The Immersive 5 with Stepy Kamei

Poet and performer Steph Kamei has carved out a unique niche in the immersive scene these past few years.

Starting with We Should Meet In Air, a deeply personal piece where Kamei embodied her idol, the poet Sylvia Plath in a one-on-one phone call at a pivotal moment in both Plath and her own life, the writer-performer has developed a format where audience members interact with figures drawn from history taken before their time. These snapshots in lives cut short are deeply researched and sympathetically drawn, focused on the light that once was more than the shadow that remains.

It’s bold immersive work at its most intimate, and we reached out to Kamei ahead of her new project Everything Starts Like a Knock at the Door, which starts this June.

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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.

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

STEPY KAMEI: To me, immersive is anything that can’t be considered complete without an audience. Audience members are vital to finishing the story of an immersive piece, whether it’s on the other end of a phone call, interacting with performers in a space, or solving puzzles in order to advance a story.

I definitely refer to my work as immersive, but it’s been challenging trying to explain it to people who aren’t intimately familiar with immersive theater. I have been using the term “interactive audio drama” when it comes to my phone experiences, which seems to do a decent job setting expectations and explaining the unique nature of what I do.

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

SK: I have found time and time again that when you write what you want to write, rather than worrying about what an audience might like, the payoff is so much greater. To be clear, I never thought people would respond as well as they have to my work; I thought my art was way too weird and esoteric. But what’s beautiful about it is that, even though people can very rarely relate to the exact circumstance I’m writing about, they can relate to the feelings I tend to explore in my work (fear of an uncertain future, quiet optimism in the aftermath of tragedy, etc.)

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So in conclusion…pull a Hemingway, and write hard and clear about what hurts. Your audience will find you, I promise.

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

SK: I honestly really like that I stumbled headfirst down the rabbit hole of immersive theater without knowing much about it. My first project was performing in Shine On Collective’s first piece, The Truth, at the Hollywood Fringe in 2016. It absolutely informed the kind of work I gravitate towards to this day. I feel like not knowing much really allowed me to discover things for myself and form my own aesthetic.

For any creators starting today, I’d encourage them to see as much immersive work as possible, and to explore a wide range of experiences. Go to big IP activations, pick up the phone for an audio drama, go to escape rooms, do VR experiences, etc. Just cast a wide net to see which experiences really speak to you, motivate you, and inspire you. Stay true to what calls to you and you’ll find your artistic voice so much faster.

NP: Why do this kind of work and not craft something for a more traditional medium, be it a novel, play, film, or game?

SK: I still appreciate a good movie or book, but those more static mediums are just…kind of boring for me now. There’s something so wonderfully exciting about co-creating a piece with an audience member. That’s certainly how I see it; each show I do is slightly different depending on the energy the audience member gives me. That’s why I like crafting intimate, one-on-one experiences.

One of my last performances of One Bad Day demonstrated this perfectly. In that show, there’s plenty of room for improv, but the experience has a clearly defined ending. However, I had someone go through a second time, and based on the choices they were making, I decided on the spot to give them an entirely different ending. It was completely wild, 100% improv, and it was one of the most thrilling experiences I’ve ever had as an artist. You simply can’t do that in traditional mediums. Immersive theater represents freedom to me, and that’s very exciting.

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

SK: I didn’t realize this when I first started out, but it turns out I have a great passion for telling the stories of people whose voices have been silenced prematurely, due to violence, self-harm, or other tragic factors. So I’m pulling a great deal of inspiration from historical figures who I feel have been unfairly diminished to the worst moments of their lives. I love illuminating these people in life, rather than in death and/or tragedy.

I’m also inspired by my fellow immersive creators. Candle House Collective’s Collect Call was just marvelous. Rogue Artists Ensemble did a show a few years back called Kaidan Project, and it still remains my all-time favorite immersive show. As a Japanese person, it was so lovely seeing my culture represented so well!

Video games are quite influential as well. My favorites are Red Dead Redemption 2, The Last of Us, and Resident Evil: Biohazard. When I first started out in immersive theater, I remember thinking that it was just like being inside a video game, but better!

But of course, as anyone who saw We Should Meet in Air can tell you, the poet Sylvia Plath is always my number one inspiration. She was so brave and radical in how she spoke about her life. She knew the importance of being honest, so that others could find catharsis in her courage. I am inspired every single day by Sylvia’s bravery.

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

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