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Reposted by The Immersive Experience Institute

Michael Andersen @mjandersen.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Went to attend the showcase of an immersive hackathon last week, and wrote up some thoughts on the event. Also mentioned: Lost Horizon Night Market, Boxaroo's Four Doors, Night Mind's Candy Bowl, and the narrative hackathon I participated in almost 15 years ago.

mjandersen.substack.com

Reflections on an Immersive Hackathon

Impressions on the New York Immersive Invitational, and the broader immersive hackathon landscape

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

Thanks to all the participating teams for making the event a rousing success! We couldn’t have done it without you: Enemies of Time, Linked Dance, Theatre, Odyssey Works, Odd Reverberations, Pitchblack Immersive Experiences, and What May Come Immersive. Stay tuned for more to come!

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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 · 24/08/2026

Thank you to all who participated in the New York Immersive Invitational this past weekend! Extra special thanks to Culture Lab LIC for hosting us all weekend long. A huge round of applause to all of our hardworking staff and volunteers, as well as our fabulously talented docents.

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 07/07/2026

Join us on July 28th for our first Next Stage Salon in Brooklyn. The topic: Finding Your Audience. Join the peer-to-peer discussion lead by those who have cracked the code to marketing immersive work in the modern era. The amazing Dead Letter No. 9. will be open exclusively for us that night.

eventbrite.com

Next Stage Salon: Finding Your Audience

The Immersive Experience Institute presents an evening long event exploring the issues around marketing immersive art & entertainment.

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 10/06/2026

...insights drawn from an upcoming Carnegie Mellon report made for Gensler, and the various traps presenters and producers fall into as they attempt to connect with an audience. Two parts today, new chapters every two week. Sign up for our newsletter and don't miss a drop! 2/2

immersiveexperience.us20.list-manage.com

The Immersive Experience Institute

The Immersive Experience Institute Email Forms

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 10/06/2026

Our summer series Understanding The Immersive Audience launches today Come along as @kathrynyu.com dives into some of the latest research on the audience for immersive experiences, including a fresh study of immersive enthusiasts, how the classic Conversion Funnel maps to immersive... 1/2

immersiveexperience.org

Understanding the Immersive Audience (2026) — The Immersive Experience Institute

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Noah J. Nelson, Immersonaut Prime @noahjnelson.com · 27/05/2026

Going to be on an Instagram Live in just a few minutes talking Miami Immersive Summit. www.instagram.com/juggerknot_t...

instagram.com

Instagram

Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 02/05/2026

Due to incredible demand The L.A. Immersive Invitational has added an 8:15pm show on Sunday May 3rd! The teams are devising their pieces RIGHT NOW. www.eventbrite.com/e/los-angele...

eventbrite.com

Los Angeles Immersive Invitational

Journey through four immersive pieces created by LA's top immersive storytellers, challenged to innovate in 48 hours.

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 08/04/2026

This year's Participating Teams (in alphabetical order) are: New Forms LA (First Time Participant!) Rogue Artists Ensemble (Grand Prize 2024) Speakeasy Society (Audience Award 2024) Spies Among Us (Grand Prize 2025)

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 08/04/2026

It’s Back! Faster & More Intense! The 2026 Los Angeles Immersive Invitational is less than a month away! Journey through four immersive pieces created by LA's top immersive storytellers, challenged to innovate in 48 hours. Co-presented with After Hours Theatre Company on May 3rd.

eventbrite.com

Los Angeles Immersive Invitational

Journey through four immersive pieces created by LA's top immersive storytellers, challenged to innovate in 48 hours.

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 02/03/2026

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...

eventbrite.com

NYC Immersive Industry Meetup

Connect with other producers, performers, and experience designers across the breadth of immersive arts & entertainment.

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 07/02/2026

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.

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 29/01/2026

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.

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 29/01/2026

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.

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 29/01/2026

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").

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 29/01/2026

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).

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 29/01/2026

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.

eventbrite.com

Spotlight Series: Yannick Trapman-O'Brien

Join us for a dynamic conversation between the artist behind Undersigned & The Telelibrary and LA's immersive luminaries.

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 15/12/2025

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...

everythingimmersive.com

The Next Stage Immersive Salon: Immersive @ Play

A standalone edition of The Next Stage Summit's signature event: expanded and upgraded!

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 15/12/2025

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)...

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 15/12/2025

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).

everythingimmersive.com

The Next Stage Immersive Salon: Immersive @ Play

A standalone edition of The Next Stage Summit's signature event: expanded and upgraded!

