ANDREW HOEPFNER
Houseworld Immersive is led by Andrew Hoepfner. Hoepfner spent his 20s as a touring musician before falling in love with the form of immersive theater in 2014. Beyond the three major works of Houseworld Immersive, Hoepfner has created an immersive dinner gala for The Future Of Storytelling and an immersive musical at Ars Nova’s Ant Fest. As the Artistic Director of Gymnopedie, Hoepfner facilitates the sharing of his Bushwick arts venue with other musicians, fashion designers, dancers, and filmmakers. A sound bath enthusiast, Hoepfner has presented sound baths through his distinctly theatrical series, Waves. He works as an educator in the experiential arts through his workshop, Making Immersive Theater. Hoepfner has collaborated with David Byrne, Young Jean Lee, and Cesar Alvarez.
Hoepfner is an active voice in the immersive arts community. In 2022, Hoepfner released two Youtube videos as a resource for creators in the field of immersive theater. Speaking from the DIY perspective that is integral to his process, Hoepfner shares how to create a long-term immersive theater venue in Part 1. In Part 2, Hoepfner details how to use an immersive theater venue as a fundraising tool by sharing the environmentsfor neighboring artists.
Offering in person education is important to Hoepfner’s practice. In 2022, in tandem with the performance Bottom Of The Ocean, Hoepfner taught a series of workshops called Making Immersive Theater.
Hoepfner has also guest taught at Columbia University and New York University.
Hoepfner performed a series of distinctly theatrical sound baths called Waves, incorporating non-traditional sound bath elements like costumes, lighting, set, projections, electronic instruments, and noise. These events were partly a study for the upcoming performance Bottom Of The Ocean, and partly for their own sake.
In 2016, Hoepfner created the immersive component of a dinner gala at FoST Fest, the annual summit staged by the Future Of Storytelling. This dinner took place at the historic Williamsburg Savings Bank in downtown Brooklyn and was held in partnership with the New York Times.
Hoepfner spent his 20s touring in bands. In these photos, Hoepfner performs with David Byrne and Young Jean Lee in the musical ‘We’re Gonna Die’ in London. Also pictured, Hoepfner performs with Darwin Deez in Australia.
At the beginning of 2023, Hoepfner posted a video deep dive into the creative origins and history of Houseworld Immersive. From a hotel room in Nicaragua, Hoepfner spends two unedited hours sharing the inspirations driving each project, and how a sequence of running into new problems and coming up with new solutions spun into an eight year adventure in immersive theater.