what turned out to be the LAST edition of the con there. (Don't worry, it's only moving down the road to Anaheim.) The gang peppers Troy with questions about Prom Night, goes long on some of the pieces in the Hall of Shadows, and talks Vegas past, present, and…
7 Aug 2026 · 15 min
This week just a quick minisode with some program & event updates! SHOW NOTES The New York Immersive Invitational Melodramatic Delights On The Dance Floor: 'Prom Night ’99' Lights Up Vegas’ Arts District (The NoPro Review) How Sweet It Is: Museum of Ice Cream - Las Vegas (Review) 1986-6-6 Midsummer Scream Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S2 · E8 · 31 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 11 min
This week on the show, Immersive Experience Institute co-founder Kathryn Yu joins host Noah Nelson to talk about her ongoing series Understanding The Immersive Audience, which takes a deep dive into looking at what makes the immersive enthusiast cohort tick and provides some advice on what could best be called good marketing hygiene for immersive work in a time when producers find it increasingly difficult to find their audience. SHOW NOTES The Understanding The Immersive Audience Series The Immersive Experience Institute The New York Immersive Invitational Tech firm Fever produces live…
S2 · E7 · 24 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 17 min
This week on the show we're joined by a delightful panel of immersive creators who are headed to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe — the largest performing arts fest in the world that pretty much takes over Edinburgh, Scotland for the month of August – for a very loose conversation that feels a bit like sneaking backstage Joining us for the episode are are Emily Carding , creator and performer of Hamlet (an experience) , Peter Michael Marino , whose Planet of the Grapes is headed to Fringe after a sold our run in NYC, and Katy Murphy, creator of the interactive games how (No) Refunds — which is…
S2 · E6 · 17 Jul 2026 · 53 min
This week we take a detour to have a one-on-one with an artist we've wanted to talk to since season one: Julia Masli, the creator and performer of the incredible Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha, which is making its way to San Diego starting on July 28th, and will be popping up at the Philadelphia Fringe this September. SHOW NOTES Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha in San Diego Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha at the Philly Fringe Next Stage Salon NYC: Finding Your Audience Subscribe to No Proscenium Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S2 · E5 · 10 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 19 min
This week host Noah Nelson is joined by esteemed members of the NoPro New York Review Crew: Curator Allie Marotta, East Coast Editor at Large Blake Weil, and Senior Correspondent Nicholas Fortugno for an often feisty conversation about what's happening in the NYC immersive scene in what has been a very busy year. (I mean, look at those Show Notes!) But first the gang digs into the recent, and somewhat controversial announcement of a new Punchdrunk production destined for the Wynn Al Marjan Island, the first casino to be planned for the United Arab Emirates. We dig into what it means for the…
S2 · E4 · 3 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 24 min
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…
S2 · E3 · 26 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 11 min
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 NOTES Scarlett Kim Raymond Mosco Rory Mitchell - Mercantile Agency Katrina Lat Sony Pictures Invests $100 Million in Cosm,…
S2 · E2 · 19 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 59 min
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 NOTES Mr. 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…
S2 · E1 · 12 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 28 min
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…
29 Jan 2026 · 1 hr 1 min
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…
20 Dec 2025 · 41 min
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 NOTES Dungeons & Dragons The 20-Sided Tavern Alex Stompoly No Proscenium Everything Immersive Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2 Oct 2025 · 57 min
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 NOTES The Willows Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more…
S1 · 31 Aug 2025 · 46 min
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.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · 31 Aug 2025 · 1 hr 45 min
This one is for the diehards. On Friday, August 29th, 2025 we held a Launch Party for Episode 500 in the NoPro Discord. We had no idea who would show up. To our delight Jacob Patterson , who you had a chance to hear in the last part of the marathon, ARGN’s Michael Anderson — who gives us a spoiler-free expectation set on Masquerade , the immersive Phantom currently in previews in New York City, NoPro correspondent Briana Roecks who shares some Spooky Season anticipation for both LA and Las Vegas, and drop-ins from Laura Hall and Cameo Wood as well. It’s a hangout episode and fair warning:…
S1 · 31 Aug 2025 · 3 hr 3 min
We start Part 7 off where the show began, way back in Episode ZERO, which we first released on SOUND CLOUD as a pilot for a potential series, with an interview with Annie Saunders of Wilderness , whose The Day Shall Declare It jump started that renaissance era and got the local performing arts world taking things seriously. Annie and I look back on that, and on the roadblocks that have kept her from making work here at that scale since. And then I talk to some of the other folks who come up in our conversation and those who helped shape the way I thought about and moved through the LA arts…
S1 · 31 Aug 2025 · 1 hr 23 min
And now is the part of the Episode 500 Marathon where we get to some lasts. In this case, the last Review Crew of Season One. For this one, which was the last we recorded, and the last thing we officially recorded for Episode 500, LA Reviews Editor Kevin Gossett and Chicago Curator/ Remote Editor Patrick McLean join me for a chat that ranges from haunts, to the Golden Age of LA Immersive (appropriate, given where we're going next), and I ask the fellas the questions I've been asking everyone over the course of the marathon: when you first started down this road, did you think it was going to…
