Living Stories Immersive Entertainment in the Modern Age

From Las Vegas’s new Sphere arena to the traveling Immersive Van Gogh exhibits, the future of live entertainment is immersive.This is the first book to offer a behind-the scenes look at these events, along with insights from their cutting-edge creators.

These days we don’t want to just watch our media, we want to be a part of it. Immersive events—such as the Stranger Things Experience and the long-running theater production Sleep No More--are growing at such a staggering rate that their revenue will soon outpace film and television combined. But what makes them work? And why? What does it say about us as a culture? And who is behind this revolution in entertainment?

In this eye-opening book, Charles Melcher, founder and CEO of Future of StoryTelling (FoST), has curated a selection of the world's very best immersive experiences, and sits down with their creators to learn what makes them so successful and culturally resonant: Disney Imagineering Studio Lead Scott Trowbridge will lift the curtain on his work on the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land at Disney Word and Disneyland and discuss what it takes to design immersive experiences that will be visited by tens of millions of fans; John Hanke, CEO of Niantic—creators of Pokémon GO—will share how he is getting gamers out of their basements and into the real world, turning everyday places into sets for immersive adventure through augmented reality.

Living Stories will be an invaluable resource for fans of immersive entertainment as well as the marketers, advertisers, and business leaders who are eager to learn about this phenomenon and how it's poised to transform their industries.

Charles Melcher is a creator, curator, and thought leader in the storytelling and technology space, as well as an early- stage investor and advisor to media and technology companies. In 2012, he founded Future of StoryTelling (FoST), a multidisciplinary story studio committed to creating transformative stories and experiences that bring people together, inspire curiosity, and enact positive change. FoST began as an invitation-only summit that drew a mix of thinkers and practitioners from diverse fields who are shaping storytelling in the twenty-first century. Inc. magazine named it one of the “10 most Innovative Conferences of 2016,” Adweek named it among the “7 Emerging Conferences Every Advertising Professional Should Know About,” and Forbes named it one of the top “Global Events Getting Immersive Right.” The FoST Summit expanded from a one-day event for 300 people to a week-long summit and festival that drew upwards of 6,000 people. Now, following the recent pandemic, the FoST Summit has shifted to a year-around membership program that includes virtual and in-person programming and networking opportunities— ranging from tours of the most cutting-edge immersive story worlds, to world-class speakers, to small-group meetings and social gatherings. FoST also produces content throughout the year, including apps, websites, films, and immersive experiences; storytelling workshops; curated exhibitions with local and international organizations; a monthly newsletter, “FoST in Thought”; and the bi-weekly FoST Podcast, which Melcher hosts. FoST also developed and teaches a storytelling curriculum and consults on storytelling best practices for companies such as Microsoft, Ford, NBCUniversal, and others. In 2019, FoST was engaged as the official Executive Storytellers for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota, which is currently scheduled to open to the public in 2025. Melcher also helps to run the Content Studio for the Library.

Melcher is also the founder and CEO of Melcher Media. Launched in 1993, the company helps international brands (Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, PepsiCo, GE, and Lexus), media companies (Netflix, HBO, Time Warner, NBC, USA, TBS, and Condé Nast), and individual authors (Oprah Winfrey, Al Gore, Lin-Manuel Miranda, J.J. Abrams, Kobe Bryant, and Eminem) to tell their stories via beautifully illustrated and produced books. Melcher Media has more than 15 million books in print, including 31 New York Times bestsellers. Melcher speaks regularly on the intersection of storytelling and technology at conferences, festivals, and conventions worldwide. Past engagements have included SXSW, C2 Montréal, EY Innovation Realized, the Milken Institute Global Conference, and Phi Centre’s The New Storytellers.