As the boundaries between physical performance and virtual space dissolve, a new generation of live theatre creators has emerged—pioneering everything from cinematic role play and intimate storytelling to atmospheric world-building.
Moderated by Raindance Immersive Curator Jiyue Hu, The New Stage panel brings together the world’s leading visionaries in live VR theatre: Alex Coulombe, Deirdre V. Lyons, Jason Moore, Mandy Canales and Stephen Butchko. This session explores the creative, technical, and architectural challenges of staging live immersive theatre in social VR. Together, they will discuss how they are redefining presence, navigating the complexities of audience agency, and building the foundational infrastructure for virtual Broadway.
Alex Coulombe is an architect turned XR-chitect with more than fifteen years pioneering the use of VR for performance, design, and narrative exploration. In 2013, while at Fisher Dachs Associates, he developed the first VR-based system for evaluating theatrical sightlines, laying the groundwork for a new era of previz and performance methodologies. In 2016 he co-founded Agile Lens: Immersive Design, an award-winning XR studio in New York that creates cutting-edge experiences across architecture, theatre, and interactive media. Their work includes large-scale visualization for NEOM, Four Seasons, and David Geffen Hall, narrative XR projects such as The Orchard starring Mikhail Baryshnikov, Your Mind Girls, and the long-running A Christmas Carol VR, as well as a groundbreaking research collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company on mixed reality rehearsal workflows. Alex is an Unreal Engine Authorized Instructor and longtime partner of Epic Games, where he has developed flagship real-time curriculums, taught hundreds of courses, and founded Manhattan’s first Unreal Engine Authorized Training Center. His talks, workshops, and research have been featured at SIGGRAPH, FMX, GDC, SXSW, AWE, IEEE GEM, TCG, RTC, SPAF, and Unreal Fest events worldwide.
Deirdre V. Lyons is a Los Angeles producer, director and performer, she is a co-founder of Ferryman Collective creating live theatre in VR, including PARA, Krampusnacht, and the award-winning show Welcome to Respite. Gumball Dreams, their 4th production, and her directorial debut was the 2022 winner of the SXSW Audience Award XR Experience Competition, the show had its international premiere at the prestigious 79th International Venice Film Festival and its Asia premier at the Kaohsiung Film Festival where it won the grand jury price, VR competition Golden Fireball Award before winning Best Immersive Performance at Raindance Immersive. Gumball Dreams was also awarded Best 2022 Experience, Best Live Experience and Creator of the Year by the online magazine and database XRMust. She was a producer on Find WiiLii, and an assistant director on Raindance Immersive nominated Uncanny Alley: A New Day, Winner of the Fanheart3 award at the Venice International Film Festival, the company’s newest show. She was a 2023 SXSW mentor and included in the 2021 list of Top 100 Original Voices in XR, she is a sought-after speaker and recently accepted into the Producers Guild of America and the Television Academy.
Jason Moore is a writer, producer, and director working at the forefront of immersive storytelling across virtual reality, interactive cinema, and live performance. He created The MetaMovie Presents: Alien Rescue, pioneering a new form of live VR entertainment that blends cinema, gaming, role-playing, and live theater, earning recognition at Venice Biennale and Raindance Immersive, along with industry and press awards for multiplayer VR innovation. With a background in award-winning film, international commercial work, and television for Discovery and Animal Planet, Jason brings a cinematic sensibility to virtual storytelling. Since 2020, he has taught Storytelling for VR as a Professor of Emerging Media at Brooklyn College, New York.
Mandy Canales is a pioneering VR theatre practitioner and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Digital Technology and Culture at Washington State University. Her research focuses on how human movement translates into virtual spaces, with a specific interest in dance and physical comedy. Spanning social VR, XR collaboration, and streaming platforms, Mandy’s international practice balances her work as a performer, director, and narrative designer. Notably, her directed VR theatre production, Shadow Canyon: A Puppeteer’s Tale, won the Spirit of Raindance award in 2024. As an educator and innovator within VRChat, Mandy teaches physical comedy and jazz dance at the Virtual Reality Dance Academy. She is also the co-founder of the Tri-Coastal Theatre Workshop and the founder of the Character Creation Lab. In her practice, she utilises both standalone and tethered VR headsets alongside full-body tracking, adapting traditional mask work and Commedia dell'arte techniques to explore movement and expression within digital realms.
Stephen Butchko earned a BA in Theatre from Western Washington University before moving to Los Angeles, where he produced and performed in independent theatre and film with his wife, Deirdre V. Lyons. In 2020, he became a founding member of Ferryman Collective , helping pioneer live theatre in VR. The company received the Best Indie Creator(s) Auggie Award at AWE USA 2025 and the Rising XR Company of the Year award at the AIXR XR Awards 2025. Stephen wrote and directed the award-winning VR theatre production Uncanny Alley: A New Day, which premiered at the 81st Venice Biennale and later screened internationally.
Jiyue Hu is a co-curator for Raindance Immersive and the Sandbox Immersive Festival in China. Her curatorial focus spans the broader XR industry as well as the vibrant ecosystem of social VR creators within VRChat—including world builders, immersive theatre, games, and live performances. Her expertise is backed by extensive viewing at international film and XR festivals, alongside thousands of hours exploring social VR worlds.
Beyond curation, Jiyue is an active VRChat creator. Her debut documentary short, The Architect Across Realities, draws inspiration from the essayistic and intimate storytelling style of the legendary French director Agnès Varda. By embedding herself directly into the narrative, Jiyue uniquely weaves her own presence into the piece to co-create the story alongside her protagonist.
Join the session live on Zoom on Friday, 12th June or watch the replay. Please see the schedule below for your local time. For sessions that fall too early or too late in your time zone, we highly recommend catching up via our on-demand replays.
EUROPE – FRIDAY, 12 JUNE
5 PM - 6 PM BST (UK)
6 PM - 7 PM CET
7 PM - 8 PM EET
NORTH AMERICA – FRIDAY, 12 JUNE
12 PM - 1 PM EDT
11 AM - 12 PM CDT
10 AM - 11 AM MDT
9 AM - 10 AM PDT
ASIA & AUSTRALIA – SATURDAY, 13 JUNE
12 AM - 1 AM CST
1 AM - 2 AM JST
1 AM - 2 AM KST
2 AM - 3 AM AEST