THE SEVERANCE THEORY: WELCOME TO RESPITE Has Its UK Premiere At Raindance Film Festival

Welcome to Respite is a psychological-thriller that explores the parts of our mind that both help us and haunt us through the lens of a mental illness called Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), formerly known as multiple personality disorder. This fictional story allows audience members to step into the shoes of Alex, the main character and host of the personality system, as they embark on a surreal journey into a forgotten childhood memory.

Welcome to Respite is a live, immersive, and intimate VR show with two actors and up to 10 participants. Audiences may attend from anywhere in the world, as long as they have access to a VR headset! Through the magic of VR technology, participants will feel fully immersed within the 3D world.

ABOUT THE CREATORS

Founded by Los Angeles immersive theatre producer Lyndsie Scoggin, CoAct Productions is an independent immersive design company. Focusing on presenting narrative as an embodied experience, immersive theatre has provided a platform to create intimate performances that are uniquely engaging, CoAct is deeply passionate about developing these one-of-a-kind experiences. Past work includes The Sideshow (2018), The Severance Theory: Welcome to Respite (2019), and Cold War Lounge (2019). In 2021, they joined forces with Ferryman Collective to bring The Severance Theory: Welcome to Respite into VR.

Ferryman Collective is a group of theatre-makers dedicated to furthering the art of live theatre in VR. Drawing from the experience gained developing their previous productions, PARA and Krampusnacht, the latter a finalist for the PGA Innovation Award, they continued to create the VR version of The Severance Theory: Welcome to Respite, which world premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and had its international premiere at the prestigious Venice Film Festival. Pushing the boundaries of what the medium offers in their in-house productions, they also serve as a resource for third-party creators by providing a diverse set of artistic and logistical talent to bring their plans to life.

CREDITS

Lyndsie Scoggin: Producer, Creative Director, Performer

Deirdre Lyons: Producer, Performer

Stephen Butchko: Producer, Performer

Braden Roy: Producer, VR Adaptation, Performer

Christopher Lane Davis: Special Effects & Animation Designer, Performer, Co- Audio Director

Whitton Frank: Marketing, Performer

Morghann Stevens: Voice of The Shadow

Brian Tull: Producer, VR World Builder

Danielle Levesque: Art Director

Jeff Heimbuch: Co-Audio Director, Voice of Kyle

Andy Aloisio: VR World Building, Programming

Beaux Cooper: Character Design

Eliot Addams: Performer

Brendan Bradley: Perfomer

Kelly Jones: Performer

Jonathon Martin: Performer

Lee Erdman: Perfomer

Brandon Bales: Performer

HOW TO ACCESS THE LIVE PERFORMANCE IN VRCHAT

You will need an Oculus Quest/QUEST 2, or a VR ready PC and a compatible headset such as HTC Vive/Pro/Pro 2, Oculus Rift/Rift S, Valve Index or a Windows Mixed Reality headset. Download VRChat and create an account.

PURCHASE A TICKET

To attend The Severance Theory: Welcome to Respite you will be able to purchase your ticket here. Bookings will go live shortly. Raindance attendees may use the code Rain2021 for a 20% discount on the $45 premium ticket or the $25 general admission ticket. Once a ticket has been secured, onboarding instructions will be sent directly to you by email.

Dates for the show:

Oct 28th - 31st

Nov 4th - 7th

Nov 11th - 14th

Nov 18th - 21st

Live theatrical performance in VRChat | Running time: 60 mins | Platform: VRChat | Compatible headsets: HTC Vive/Pro/Pro 2, Oculus Rift/Rift S, Oculus Quest, Valve Index and Windows Mixed Reality headsets

Award nomination: Best Narrative Experience