S1 · 30 Aug 2025 · 1 hr 42 min
Welcome to PART FIVE of the Episode 500 marathon "An Unstructured Conversation About Immersive Theatre," which, really, could also be the title of the whole dang podcast but that might just break the very ontological concept of SEO. Come to think of it, that might not be a BAD thing. On this part of the Megasode we touch base with Episode One guests Genevieve Gearhart & Julianne Just of The Speakeasy Society , who are about to launch their new show Family Meal this October, the first new Speakeasy Society show in LA in some time! Plus we're joined by Jay Bushman , who in so many ways, is…
S1 · 30 Aug 2025 · 1 hr 39 min
In Part Four of our celebration of TEN YEARS of NoPro, Noah taps into his alternate-dimensional form as a Morning Zoo radio host, unbeknownst to London curator Shelley Snyder , her London cohort Thomas Jancis , or NYC curator Allie Marotta . But before that chaos is unleashed, we check in with The Wild Optimists — Ariel Rubin & Juliana Moreno , whose first appearance on the show was way back on episode 38 — and after the Zoo closes its doors for the day, have a quick hangout with Little Cinema’s Jay Rinsky. SHOW NOTES The Key of Dreams Arborlogues Viola's Room @ The Shed Lander 23 Bridge…
S1 · 29 Aug 2025 · 2 hr 17 min
Look: when you do a thirteen or so hour long retrospective on a ten year long project you’re going to wind up with a part that stands out to you as the center of it all, and I knew going into the recording process that the central interview for this part would be that for this run. The only real question was where to put it and what to pair it with. There were a lot of options, as over the past few weeks I’ve had a lot of great conversations, but at the end of the day I had to follow my heart… We lead off with what was supposed to be an interview with Kathryn Yu , Anthony Robinson , and Zay…
S1 · 29 Aug 2025 · 1 hr 55 min
Welcome to PART TWO of No Proscenium’s Episode 500 Celebrating TEN Years of the NoPro Podcast with the first of three REVIEW CREW MIX TAPES… this first one features SF Curator Brian Resle r — whose couch is integral to the origin story of an entirely different website that covers immersive things… our associate producer Parker Sela , who also hails from San Francisco, but who like many a Bay Area kid answered the siren call of LA, our Toronto curator Katrina Lat , who I think may be on a plane to Venice right now, or soon, and Scott Gillies , long time friend of the show who did some special…
S1 · 29 Aug 2025 · 1 hr 59 min
For the past ten years NoPro has been your guide to Everything Immersive… and this is the first part of the multi-part celebration - slash - victory lap that is EPISODE 500. Over the course of this weekend, for about TWELVE HOURS, give or take, okay maybe closer to THIRTEEN HOURS we will be checking in with over two dozen of our favorite people to chat about this thing of ours — this immersive, experiential, spatial thing of ours … It’s a series of conversations that is nostalgic, silly, sometimes profound, often rambling, that covers theatre, technology, theme parks, games, defunct…
S1 · E499 · 22 Aug 2025 · 1 hr 4 min
This week writer and director Eliza McNitt joins us to talk about Venice Immersive , the annual XR extravaganza inside the Venice International Film Festival, where at this year’s event she is the President of Venice Immersive's International Jury, which will judge the 30 pieces in competition. SHOW NOTES Venice Immersive Venice Immersive 2025: XR Experiences To Stoke Your FOMO (A NoPro Guide) Ancestra (YouTube) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
S1 · E498 · 15 Aug 2025 · 1 hr 5 min
This week we’re joined by Gillian Leitten , CEO of The Lumen Prize because today is that day that the 99 finalists for the Prize are announced (check the Show Notes) and Leitten is here to talk with us about the prize which celebrates artists forging new systems of meaning through technology’s evolving creative frontier. We give a special focus on the Hybrid and Experiential categories, the later of which is the evolution of last year's Interactive/Immersive category and for the second year in a row features the most finalists of any category, 16 in total. SHOW NOTES The Lumen Prize The 2025…
S1 · E497 · 8 Aug 2025 · 1 hr 2 min
This week on the show Franki Chan , founder and chief creative officer of IHEARTCOMIX , the award-winning creative marketing agency who joined us last weekend at The Next Stage Immersive Summit along with the team from #METAFORYOU of Terence Leclere, Dasha Kittredge, and Annie McGrath, to talk about the 2-night overnight horror horror experience at the legendary Stanley Hotel dubbed The Overnightmare is with us today to share the backstory of IHEARTCOMIX — from parties at LA’s Beauty Bar in the Aughts to becoming a record label to just last week where they took over Hurricane Harbor for Bob…
S1 · E496 · 25 Jul 2025 · 1 hr 3 min
Zach Morris of Third Rail Projects and Charlie Miller of The Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ Off-Cente r join host Noah Nelson to talk about the upcoming Sweet & Lucky: Echo — a companion story of the 2016 hit Sweet & Lucky –– which helped put Denver ’s immersive scene on the map. SHOW NOTES Sweet & Lucky: Echo Third Rail Projects The Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ Off-Center The Next Stage Immersive Summit Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Exploring the renaissance in immersive theatre and interactive events. Hosted by Noah Nelson, creator of No Proscenium, a free events listing newsletter in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco. Visit NoProscenium.com to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio
The No Proscenium Podcast is a English arts & books podcast from Noah Nelson/No Proscenium. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.
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