By Stuart Cooke
When organising a corporate event, it’s crucial to keep your attendees’ needs in mind. What can you do to enhance the interactive vibe of your event? How can you make it more thrilling, unique from the norm? Why not arrange an immersive and theatrical experience for your corporate event if you’re willing to attempt something a little different!
These event concepts captivate audiences by appealing to their senses and immersing them to the point where they actually feel ‘part of’ the event. The UK’s entertainment scene is starting to pay more attention to immersive theatre. Some people just can’t get enough of it, the intimacy of the immersive experience, the sense of (limited) risk, and the sensation of being at the centre of the action. So before diving in, let’s find out a bit more about what an immersive theatre experience could look like at an event, and what you should be taking into consideration as an event organiser.
Participants in an immersive and theatrical experience often want to feel as though they are genuinely in a different location. Blending images, music, and technology, you can transport viewers to a parallel universe where truth and fiction mingle together. The end product is a phenomenal adventure that will remain in the memories of people who take part in it for the rest of their lives.
Interactivity is vital to keep your audience engaged at events. How can you get people involved in what you’re doing? How can you keep them excited? How can you distinguish this event from the norm? Incorporating immersive elements into corporate events has been shown to improve attendance, teamwork, and morale. The following event concepts draw in spectators by appealing to their senses and making them feel like an integral part of the action:
Escape Rooms
The mental and physical challenges presented by immersive escape rooms make them a popular activity. While having a great time, these activities promote teamwork, increase employee morale, and foster better relationships between departments.
Discover your inner Banksy
Giving your employees a voice is a great way to encourage them to feel heard. Using digital spray paint cans and digital stencils, they can express their individuality on a blank digital wall. You can end up with a masterpiece created by the group!
Get your groove on
After the workday’s serious business is finished, a silent disco is a great opportunity to let your staff’s hair down. If you give everyone headphones and let them pick the music, you can throw a truly one-of-a-kind dance party where everyone can enjoy the beats to their own liking.
At the movies
Is there anything more engrossing than watching a film? A secret theater allows you to whisk your guests away to an undisclosed place for an unforgettable cinematic experience under the stars (or in any other secluded setting of your choosing).
Real Life Cluedo
A murder mystery is another tried-and-true activity that brings people together. Invite your guests to work together to solve a murder mystery while they dine on a multicourse meal complete with interactive clues and actors in a whodunit manner.
Virtual Reality Treasure Hunt
Using their own devices to figure out a riddle is a great approach to let guests feel in charge. A virtual reality scavenger hunt can be set up around the site, with participants searching for clues and completing puzzles as they go.
Interactive Kitchen
Sometimes less is more when it comes to eating, unless you get to be the chef. Guests can add their own special touches to their meals and drinks at interactive culinary stations. A must-try for those who appreciate bold flavors and Heston Blumenthal-esque cooking.
Step Back In Time
You go to the theater, buy a ticket, and sit in a seat to watch the performance. In traditional theater, there is something called a “fourth wall” that separates the stage from the audience. With an immersive production, you feel like you’re right in the middle of everything that’s happening onstage. The boundaries between fact and fantasy begin to dissolve. For The Speakeasy in particular, organisers go to great lengths to disguise modern conveniences and re-create life in the Roaring Twenties. Customers put their phones turned off in sealed pouches. Even when interacting with the audience (for example serving a drink), the actors don’t leave the world of the play, to give the impression that the audience has been transported to a real speakeasy from the Roaring Twenties.
Whether you choose to invite a selected team, your whole workforce, or use the event to entertain existing or potential clients, suggest to the attendees that they keep these suggestions in mind:
Avoid spoilers: Preserve the element of surprise by not learning too much about the event before you go.
Get involved: Rules for how audience members should behave while taking part in an immersive experience are typically provided. In many performances, the performer will invite the audience to participate.
Keep an open mind: Many people enjoy immersive theater precisely because it challenges their expectations. Accept the format and realise that many things can happen at once, so you won’t necessarily see everything.
Have fun: The best way to get the most out of an immersive theatre experience is to enter with a willingness to have fun. The quality of an immersive theatre experience is proportional to the effort put into creating it.
Immersive theatrical experiences are a great way to give guests at a corporate event something to talk about for days afterward. Making a positive impression like this on employees results in increased productivity and satisfaction in the workplace. Which, let’s be honest, is what every employer wants.