Denver Immersive Summit and No Proscenium

The email caught me off-guard. I didn’t know the sender personally, but I knew that they were organizing the Denver Immersive Summit. Amanda Berg-Wilson—who is a fantastic artist and creator, AD for The Catamounts in Boulder—had recommended that I speak on a panel at the Immersive Summit. Apparently, the organizers were trying to create a panel on ethics and audience interaction, and they wanted me to be a part of it. Amanda Berg-Wilson, having heard of and seen my work with Rocky Mountain Artists’ Safety Alliance, wanted me to be a part of it.

Also on this panel were Noah Nelson and Jenny Weinbloom. Two huge names, personalities, and contributors to the field of immersive work. Nelson founded No Proscenium, a website, podcast, and resource for all things immersive, and he is one of, if not the, most notable reviewer of immersive works nationwide. Weinbloom is an Executive Producer for Meow Wolf. If that weren’t enough, she was a producer of Optika Moderna’s Waking La Llorona and, well, just trust me on this-she’s an immersive goddess

Our panel started off with Jenny and Noah each detailing their own experiences at a specific immersive, as well as the blurry ethical boundaries and the concerns around the mechanics for implementing consent which were or were not obvious within the onboarding for the experience. I jumped in with theoretical points on agency, learning through crisis, and audience engagement to illustrate why certain aspects of this performance may or may not have worked. I was so glee-filled to be sharing a table as a panelist, addressing the room side-by-side with these two giants, supporting their stories with cognitive analysis of the experience, that I was caught off guard when I found myself wrapping up a point and turning back to see them both leaning forward, eagerly listening to what I had to say.

After the panel wrapped, Noah asked to interview me for the No Proscenium podcast. I almost couldn’t respond, but only because mental and emotional fireworks were exploding. Me? Yes, of course!

Check out Episode 173 titled Consent & Agency w/Amanda Rose Villarreal!