This week on the show we’re marking the imminent Halfway to Halloween point of the year with two interviews.

First up: Jason Egan of Egan Productions - whose Saw, It, and Blair Witch escape games are perreniall favorites in Las Vegas, joins us to talk about his origins in haunts, and his latest endeavor: The John Wick Experience at AREA15.

Then David Markland, co-founder and executive director of Midsummer Scream the world's largest horror and Halloween convention which will be returning to Long Beach this August, joins us to talk about Midsummer and the state of the horror scene as a whole.

• The John Wick Experience
• Egan Productions
• The Official Saw Escape Las Vegas
• Escape Blair Witch
• Escape It
• Midsummer Scream
• The Los Angeles Immersive Invitational
• Life & Trust Cast & Crew GoFundMe

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As we near Episode 500 I want to start experimenting, exploring other ways to connect with members of the immersive creative community.

One idea I've been toying with is a side-project where we talk with creators about works they love and that inspire them, and so that's what we do this week with long time backer, storyteller extraordinaire Jay Bushman.

Jay and I have known each other for nearly 15 years now, he's integral to the origin story of NoPro, and we both love ANDOR, the second of which starts this week. Somehow, in all this time, we have NEVER talked about ANDOR with each other. Which is weird, honestly, as talking Star Wars with each other is one of the facets of our friendship.

Note: this is a full on SPOILERS ON conversation, and it's less about the show itself then it is about storytelling, meaning making, and... okay it's also a lot about ANDOR! But it's not a recap show, so if you haven't seen Season One you will get lost pretty quick once we get going.

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Another double header this week as first we're joined by Winston Fisher, Chief Executive officer of Las Vegas' AREA15 to talk about their 20-acre expansion this year which will see attractions like Felix & Paul Studios’ Interstellar Arc, The Museum of Ice Cream, and the highly anticipated Universal Horror Unleashed.

Then Graham Wetterhahn of After Hours Theatre Company and Nick Rheinwald-Jones of Spy Brunch join us for a chat about The Los Angeles Immersive Invitational, where competitors will be showcasing their creations on May the 4th at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s The Village at Ed Gould Plaza.

SHOW NOTES

• AREA15
• Universal Horror Unleashed
• The Los Angeles Immersive Invitational

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This week we’re joined by Margaret Chandra Kerrison, who is here to talk about her latest book The Art of Immersive Storytelling: Strategies from the Gaming World. Many of you know Margaret from her time with Walt Disney Imagineering where she worked on some projects dear to our hearts like Galaxy’s Edge. These days she is Senior Creative Director for TAIT.

Before we get into the episode — it’s time to break down just who will be joining us at the LOS ANGELES IMMERSIVE INVITATIONAL the first weekend in May.

• The Art of Immersive Storytelling: Strategies from the Gaming World
• The Los Angeles Immersive Invitational
• Patreon: How to use your audio RSS

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This week we’re joined by Alexander Patterson, founder of Beat The Bomb and we go on the origin story journey of the New York based company which traces its roots to Alex’s time with Tough Mudder all the way to its post-pandemic expansion, including the opening THIS WEEKEND of Beat The bomb Denver — the SEVENTH overall.

• Beat The Bomb
• Beat The Bomb Denver
• The 2025 Los Angeles Immersive Invitational

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This week on the show: another double header.

FIrst up: Mikhael Tara Garver and Jenny Koons of Culture House Immersive are with us to talk a bit about the work going on over there, including a fair amount about working with creatives from outside the realm of immersive to bring their worlds to life.

Then we check in with friend of the show Yannick Trapman-O’Brien, who is celebrating an anniversary for The Telelibrary — the much beloved one on one phone based experience that has taken on a life of its own — and is rebuilding the secretive Undersigned after losing some of the show to the devastating fires in LA this past January.

SHOW NOTES

• Culture House Immersive
• Yannick Trapman-O’Brien
• The Telelibrary
• Undersigned

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This week on the show we’ve got a double header.

FIrst up: Amy Ashton and Mia Fiorella of the La Jolla Playhouse will help me make a path through the lineup of this year’s Without Walls Festival, which is coming up April 24-27th on the campus of UC San Diego.

Then Jimmy Reckitt and I talk about making Vampire LARPS which is exactly what he does as the Head of Story for By Night Studios and their upcoming event Darkness Emergent: Los Angeles, the latest in the Darkness Emergent series of blockbuster LARPS which comes to the Biltmore Hotel in LA on Memorial Day weekend.

• Without Walls Festival Lineup Announcement
• Without Walls Festival
• Darkness Emergent
• By Night Studios
• Enemies of the Night Backerkit Campaign

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This week we are joined by Jack Aldisert of Deadweight Theatre, creator of The Manikins, which was the talk of the London immersive scene throughout 2024 — so much so that some legendary figures on that scene became collaborators — and which will be coming to the Overlook Film Festival in New Orleans this April and is sure to be all the talk there.

In the host chair for this discussion is Shelley Snyder, NoPro’s London Curator — and not only do Shelley and Jack deftly avoid serious spoilers (although those who love to go in cold, consider yourself forewarned) they also have one of the frankest conversations about making immersive work I’ve had the pleasure of listening to in quite some time. – Noah

SHOW NOTES

• The Manikins
• Deadweight Theatre
• The Overlook Film Festival 2025 Events

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