iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 24/08/2026

BEST USE OF CRITERIA Enemies of Time for “The Enduring Habit of Looking Up” SPECIAL RECOGNITION IN WORLD BUILDING Odd Reverberations for “Polyvagal Incubation Scientific Study”

Graphic of an out of focus skyline with text on top that reads:
NEW YORK IMMERSIVE INVITATIONAL
BEST USE OF CRITERIA
2026
Enemies of Time
"The Enduring Habit of Looking Up”

Graphic of an out of focus skyline with text on top that reads:
NEW YORK IMMERSIVE INVITATIONAL
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
2026
Odd Reverberations
“Polyvagal Incubation Scientific Study”

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 24/08/2026

The winners of the first ever New York Immersive Invitational are: JUDGES PRIZE Linked Dance Theatre for “Will it Grow?” AUDIENCE AWARD Linked Dance Theatre for “Will it Grow?”

Graphic of an out of focus skyline with text on top that reads:
NEW YORK IMMERSIVE INVITATIONAL
JUDGES PRIZE
2026
Linked Dance Theatre
"Will it Grow?"

Graphic of an out of focus skyline with text on top that reads:
NEW YORK IMMERSIVE INVITATIONAL
AUDIENCE AWARD
2026
Linked Dance Theatre
"Will it Grow?"

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 07/05/2025

And for the first time in the history of the Invitational we have a TIE for the Jury's Grand Prize: 9/10

GRAND PRIZE
Spectacular Disaster Factory "Stringed Instruments"

GRAND PRIZE
Spies Among Us "That's Jazz Baby!"

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 07/05/2025

The 2025 Los Angeles Immersive Invitational was a rousing success and we'd like to take a moment to congratulate all the teams that participated this year: Cherry Poppins Dream Logik Last Call Theatre Meanwhile...netprov studio The Queen's Fools Spectacular Disaster Factory 1/10

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 12/04/2025

LA's most prolific playable theatre company Last Call Theatre comes back for their second Invitational. They'll be part of the Hollywood Fringe later this year with 'Worlds Collide.'

From 'Pirate's Wanted': A confrontation between two pirates (Bonnie-Lynn Montaño as Captain Souvanna & Shelby Ryan Lee as Captain Draken) as a guest looks on on the deck of a tall ship. In the distance: the worklights of the Port of Los Angeles. Photo Credit: Charly Charney Cohen

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 12/04/2025

The super inventive Spy Brunch returns for a record THIRD Invitational, promising to bring their playful, character driven antics back to delight audiences once more.

Promotional image from Spy Brunch's Dragon Show. (Credit: Nick Malis)

A person with long curly hair, wearing a horned crown is confronted by a red robed figure with a dragon skull for a head.

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 12/04/2025

Meanwhile…netprov studio specializes in digital story-making projects with leads Mark C. Marino and Rob Wittig having created projects for over a decade. They join us for their first Invitational.

Four people wearing motion capture tracking suits stand on a stage while a fifth person not wearing said suit addresses the audience. There is a taped down grid on the floor and a scrim behind them where something is being projected, although the lighting washes that out a bit.

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 12/04/2025

Dream Logik joins us for the first time, as 'Snow Fridge' creators Karlie LeClere & Keight Leighn reunite for their first new LA work in years and bring 'Bar of Dreams' co-creator Jonathan Pedigo back to LA for his second Invitational go 'round.

A person in a knit cap and glasses (left), and another wearing white (center left) look at a woman in glasses with long hair wearing white who holds what looks to be a maraca and has bangles on her arms (right), a man in white wearing glasses stands between in the center, he has a goatee and is looking down. There is a real brick wall and what looks like white lego blocks, only they are scaled to human size.

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 12/04/2025

And now this 🧵reveals the final four teams participating in this year's LA Immersive Invitational Showcase It all goes down on May the 4th with EIGHT teams creating all new original #immersive work at the Los Angeles LGBT Center's The Village at Ed Gould Plaza. ci.ovationtix.com/36684/produc...

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 08/04/2025

Finally, the last of our first wave: Spectacular Disaster Factory: creators of Temp Cupid and the near legendary Give Up The Ghost bring LARP-style play to immersive events with a joyous glee.

Someone just off camera is aiming a NERF bow & arrow at a guy holding a banana who is talking with three others at what looks like a house party.

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 08/04/2025

Spies Among Us, creators of the event of the same name that takes place in DTLA's Little Tokyo, try their hand at their first Invitational. Although they just might have a ringer on their team.

