How Immersive Theatre Gets Adults to Play Again | Carlo D’Amore, Live in Theater
Carlo D’Amore is the founder and creative director of Live in Theater, a New York interactive-theatre company creating immersive true-crime mysteries, trials, and audience-led performances.
In this episode of Entangled Health, Carlo joins physicist Thomas Ehmer to explain how interactive theatre helps adults play again, collaborate under uncertainty, and build connection through shared experience.
In this episode of Entangled Health, Carlo joins physicist Thomas Ehmer to explain how interactive theatre helps adults play again, collaborate under uncertainty, and build connection through shared experience.
What is the difference between immersive theatre and interactive theatre? Carlo defines immersive theatre as entering a constructed world, while interactive theatre makes the audience’s choices and conversations part of the performance itself. At Live in Theater, audiences become investigators, jurors, witnesses, and co-creators as they solve fictionalised or real-case-inspired mysteries together.
Thomas and Carlo discuss why true crime works as a participatory format; how performers create high stakes without a fixed script; what happens when groups must listen, improvise, and take social risks; and why adults often lose the ability to play freely. They also explore a harder creative question: when does protecting an audience from discomfort begin to diminish the transformative potential of art?
Topics in this conversation:
- What immersive theatre and interactive theatre mean
- How Live in Theater creates participatory true-crime experiences
- Audience co-creation, improvisation, and group dynamics
- Adult play, curiosity, courage, and social connection
- Why uncertainty makes participation meaningful
- The ethics of discomfort, care, and creative freedom
- Carlo’s Panic in Needle Park-inspired performance and empathy
About Carlo D’Amore: Carlo D’Amore is an actor, storyteller, and the founder and creative director of Live in Theater, an interactive theatre and gaming company based in New York City.
Live In Theater: https://www.liveintheater.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liveintheater
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlodamore-creator/
Entangled Health with Thomas Ehmer is a long-form podcast and research-media project exploring quantum biology, quantum computing, AI, biotechnology, consciousness research, and the future of medicine. We distinguish established evidence, emerging research, and frontier hypotheses.
Start here: https://thomasehmer1.substack.com/about
Listen on all platforms: https://pod.link/1819364423
Click here to watch a video of this episode.
Chapters
0:00 Immersive theatre as a social nervous system
2:04 What Entangled Health explores
5:02 What interactive theatre really means
9:45 Why small teams solve mysteries better
11:04 How adults learn to play again
12:32 Making the audience feel inside the story
17:12 Uncertainty and live performance (metaphor)
18:12 Three-act mystery structure for interactive shows
20:17 How actors guide every type of participant
23:07 From actor to founder: creating Live in Theater
24:18 Panic in Needle Park immersive work
27:10 Performing addiction in a real New York park
30:14 Why nobody makes eye contact in New York
32:47 Empathy, arrest scenes, and two endings
35:01 Can immersive theatre educate doctors?
35:53 Discomfort, empathy, and understanding
37:43 Audience safety, trauma, and artistic risk
39:46 Defending creative freedom in interactive work
45:09 When the audience becomes the spectacle
47:02 How a neighbourhood joins the show
48:42 Building community through play
50:41 Bringing La Movida to Madrid
51:06 Observer effect and improvised stories
52:57 How the mystery reaches its final act
54:23 When the audience goes off script
55:03 Chaos in the streets: cabs, Chinatown, choices
57:35 Interactive theatre for young audiences
59:16 How Carlo challenges himself
60:25 The practice of being present
62:26 Extreme sports, focus, and live performance
64:59 Holding attention in a chaotic city
67:19 Can interactive theatre work online?
69:22 Agency and attention in virtual events
70:35 Where to find Live in Theater
72:03 Corporate, hybrid, and global experiences
73:04 Take the leap before you feel ready
Entangled Health with Thomas Ehmer - We don't simplify for comfort. We entangle.
Submit your questions or propose a guest in the comments, or join the discussion on Substack: https://thomasehmer1.substack.com/
If you like it — thanks for subscribing and leaving a thumbs up wherever you listen 👍
Disclaimer:
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the host and guest speaking in their personal capacities and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of their respective employers, organizations, committees or companies.
Entangled Health with Thomas Ehmer is a long-form podcast and research-media project exploring quantum biology, quantum computing, AI, biotechnology, consciousness research, and the future of medicine. We distinguish established evidence, emerging research, and frontier hypotheses.
Start here: https://thomasehmer1.substack.com/about
Listen on all platforms: https://pod.link/1819364423
Click here to watch a video of this episode.
Chapters
0:00 Immersive theatre as a social nervous system
2:04 What Entangled Health explores
5:02 What interactive theatre really means
9:45 Why small teams solve mysteries better
11:04 How adults learn to play again
12:32 Making the audience feel inside the story
17:12 Uncertainty and live performance (metaphor)
18:12 Three-act mystery structure for interactive shows
20:17 How actors guide every type of participant
23:07 From actor to founder: creating Live in Theater
24:18 Panic in Needle Park immersive work
27:10 Performing addiction in a real New York park
30:14 Why nobody makes eye contact in New York
32:47 Empathy, arrest scenes, and two endings
35:01 Can immersive theatre educate doctors?
35:53 Discomfort, empathy, and understanding
37:43 Audience safety, trauma, and artistic risk
39:46 Defending creative freedom in interactive work
45:09 When the audience becomes the spectacle
47:02 How a neighbourhood joins the show
48:42 Building community through play
50:41 Bringing La Movida to Madrid
51:06 Observer effect and improvised stories
52:57 How the mystery reaches its final act
54:23 When the audience goes off script
55:03 Chaos in the streets: cabs, Chinatown, choices
57:35 Interactive theatre for young audiences
59:16 How Carlo challenges himself
60:25 The practice of being present
62:26 Extreme sports, focus, and live performance
64:59 Holding attention in a chaotic city
67:19 Can interactive theatre work online?
69:22 Agency and attention in virtual events
70:35 Where to find Live in Theater
72:03 Corporate, hybrid, and global experiences
73:04 Take the leap before you feel ready
Entangled Health with Thomas Ehmer - We don't simplify for comfort. We entangle.
Submit your questions or propose a guest in the comments, or join the discussion on Substack: https://thomasehmer1.substack.com/
If you like it — thanks for subscribing and leaving a thumbs up wherever you listen 👍
Disclaimer:
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the host and guest speaking in their personal capacities and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of their respective employers, organizations, committees or companies.
Medical Disclaimer:
This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this episode should be taken as a recommendation to alter medication or treatment plans. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this episode should be taken as a recommendation to alter medication or treatment plans. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
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