Revivalists Experiential Arts Lab (REAL) is a Philadelphia based immersive theatre company seeking to traverse the intersection of myth and reality in order to rediscover daily truths of our humanity.

Black Lives Matter Statement

Black lives matter. BIPOC voices matter. We at REAL Immersive continue to work to understand our place in a diverse community and our responsibility in amplifying the narratives of that community. We are committed to embracing and elevating the voices of BIPOC Philadelphia artists. If you have any suggestions for how we can better support the Black Lives Matter movement, our diverse artist community, or elevate the voices and narratives of these artists, please email us at realimmersive@gmail.com or ben.realimmersive@gmail.com to connect directly with our Artistic Director.

Mission Statement

The REAL Collective will incubate new original works and produce Philadelphia premieres using immersive techniques, focusing on empathy, community, and discovery.

Empathy -

• We will generate connection in a shared space with audiences 

• We will create narrative and physical spaces in which audience can experience understanding, compassion, and community.

Community –

• We will build a Collective of artists trained and experienced in the creation of immersive works

• We recognize that Philadelphia has a large BIPOC community of artists and storytellers, and that they are vital to who we are as a city. We are committed to supporting our community’s BIPOC artists and helping them tell their stories through the Immersive medium

• We will cultivate dynamic, site-specific work through reviving the spirit of Philadelphia’s culturally, historically, and architecturally significant environments OR

• We will create work in virtual spaces that speaks to the unique civic, demographic, and historic topography of the city of Philadelphia

Discovery-

• We will employ a full range of themes and styles and experiment with innovative rehearsal and staging processes.

• We will create new environments that allow both artist and audience a greater level of agency than found in traditional theatrical performance

• We will create entire worlds and new realities for audiences to explore, and to always remember that no world is complete without the people who inhabit it. 

Our History

REAL Immersive was founded in 2017 as The Revivalists with the found-text, site-specific musical UNITED. The show was a modern rejuvenation of a seminal event from America’s founding - the live readings of the Declaration of Independence which took place daily from July 8th-August 8th, 1776 throughout the American Colonies. The experience of creating UNITED, and the audience response, led the Revivalists to a renewed focus on a fully immersive vision. With that in mind, the Revivalists was re-branded in 2019 as the Revivalists Experiential Arts Lab, or REAL Immersive.