A woman in a trenchcoat hands off a red square of paper to another woman in a floral shirt inside a mall.

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 08/04/2025

Making their full Invitational debut this year are Cherry Poppins Productions, known for their rockin' burlesque musical parodies that bring the house down.

The cast of Cherry Poppin's SPICE WORLD: The Staged Parody Concert Reading.

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 08/04/2025

Returning from the 2024 Invitational are The Queen's Fools, creators of Not Another Midsummer. The play-within-the-play-within-the-play's the thing when the Fools get up to their shenanigans.

An audience participant dressed up in cardboard portrays the "Wall" stands next to a mustachio'd Nick Bottom (Mason Conrad) in the play-within-the-play of A Midsummer's Night's Dream which is the play within the play of Not Another Midsummer.

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 08/04/2025

The LA Immersive Invitational Showcase returns on May the 4th with EIGHT teams creating all new original #immersive work at the Los Angeles LGBT Center's The Village at Ed Gould Plaza. In this 🧵we reveal the first four teams! ci.ovationtix.com/36684/produc...

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 17/12/2024

The Next Stage Immersive Summit is proud to host Nick Moran, co-founder of London’s open world immersive adventure Phantom Peak, and commercial real estate expert Lanné Bennett, of The Lanné Company, this January in Pasadena. Jan 17-19, 2025 in Pasadena, CA 🎟️ Badges are on sale now! 🎟️

central image: a man with dark curly hair and a beard smiles at the camera. Image text: Nick Moran; Phantom Peak. The Next Stage. 2025, Jan 17-19, Pasadena, CA. immersiveexperience.org

central image: a woman with blonde white hair wearing a suit jacket smiles at the camera. Image text: Lanné Bennett; The Lanné Company. The Next Stage. 2025, Jan 17-19, Pasadena, CA. immersiveexperience.org

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 17/12/2024

The Next Stage Immersive Summit is proud to host Myriam Achard of Montréal’s PHI this January in Pasadena. Jan 17-19, 2025 in Pasadena, CA 🎟️ Badges are on sale now! Link in thread or visit immersiveexperience.org 🎟️

central image: A woman in a black dress sits in a chair and smiles at the camera. Image text: Myriam Achard; PHI. The Next Stage. 2025, Jan 17-19, Pasadena, CA. immersiveexperience.org

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 12/12/2024

Disney Live Entertainment will conduct their first ever workshop on #casting for #immersive at The Next Stage Immersive Summit in Pasadena this January! Jan 17-19, 2025 in Pasadena, CA 🎟️ Badges are on sale now! Link in thread or visit immersiveexperience.org 🎟️

central image: a man with brown eyes and closely cropped hair smiles directly at the camera, he wears a blue shirt unbuttoned at the collar and and dark blue jacket. Image text: Stephen Gelpi; Disney Live Entertainment. The Next Stage. 2025, Jan 17-19, Pasadena, CA. immersiveexperience.org

central image: a man with a shaved head smiles at the camera, he wears a dark blue shirt, its collar open wide. Image text: Victor Farinas; Disney Live Entertainment. The Next Stage. 2025, Jan 17-19, Pasadena, CA. immersiveexperience.org

Text on a white background: Disney Live Entertainment @ The Next Stage
At the top: a yellow gem like pattern
At the bottom: red and yellow gem pattern with the text: Jan 17-19, 2025; The Next Stage, immersiveexperience.org; Pasadena, CA

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 11/12/2024

The Next Stage Immersive Summit is proud to host Marie Navarro and Dawn Barber Shah of Hasbro this January in Pasadena. Badges are on sale now! Visit immersiveexperience.org #immersive #gaming #locationbasedentertainment

central image: a woman with dark hair and brown eyes looks at the camera. Image text: Marie Navarro; Hasbro. The Next Stage. 2025, Jan 17-19, Pasadena, CA. immersiveexperience.org

central image: a woman with blonde hair smiles at the camera. Image text: Dawn Barber Shah; Hasbro. The Next Stage. 2025, Jan 17-19, Pasadena, CA. immersiveexperience.org

Text on a white background: Game On! Hasbro Steps Onto The Next Stage
At the top: a yellow gem like pattern
At the bottom: red and yellow gem pattern with the text: Jan 17-19, 2025; The Next Stage, immersiveexperience.org; Pasadena, CA

