The Immersive 5 with Courtney Ozaki

This week No Proscenium is brought to you by MEOW WOLF, and the brand new THE REAL UNREAL: NOW OPEN! Get to know the unknown in this brand new, mind-bending, interactive art experience located at Grapevine Mills (just north of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport). All ages. All possibilities.

First previewing as part of the Denver Immersive Gathering the powerful ZOTTO, from Courtney Ozaki’s Japanese Arts Network, moved audiences who had gathered from around the country. After a Winter run ZOTTO has returned to Denver for the summer though July 30th and continues to weave a spellbinding blend of history and mythology.

We reached out to ZOTTO producer Ozaki about the lessons she’s learned from bringing this ambitious work to life.

—

The Immersive 5 series asks creators across the various immersive disciplines the same five questions in search of both their approach to crafting work, and the elusive nature of immersive work itself.

—

No Proscenium: What does “immersive” mean to you, and what terms do you use when talking about your own work?

Courtney Ozaki: “Immersive” to me means to be drawn into an experience which elevates a story, emotion, or sense of wonder through sensory and holistic interpretations. Within my own work, I seek to deepen empathy for narratives by directly placing people into environments with layered characters, and to evoke feeling, introspection, relationship and connection through intentional artistic decisions that engage all of the senses: sight, taste, touch, sound, and smell.

NP: What should every creator be thinking about first and foremost when designing for the audience?

CO: What do you want the audience to leave with — what imprint do you want to make on them, and what will the rippling impact of that be? How will this inform their lived experience?

Get Noah J Nelson’s stories in your inbox

Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.

SubscribeSubscribe

NP: What did you wish you knew when you were starting out with this stuff and what’s the one thing you’d tell a creator starting out today?

CO: ZOTTO was my first original immersive production — and it was co-produced and devised with several other producers and many artist collaborators, as well as our actors. I wanted to surround myself with others who had strengths that I knew were not my forte.

There were a lot of challenges with having multiple creative voices in the room, but the show would also not have the impact that it does without everybody’s contributions. There are many lessons I learned alongside my co-producers regarding seasonal timing of ticket buyer patterns, how expensive or inexpensive many things needed to be, what do audiences seem to value most, the need as lead producer to make tough decisions, and how to balance contributor’s strengths and passions so they complement one another and we are able to build a cohesive and meaningful experience that feels universal.

I also learned to never underestimate the power of good old ‘word of mouth’ — when I ask people how they discovered ZOTTO the most common answer is that “a friend told me they were moved by it and that I needed to see it” — even people who I’ve known for years didn’t pay attention to the show until somebody in their yoga class or their colleague at work recommended it to them.

NP: Why do this kind of work and not something more “traditional” that might have more mainstream appeal at the moment?

CO: After long periods of isolation, people are very ready to feel their feelings, and to feel like they are a part of something significant while in community with others. This work invites people to engage as deeply as they would like to, and to place themselves in another’s experience in a liminal way without forcing them to pretend that they are somebody else. The embodiment of narrative in this way can be educational, builds lasting connective tissue, and may incite action.

NP: What inspirations — and anything is fair game here — are currently shaping your creative practice?

CO: I just came back from Disney World where I was able to visit Batuu at Hollywood Studios for the first time — I was in complete awe of the attention to detail and the lengths that the Imagineers went to in order to ensure the park is fully functional and navigable, while also remaining entirely in-world and not taking you out of the experience to do so. I am inspired by world building, and would like to continue to explore styles of storytelling which lend themselves to it, as well as folklore, magical realism, musical theatre, and ARG crossovers between fiction and reality. I am also recently reconnecting with my love of the films and cinematography of Wong Kar-Wai, Hayao Miyazaki, and Michel Gondry (his films and music videos), and I am highly connected to ritual and its ability to connect people physically, through process and intention, to characters, story, and culture (whether it’s drinking a cup of tea, doing a folk dance, or handing a hungry ‘kappa’ a cucumber).

Follow Courtney Ozaki on Instagram.
Follow Japanese Arts Network on Instagram.
Follow ZOTTO on Instagram.

Thanks again to MEOW WOLF for sponsoring this year’s Next Stage Immersive Summit Next Generation of Creators & Audiences Pillar.

Discover the latest immersive events, festivals, workshops, and more at our new site EVERYTHING IMMERSIVE, new home of NoPro’s show listings.

NoPro is a labor of love made possible by our generous Patreon backers. Join them today!

In addition to the No Proscenium website, our podcast, and our newsletters, you can find NoPro on Facebook, LinkedIn,YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, in the Facebook community Everything Immersive, and on our Patreon Backer exclusive Discord