Record Date: Monday, September 21st, 2026
Air Date:‍ Tuesday, October 13th, 2026
Recorded live at Argenta Brewing Company, Portland, Maine
Presented in Partnership with Out There Theater Company

Written by Dr. Janna Segal
Sound Design by Cory Macgowan
Edited by Cory Macgowan
Hosted by Joshua N Hsu and Sarah Kennedy
Featuring Kyle Aarons, Caspar Bernard, Lizzy Fogg, Allison McCall, Rachel Morris, Allison Rojecki, Beth Somerville, and Lauren Stockless

SYNOPSIS

In this next installment of Play Dates, founder of Forge Theater Labs Joshua N Hsu and Out There Theater Company Artistic Director Sarah Kennedy will act as matchmakers for eight directors and dramaturgs from Maine. Will they discover their ideal theatrical collaborators? Anticipate a flurry of creativity in this encore of our unparalleled theatrical dating show.

Episode 1.19 Forge Theater Labs Producer's Showcase: Clareann Despain and Erica Sutherlin

Record Date: Wednesday, September 24th, 2026
Air Date:‍ ‍Thursday, October 6th, 2026
Hosted by Joshua N Hsu
Postproduction by Sam Rapaport
Featuring Clareann Despain and Erica Sutherlin

SYNOPSIS

Host Joshua N Hsu invites Clareann Despain from Powerstories Theatre and Erica Sutherlin from Studio@620 to talk about how they built a working foundation for several unified productions over the years and the lessons learned.

Forge Theater Labs and Portland Ovations Present

Seeking Resonance: Building Virtual Worlds

SYNOPSIS

What happens when technology becomes more than a tool and begins to shape the way we gather, create, and experience live performance?

In this installment of A Forge Theater Labs In Conversation Series, Forge Theater Labs partners with Portland Ovations for Seeking Resonance: Virtual Worlds, a roundtable series bringing together artists working at the intersection of creative design, digital technology, and immersive live experience.

Hosted by Josh Hsu, Founder and Artistic Director of Forge Theater Labs, with guest host Katelyn Manfre, Director of Community Programs and Partnerships and Accessibility Coordinator at Ovations, the conversation features Chris Sousa Wynn, Meghna Singh, and James LaPlante.

Together, they explore what “immersive” actually means, where technology enters the creative process, and how artists navigate the increasingly complicated questions surrounding AI, authorship, accessibility, and digital ethics.

But the conversation goes beyond the tools themselves.

How can technology deepen our sense of presence rather than divide our attention? Can accessibility become an artistic catalyst? How do we invite new audiences into performance without sacrificing the communal experience at the heart of live art? And as artists collaborate more frequently with programmers, engineers, algorithms, and emerging systems, where does authorship live?

Looking toward the future, the group considers what artists and institutions need in order to experiment responsibly, what emerging artists should be learning now, and what possibilities become available when technology is placed in service of human connection.

Ultimately, Seeking Resonance returns to a simple question:

In a world where we can experience almost anything through a screen, why does gathering together still matter?

Record Date: Wednesday, September 16th, 2026
Air Date:‍ ‍Thursday, October 1st, 2026

Hosted by: Josh Hsu, Forge Theater Labs
Guest Host: Katelyn Manfre, Portland Ovations

Featuring: James LaPlante, Dr. Meghna Singh, and Christopher Sousa Wynn

Video Editing by Nathan Gregory

Audio Editing by Cory Macgowan

Seeking Resonance: Virtual Worlds is presented as part of A Forge Theater Labs In Conversation Series, in partnership with Portland Ovations.

This episode was brought to you in part by Maine Humanities Council and Indigo Arts Alliance.

Show Notes

From James LaPlante

The 40 foot fabric structure James LaPlante created projected animation for using a single projector with a robotic mirror.

The Qualtum Lotus project at Bates Immersive Lab. Twin fabric lotus structures fully projected with interactivity and audience motion scanning. Interactivity version 2 testing.

Footage of Encounters

From Dr. Meghna Singh

View her work

From Christopher Sousa-Wynn

Follow him on LinkedIn

TeamLab

Lucas Museum of Narrative Art

Record Date: Monday, August 10th, 2026
Air Date:‍ ‍Tuesday, August 25th, 2026
Hosted by Joshua N Hsu
Postproduction by Sam Rapaport
Featuring Rachel Jane Henry, Jess Libby, and Ian Mer

SYNOPSIS

Host Joshua N Hsu welcomes SecondStory Theatre Company to explore the shared belief that theatre can be a space for dialogue, connection, and civic engagement—and how that philosophy has shaped the company from the very beginning.

Episode 1.16 Forge Theater Labs Company Showcase: Fox Bramble

Record Date: Thursday, July 23rd, 2026
Air Date:‍ ‍Tuesday, August 4th, 2026
Hosted by Joshua N Hsu
Postproduction by Sam Rapaport
Featuring Todd Brian Bacchus and Dr. Beka Bryer

SYNOPSIS

Host Joshua N Hsu welcomes Todd Brian Bacchus and Dr. Beka Bryer to talk about their latest adventure and Maine’s newest company, Fox Bramble, and why absurdism feels more relevant than ever.

Episode 1.15 Forge Theater Labs Designer Spotlight: Molly Maslak

Record Date: Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026
Air Date:‍ ‍Tuesday, July 14th, 2026
Hosted by Joshua N Hsu
Postproduction by Sam Rapaport
Featuring Molly Maslak

SYNOPSIS

Host Joshua N Hsu invites puppeteer and storyteller Molly Maslak to share her insights on the art of puppetry, from materials and movement to storytelling and audience engagement. They explore how natural objects inspire her work and what puppetry teaches us about attention, empathy, and wonder.

Episode 1.14 Forge Theater Labs Designer Spotlight: R.I.S.E.

Record Date: Tuesday, June 16th, 2026
Air Date:‍ ‍Tuesday, July 7th, 2026
Hosted by Joshua N Hsu
Postproduction by Sam Rapaport
Featuring Szu-Feng Chen, Naoko Skala, and Miso Wei

SYNOPSIS

Host Joshua N Hsu hosts the three founders of R.I.S.E., a dedicated community for Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander professionals and students in Theatre Design, Technology, and Management across the United States, and how their early educational and professional experiences inspired them to seek and build spaces that foster connection, mentorship, and most of all artistic exchange.

Episode 1.12 Forge Theater Labs Company Showcase: Good Theater

Record Date: Tuesday, June 9th, 2026
Air Date:‍ ‍Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026
Hosted by Joshua N Hsu
Postproduction by Sam Rapaport
Featuring Brian P. Allen and Gusta Johnson

SYNOPSIS

Host Joshua N Hsu hosts Artistic Director Brian P. Allen and Executive Director Gusta Johnson of Good Theater to explore how they’ve sustained themselves since 2002, how they’ve grown and come into their own space, and what the future holds in store for them for this coming season and beyond.