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 09/12/2024

The Next Stage Immersive Summit is proud to host Rita Orlov, Lauren Bello, and Tommy Wallach this January in Pasadena. Badges on sale now! Visit immersiveexperience.org #immersive #themedentertainment #gaming #tabletop #story #escapegames

central image: a woman in glasses with brown hair that ends in dark red highlights. Image text: Rita Orlov; PostCurious. The Next Stage. 2025, Jan 17-19, Pasadena, CA. immersiveexperience.org

central image: a woman with shoulder length brown hair smiles at the camera. Image text: Lauren Bello; Writer/Game Designer. The Next Stage. 2025, Jan 17-19, Pasadena, CA. immersiveexperience.org

central image: a man with short brown hair and a white button up shirt smiles while looking off-camera. Image text: Tommy Wallach; Hatch Escapes. The Next Stage. 2025, Jan 17-19, Pasadena, CA. immersiveexperience.org

Text on a white background: Narrative In Immersive Gaming
At the top: a yellow gem like pattern
At the bottom: red and yellow gem pattern with the text: Jan 17-19, 2025; The Next Stage, immersiveexperience.org; Pasadena, CA

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 05/12/2024

🎇 Intensive badge holders will enjoy an exclusive session where they will share the lessons & insights they’ve gleaned from inviting tens of thousands of Electric Forest-goers to explore an immersive universe of interactive art, theatre, and games, summer after summer. 🎇

Text on a white background: Electric Forest: The Future Looks Like Now
At the top: a yellow and red gem like pattern
At the bottom: red and yellow gem pattern with the text: Jan 17-19, 2025; The Next Stage, immersiveexperience.org; Pasadena, CA

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 05/12/2024

🌲The Next Stage Immersive Summit is proud to host Nova Han, Suzanne Down, Juliana Moreno, Ariel Rubin – four of the creatives who make the Electric Forest festival an unforgettable experience for over 40,000 attendees – this January in Pasadena.🌲 Badges on sale now! Visit immersiveexperience.org

central image: a black and white image of a woman in a hat looking to the left of frame. Image text: Nova Han; Electric Forest Festival. The Next Stage. 2025, Jan 17-19, Pasadena, CA. immersiveexperience.org

central image: a woman with dark hair and white highlights smiles at the camera. Image text: Suzanne Down; Cirque Berzerk Productions. The Next Stage. 2025, Jan 17-19, Pasadena, CA. immersiveexperience.org

central image: a woman with dark hair smiles at the camera. Image text: Ariel Rubin, Wild Optmists. The Next Stage. 2025, Jan 17-19, Pasadena, CA. immersiveexperience.org

central image:a woman with long wavy brown hair smiles at the camera. Image text: Juliana Moreno, Wild Optimists. The Next Stage. 2025, Jan 17-19, Pasadena, CA. immersiveexperience.org

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 03/12/2024

🎭 Charlie & Courtney will be sharing insights about the immersive audience from Off-Center’s presentations of Darkfield, Monopoly Life-Sized, and David Byrne’s Theatre of the Mind as part of a Spotlight Session on the main stage of the Pasadena Playhouse.

Text on a white background: Lessons From The Audience & Building The Emerging Touring Model of Immersive Events
At the top: a yellow gem like pattern
At the bottom: red and yellow gem pattern with the text: Jan 17-19, 2025; The Next Stage, immersiveexperience.org; Pasadena, CA

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 03/12/2024

💬 The Next Stage Immersive Summit is proud to host Charlie Miller & Courtney Ozaki of The Denver Center for the Performing Arts Off-Center this January in Pasadena. 🎟️ Badges are on sale now! Visit immersiveexperience.org

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 18/11/2024

We are The Immersive Experience Institute. Since 2020 we've brought the performing arts, gaming, themed entertainment, and XR immersive creative & professional communities together. In Jan of '25 we do it again in Pasadena with The Next Stage Immersive Summit. www.immersiveexperience.org

IEI board members Mikhael Tara Garver, Diana Williams, and Sara Thacher on stage as part of the 2023 Town Hall at The Next Stage Immersive Summit at ASU's California Center in Los Angeles. (Credit: Kathryn Yu / Immersive Experience Institute)

Thomas Pintal, Moment Factory (Credit: Kathryn Yu / Immersive Experience Institute)

Michaela Ternasky-Holland representing Games for Change at the 2023 Next Stage Immersive Summit. (Credit: Kathryn Yu / Immersive Experience Institute)

Joanna Garner & Elizabeth Jarrett as part of the keynote session Reality is a Co-Creation: How Meow Wolf’s story experiences invite participants to change their minds at the 2023 Next Stage Immersive Summit. (Credit: Kathryn Yu / Immersive Experience Institute)

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