Why Immersive Theatre?
An immersive format allows for students to become active participants rather than passive audience members. Emit’s immersive theatre format fosters inquiry-based learning. This active learning supports some of the main tenets of the ELA Common Core standards, such as the integration of knowledge and ideas as well as comprehension and collaboration.
By giving our student audiences complete autonomy over how they experience the story and focusing on the characters and their emotional journeys, Emit productions directly support development in all core-competencies of social emotional learning: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making.
Our current research shows that 97.8% of our students leaving an immersive experience describe themselves as having a clearer knowledge of the text, as opposed to the 88.2% who only engage in a standard production.
Press and Testimonials
"[Emit] brought exactly the educational experience that was promised, and presented this classic text in a way that actually felt like it could be comprehensible and fun for students. Rather than getting a watered-down or pandering school assembly, we were presented with a vibrant and focused lesson on diversity and storytelling, and an accessible version of Shakespeare that somehow felt fresh."
— Leah Ableson, No Proscenium
"I really enjoyed the production as I was able to interact with the characters which gave me a better understanding of their motives and goals. Overall, the performance was very fun and helped me understand The Tempest and the characters in it much better."
— Myra, Age 14
— Laura Lee, parent and educator at Wingspan Arts
"Emit's time in my classroom, both the pre-show workshop and the immersive production, allowed my students to engage with Shakespeare in an entirely new way. Their hands-on, exciting, and passion-filled approach gave them a window into just how powerful and interesting Shakespeare can be. "
— Justin Gray, Theatre Teacher, Brooklyn HS of the Arts
“I believe that this is the direction that theater and literacy-learning for young people should be taking: Emit created an authentic learning environment that gave the students ownership and agency within the story and the environment, connected them to adults who bring words to life, and went beyond just involving the students but actually made their participation essential to the outcome.”
— Lindsay Tanner, Head of Expressive Arts, Academics West
"I LOVED this immersive theater. In my mind, it was cool to see each actor’s interpretation of their character...This immersive theater made the play much more lively and it enabled me to fully understand what was happening, from not just one but two or three different characters all in one place."