We're kicking off our NYC programming with a Meetup in Brooklyn on 3/17.
Come connect with other professionals in New York's immersive & experiential performing arts, marketing, XR, nightlife, and location based entertainment fields.
www.eventbrite.com/e/nyc-immers...
Monday’s event is now SOLD OUT.
The wait list is active and there will be NO SALES AT THE DOOR.
We are at capacity. It isn’t happening.
Attendee arrival info and survey has gone out via email.
After the "speed dating", the evening shifts into a structured, peer-to-peer, conversation between our guests and the assembled. We'll dive deeper into the subjects at hand in small groups – and we do mean small as only 25 tickets are going to be made available in total.
This isn't a panel. It isn't a roundtable. It's your chance to eavesdrop on artists and producers as they "speed date" through the various topics that Trapman-O'Brien's career touches on.
Yannick's experience as a producer-performer gives him unique insights into one-on-one performance, touring small shows, building an international audience, and even making immersive work over the phone. (In both senses of the word "work").
Featuring Morgan Taylor (The Queen's Fools), Graham Wetternhan (After Hours Theatre Company), Parker Sela & Anthony Robinson (No Proscenium), with more TBA.
Hosted by Noah Nelson (The Immersive Experience Institute).
Kicking Off The Immersive Experience Institute's Spotlight Series
Yannick Trapman-O'Brien (Undersigned, The Telelibrary) joins us for a unique format that puts him in conversation with some of the most dynamic figures in the LA immersive scene.
Lisa Spira of @roomescapeartist.bsky.social has released their annual US Escape Room Industry Report.
roomescapeartist.com/2025/12/29/u...
and experience designer Tommy Honton (too many credits to reasonably list).
Hosted by @noahjnelson.com along with IEI's incredible Host Team volunteers.
Once again: NO WALK UP SALES. Buy by 6!
everythingimmersive.com/events/the-n...
Guests: Dawn Barber Shah (Global Experiences at Hasbro), Shelby Reilly (The 20-Sided Tavern), Ariel Rubin & Juliana Moreno (The Wild Optimists), Jason Carl (White Wolf, LA By Night), Kathryn Yu (The Immersive Experience Institute), Sam Roberts (IndieCade)...
We have a handful of tickets left for tonight's Salon on "Immersive @ Play" at the Pasadena Playhouse and there will be NO SALES AT THE DOOR.
Ticket sales END AT 6PM.
Doors at 6:30.
$35 and comes with two complimentary drinks (beer, wine, soda).
Spinning out of The Next Stage Immersive Summit: an ongoing series of stand alone salons.
This month the theme is “Immersive @ Play” and we’ve got guests from The 20-Sided Tavern, Hasbro, and more to help us kick things off.
Two very special editions in LA & Pasadena.
Learn more at the link!
The latest edition of our LinkedIn Newsletter is live with some not-great-news, Bob, out of Denver along with a fresh report from Immersive Arts UK, a LARP exploring a new financial model, and experiential building its own stage at Advertising Week in NYC.
www.linkedin.com/pulse/good-b...
For more insights into the immersive art and entertainment industry, download this free report from the Gensler Research Institute and the The Immersive Experience Institute: www.gensler.com/gri/immersiv...
Thus making it easy for consumers to identify the "wish" being fulfilled and what the experience is going to be like.
Poster image advertising the immersive experience Phantom Peak displaying several of the characters, an illustration of the town, and the tag line "Step into a real life video game"
Photograph of a poster on the London tube advertising the immersive experience Bridge Command, showing a person in a uniform sitting at a console of a spaceship with the tag line "Ever Wanted to Fly A Starship?"
So an immersive experience like Bridge Command can use the phrase "Ever wanted to fly a starship?" on their posters in the London tube while Phantom Peak entices customers with the tagline "step into a real life video game."
When I was taking classes from former Imagineers Joe Garlington and Larry Gertz, we often discussed the concept of "wish fulfillment": what is the promise you're making to your guests and how are you going to deliver on that promise?
And some survey respondents also mentioned their projects being audience-driven or described an experience which was happening “all around you.”
Some practitioners said they use phrases like “your chance to be the hero” and “be part of the story,” while other focused on the appeals of immersion itself with phrases like “it’s a movie you can walk around inside of.”
However, our survey respondents cautioned against using the word in isolation, without additional details. Additional specifics are needed, as just saying a project is “immersive” is too vague on its own.
Prospective audience members in the know will have their interest piqued when they see these phrases being used in marketing for immersive projects.
Why? The terms "immersive," "immersive experience," and "immersive theatre" — while being open to interpretation — remain effective because they are familiar to the intended audience.
Even if you believe the term "immersive" to be overused, the most common response from immersive art and entertainment professionals was that the word continues to be useful in marketing materials, with caveats.
Cover of Evolving Immersive: The 2025 Immersive Entertainment & Culture Industry Report
In our survey of #immersive practitioners, we asked what “What words have you found to be *most* effective in marketing your work?” and “What words have you found to be *least* effective in marketing your work?”
Link: www.gensler.com/gri/immersiv...
Immersive Experience Institute co-founder Noah Nelson (@noahjnelson.com) was recently on USA TODAY’s The Excerpt podcast, talking about the rise of immersive entertainment.
Available now wherever you get your podcasts from and also on their YouTube channel!
youtu.be/SBCZN5-Ecmc
#NextStage25 is so inspiring and it’s only the first day. Phenomenal insights into all aspects of immersive experience design, production, operation. And so many awesome sounding experiences I’d love to see one day!
Escape rooming in a box at Hatch Escapes in #NextStage25
@immersiveexperience.org
@noproscenium.com
See you there?
A woman is next to a droid, with the text “I’m attending the next stage Aug 1-3 Pasadena, Ca immersiveexperience.org
Excited to be speaking at #NextStage25 — the best Immersive conference around! Pasadena, CA August 1-3 - I’ll be on a panel talking about Location Based Experiences, and how they work in immersive with my #CultureHouseImmersive crew! #NextStage25 www.immersiveexperience.org/the-next-sta...
First time in LA and having a blast checking out the local immersive experience & escape room scene! Here all weekend for #NextStage25.