Breaking Barriers: "The Grieving Project Musical"

What makes a live theatre experience unforgettable? Is it the spectacle - the dazzling lights, the rich sounds, the emotional weight of a shared story? Or is it something deeper, something profoundly human: the feeling of being together in a community? One artist, Lisa Sniderman, dared to ask: What if we could create a new kind of theatre - one that anyone, anywhere could attend, regardless of physical or geographic limitations?

That vision became reality with “The Grieving Project Musical,” a groundbreaking performance that merges the intimacy of live theatre with the expansive possibilities of the metaverse.

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Video Overview: Experience the Full Journey of "The Grieving Project Musical"

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Lisa Sniderman: Crafting a New Vision for Theatre

Lisa Sniderman, also known as Aoede, is an artist whose creativity has been a lifeline. For nearly 16 years, she has lived with Dermatomyositis, a rare autoimmune disease, and primary immune deficiency (CVID), conditions that have often kept her homebound. Despite these challenges, Lisa has continued to create, amassing over 100 awards for her work as a singer-songwriter, playwright, and producer.

But during the pandemic, she realized something profound: Amidst all her creativity, she had never truly grieved her illness. “Music and art are my lifelines; I just cannot stop creating,” she says, “but I had forgotten to grieve.” This revelation led to her ninth studio album, “The Grieving Project,” which has now evolved into a stage musical aimed at bringing live, accessible theatre to those who, like Lisa, cannot easily attend in person.

“The Grieving Project Musical” tells the story of four artists - Lisa, Danica, Charlie, and Brandon - each navigating their unique battles with physical or mental illness. Through a hybrid of live and virtual performances, Lisa aims to create an experience that allows everyone to feel they are part of a shared journey.

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The Challenge: Bringing Theatre to Everyone, Everywhere

Lisa's dream was ambitious: to create a theatre experience that was equally powerful in a virtual space as it was in a physical theatre. To achieve this, she partnered with Meadow, our Metaverse-as-a-Service platform, and collaborated with Christopher Morrison, Digital Experience Director for the project.

Christopher describes the challenge: “We wanted to extend the theatre experience into the metaverse, where people could mix, mingle, and watch the show together as avatars, all while enjoying a fully immersive audio-visual experience.”

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A New Kind of Immersive Theatre

What sets “The Grieving Project Musical” apart is its innovative use of digital technology. Within the metaverse, audiences could customize their experience by choosing from multiple camera feeds, listening to an immersive mix of the music through headphones, and interacting in a virtual lobby where they could meet other avatars, watch explainer videos, and even chat with the cast and crew.

As Lisa explains in the linked video, “I wanted to recreate the feel of being in a community with a live audience, where every choice - from where you sit to how you watch - adds to the experience.”

After the performances, both live and virtual audiences shared their feedback in real-time through hybrid Q&A sessions. One participant in the virtual audience shared, “I felt like I was sitting in the audience with everyone. The connection was real, even from miles away.” Another noted, “It felt radically accessible, catering to different needs, from audio descriptions to captioning. I felt included.”

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Radical Accessibility at the Core

Accessibility was not just a feature of “The Grieving Project Musical”; it was a fundamental principle. As Jessica Wallach, the Accessibility Director, pointed out, “We integrated multiple layers of accessibility, from live audio descriptions to real-time captioning and sign language interpretation, to ensure that everyone could fully engage with the performance.”

By weaving together these different elements, the production created a space where all voices could be heard, and all stories told. “This is a story about people with disabilities, created by people with disabilities, and it showcases what accessible theatre can be,” Jessica explained.

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Suzanne Richard and Open Circle Theatre: Pioneers of Radical Accessibility

At the helm of the live performance is Suzanne Richard, the visionary Artistic Director of Open Circle Theatre, a company renowned for its commitment to accessibility and inclusion in the arts. Open Circle, based in Washington, D.C., has long been a pioneer in creating performance opportunities for artists with disabilities, pushing the boundaries of what accessible theatre can be. Suzanne, a passionate advocate for inclusion, brought her expertise to "The Grieving Project Musical", ensuring that the live performance was as immersive and accessible as the virtual experience. “Theatre is, at its heart, a communal experience,” Suzanne explains. “Our goal was to ensure that both in-person and virtual audiences could feel that sense of community and belonging, no matter where they were.” Under her direction, the show not only highlighted the power of storytelling but also the potential for theatre to bridge gaps in accessibility and reach new audiences.

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A Learning Experience for Meadow and Bizzlogic

For us at Meadow, co-sponsoring this project provided an invaluable opportunity to test our platform's capabilities in a real-world setting. Working closely with Lisa and her team allowed us to explore how our technology could support truly accessible and immersive theatre. We gathered critical feedback from participants and identified areas where our platform needed improvement.

This feedback loop was essential to refining Meadow’s features. "We learned so much from this experience," Christopher noted. "There were moments where the technology needed tweaking, and being able to respond in real-time was incredibly valuable."

Behind the Scenes: Collaboration and Innovation

From the beginning, this production was a collaborative effort. With Christopher Morrison at the helm of the digital experience, the team used multiple cameras, live-streaming technologies, and even three-dimensional digital cues to create a rich, dynamic performance environment. “The digital elements mirrored what was happening on stage, allowing virtual audiences to choose their perspectives and interact with the show in real-time,” he explained.

Lisa's own experience was profoundly shaped by the hybrid approach. Although she was physically at home in California, she could join the performances virtually, interacting with both the live and virtual audiences. “For me, this was a dream come true,” she said. “It allowed me to connect with people in ways I hadn’t been able to for so long.”

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Looking Forward: A New Frontier for Theatre

The success of “The Grieving Project Musical” is just the beginning. The overwhelmingly positive feedback has shown that there is a hunger for these types of experiences—where live and virtual worlds blend seamlessly, and accessibility is a given, not an afterthought.

Reflecting on the journey, Lisa shared, “We’ve built something special here. This is more than a performance; it’s a community. And we’re excited to see where this can go next.”

Christopher Morrison sees this as a pivotal moment for the arts: “We’re entering a new frontier where digital technology and the arts are merging in ways we’ve never seen before. The metaverse offers a unique platform for storytelling that is both inclusive and expansive.”

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Join Us in the Future of Theatre with Meadow

At Meadow, we are proud to have been a part of this groundbreaking project. “The Grieving Project Musical” is a testament to the power of technology, creativity, and community. It’s an invitation to experience theatre in a way that is accessible to all, regardless of where they are.

For more information about hosting your event on Meadow or to schedule a demo, visit our website or contact us today!