Multi-City Live Theater in VR with Ferryman Collective

The Emmy-winning virtual reality experience "Uncanny Alley: A New Day" plays Gray Area San Francisco and Los Angeles at the same time. On November 10, our Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley chapters are jointly hosting a live staging of Uncanny Alley: A New Day, the Emmy-winning live theatrical experience in virtual reality. It performs simultaneously at Gray Area in San Francisco and in Los Angeles: one cast across two stages. Brendan Bradley (San Francisco) and Whitton Frank (Los Angeles), members of the Ferryman Collective who originated these roles, transition seamlessly between improvisation and the scripted hour-long drama, portraying 15 characters. They are joined on each stage by two audience participants, in headset and fully embodied as characters in the virtual world, who can say or do anything to influence the story. Each audience watches its live performers interact with the parallel stage 350 miles away. The production is written and directed by Stephen Butchko, with the world created by Rick Treweek, technical direction by Screaming Color, and artistic direction by Deidre V Lyon. The two-venue architecture was developed by Bradley, who also performs in San Francisco, building on his Edinburgh Fringe 2024 premiere, which ran on-stage, in VR, and livestreamed simultaneously. The question the evening poses: does scene-partner chemistry survive 350 miles? After the performance, the cast will lead us on a “backstage tour” of the company’s groundbreaking techniques in virtual show control. They’ll discuss the technology being developed at Ferryman Collective, and how both locations projected the real-time VR experience at each other’s site. They’ll answer questions about real-time technology that they use for this hour long performance. We would be glad to have you join us. Brendan Andolsek Bradley is an award-winning American actor and creator known for his work in 100+ film, television, and digital storytelling projects across major networks and streaming platforms, opposite some of the biggest stars in the world. He established The Innovation Lab at NYU's Tisch School; co-founded The 5th Wall Forum and OnBoardXR, supporting over 50 artists worldwide. His first VR play, Jettison, was a Finalist for The Producer Guild of America's Innovation Award and he stars in the VR plays Welcome To Respite, Gumball Dreams, Uncanny Alley, and his original musical Non-Player Character which premiered at Edinburgh Fringe and won the Auggie Award for Best Art or Film. Whitton Frank is a voice, film, television and theater actor from Los Angeles. Her work in VR includes directing the English premiere of FindWiiLii, performing in the award winning immersive VR worlds of The Under Presents and The Tempest, as well as the Ferryman Collective productions PARA, and the award winning shows Welcome to Respite and Gumball Dreams. A Ferryman team member since 2020, she is now a producer and director as well. She is a graduate of two prestigious acting universities, Carnegie Mellon University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and is a recipient of CMU’s Tartans on the Rise award. She is currently a sought after speaker at tech and immersive events around the world.