Juggerknot Theatre Company and Live Arts Miami Expand Miami Immersive Intensive with New Industry Summit

June 4–7, 2026 | Downtown Miami

Immersive performance continues to gain traction as one of the most dynamic and rapidly evolving disciplines within the live arts sector—and in South Florida, that momentum is consolidating into a formal pipeline for training and professional development.

Juggerknot Theatre Company and Live Arts Miami have announced the return of the Miami Immersive Intensive (MII) for its second year, expanding the program into a four-day convening that combines hands-on training with a newly introduced industry-facing summit. The 2026 edition will take place June 4–7 at Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus in Downtown Miami.

Positioned as both a training ground and a field-building initiative, MII is designed to strengthen Miami’s role in the national immersive ecosystem while addressing a longstanding gap in access to advanced professional development for artists working outside traditional cultural hubs.

“At scale, immersive work demands a different kind of infrastructure—one that supports experimentation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and new audience relationships,” said Tanya Bravo, Artistic Director of Juggerknot Theatre Company. “This intensive is about building that infrastructure locally.”

A Growing Hub for Immersive Practice

This year’s expansion includes the launch of the Miami Immersive Summit, a fourth-day program open to a broader audience of producers, presenters, technologists, and cultural leaders. Developed in partnership with South Florida PBS and The Immersive Experience Institute, the summit will feature keynotes, panels, and industry conversations focused on the future of immersive storytelling.

The addition signals a shift from a purely artist-focused training model toward a more comprehensive convening that engages the full value chain of immersive production—from creative development to distribution, technology integration, and audience engagement.

Kathryn Garcia, Executive and Artistic Director of Live Arts Miami, emphasized the broader implications: “Investing in immersive work is not only about training artists—it’s about supporting new ways of thinking about space, audience, and connection. The field is still being defined, and gatherings like this help shape its direction.”

Global Practitioners, Local Access

The 2026 program will feature more than a dozen teaching artists and industry leaders from across the immersive landscape, including contributors affiliated with globally recognized companies such as Punchdrunk, Third Rail Projects, and Odyssey Works.

Among the announced participants:

Jennine Willett (Third Rail Projects), delivering a keynote on narrative design in immersive environments

David Feiner (Albany Park Theater Project), co-leading a workshop on Port of Entry

• Mikhael Tara Garver (Culture House Immersive; former director of Disney’s Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser)
• Zach Morris (Third Rail Projects)
• Brandon Powers (Lincoln Center Collider Fellow; XR choreographer)
• Sadah Espii Proctor (South Florida PBS)
• Abraham Burickson (Odyssey Works; experience design author)
• Casey Jay Andrews (Punchdrunk), joining virtually for a design-focused session

The program reflects a deliberate effort to bring high-caliber expertise into regional markets, reducing the need for artists to travel to cities like New York or London for comparable training opportunities.

Field-Building as Strategy

For organizers, MII is not simply a professional development offering—it is a long-term investment in ecosystem development. By convening artists, institutions, and media partners in one place, the initiative aims to foster sustained collaboration and position Miami as a viable center for immersive production and innovation.

Noah Nelson, Founder of No Proscenium and The Immersive Experience Institute, framed the initiative in sector-wide terms: “For immersive work to mature as a field, knowledge transfer is critical. Programs like MII create the conditions for that—where experienced practitioners actively shape the next generation.”

With limited capacity and a focus on participatory learning, the intensive maintains a selective structure while expanding its reach through the summit and virtual programming.

Program Overview

• Dates: June 4–7, 2026
• Location: Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus (Downtown Miami)
• Full Pass: $495 (includes workshops and summit access)
• Summit Pass: $175 (Day 4 only)
• Virtual Workshop (Punchdrunk): $45

As immersive formats continue to intersect with technology, public media, and experience design, initiatives like the Miami Immersive Intensive point to a broader shift in how the cultural sector supports emerging forms—moving beyond presentation toward infrastructure, training, and long-term field development.

More information and registration details are available at miamiimmersiveintensive.com.