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 01/12/2025

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!

immersiveexperience.org

The Next Stage Salon Series Kicks Off This December — The Immersive Experience Institute

Our Signature Salons are the most memorable part of The Next Stage Immersive Summit , a place where real peer-to-peer connections are forged in the immersive & experiential arts. Now, we’re excit...

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 10/10/2025

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...

linkedin.com

The Good, The Bad, and The Experiential: The Next Stage of Immersive

And we’re back tapping into the conversations shaping the professional world of immersive and experiential art & entertainment..

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Reposted by The Immersive Experience Institute

Kathryn Yu #OpenToWork @kathrynyu.com · 08/04/2025

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...

gensler.com

Evolving Immersive: The 2025 Immersive Entertainment & Culture Industry Report

Explore the most comprehensive evaluation of the state of Immersive Experience available today, published in partnership by Gensler and the Immersive Experience Institute.

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Reposted by The Immersive Experience Institute

Kathryn Yu #OpenToWork @kathrynyu.com · 08/04/2025

Thus making it easy for consumers to identify the "wish" being fulfilled and what the experience is going to be like.

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Reposted by The Immersive Experience Institute

Kathryn Yu #OpenToWork @kathrynyu.com · 08/04/2025

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."

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?"

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Reposted by The Immersive Experience Institute

Kathryn Yu #OpenToWork @kathrynyu.com · 08/04/2025

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?

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Reposted by The Immersive Experience Institute

Kathryn Yu #OpenToWork @kathrynyu.com · 08/04/2025

And some survey respondents also mentioned their projects being audience-driven or described an experience which was happening “all around you.”

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Reposted by The Immersive Experience Institute

Kathryn Yu #OpenToWork @kathrynyu.com · 08/04/2025

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.”

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Reposted by The Immersive Experience Institute

Kathryn Yu #OpenToWork @kathrynyu.com · 08/04/2025

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.

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Reposted by The Immersive Experience Institute

Kathryn Yu #OpenToWork @kathrynyu.com · 08/04/2025

Prospective audience members in the know will have their interest piqued when they see these phrases being used in marketing for immersive projects.

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Reposted by The Immersive Experience Institute

Kathryn Yu #OpenToWork @kathrynyu.com · 08/04/2025

Why? The terms "immersive," "immersive experience," and "immersive theatre" — while being open to interpretation — remain effective because they are familiar to the intended audience.

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Reposted by The Immersive Experience Institute

Kathryn Yu #OpenToWork @kathrynyu.com · 08/04/2025

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.

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Kathryn Yu #OpenToWork @kathrynyu.com · 08/04/2025

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...

Cover of Evolving Immersive: The 2025 Immersive Entertainment & Culture Industry Report

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

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

youtu.be

Escape rooms to theme parks: immersive entertainment is booming | The Excerpt

YouTube video by USA TODAY

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Kevin Parnell @kidspy.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

#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!

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Reposted by The Immersive Experience Institute

markcmarino.bsky.social @markcmarino.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

Escape rooming in a box at Hatch Escapes in #NextStage25 @immersiveexperience.org @noproscenium.com

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Reposted by The Immersive Experience Institute

Kelly Sue DeConnick @kellysue.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

See you there?

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Kevin Parnell @kidspy.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

First time in LA and having a blast checking out the local immersive experience & escape room scene! Here all weekend for #NextStage25.

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Reposted by The Immersive Experience Institute

Jedidjah Julia Noomen @jedidjah.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

In LA for The Next Stage @immersiveexperience.org. Two years ago I attended the first edition on a scholarship, which propelled my work and introduced me to so many amazing other people in the immersive realm. Glad to be back and hopefully pay it forward - plase come say hi if you’re here too!

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Reposted by The Immersive Experience Institute

Kathryn Yu #OpenToWork @kathrynyu.com · 25/07/2025

In ONE WEEK, we'll be gathering 70+ leaders in the immersive entertainment industry at the Next Stage Immersive Summit. Folks from Disney, Gensler, Meow Wolf, Netflix, Niantic Spatial, Secret Cinema, Wasteland Weekend, and more. 2- and 3-Day badges on sale now:

Graphic of companies including Albany Park Theater Project, Cosm, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Disney Live Entertainment, Gensler, Little Cinema, Mighty Coconut, Meow Wolf, Netflix, Niantic Spatial, Phantom Peak, PHI, Secret Cinema, Third Rail Projects, and Wasteland Weekend

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The Immersive Experience Institute @immersiveexperience.org · 24/07/2025

INTENSIVE badge holders: Make sure you turn in your workshop preference surveys by 5pm Pacific today (July 24)!

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