RWS Global Senior Executive Creative Directors Jason Sparks and Damien Gray discuss how technology is transforming the audience experience and enhancing artist performance
interview by Becci Knowles
As one of the world’s largest producers of groundbreaking live entertainment, RWS Global creates meaningful connections and customized experiences spanning from theatrical productions to events, multimedia and more. In 2024, the entertainment leader expanded capabilities into live sporting events with the introduction of RWS Global Sports.
Headquartered in New York, London, Cincinnati and Sydney with dedicated RWS Studios in NYC and the U.K. to serve its vast talent pipeline and client base, RWS Global serves major brands and corporations, theaters, cruise lines, sports properties, live venues, parks, resorts and more. Offering end-to-end services from ideation to operations, RWS Global’s team of world-class designers, creators, producers and visionary talent provide unrivaled scale, producing “over one million live moments every day.”
RWS’s client roster includes Apple, The Coca-Cola Company, Crayola, Europa-Park Resort, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, The FRIENDS Experience by Original X Productions, Hard Rock Resorts, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, Lionsgate, The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, Marella Cruises, Six Flags, Space Center Houston, Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway and many more.
RWS welcomed powerhouse creative leaders Jason Sparks and Damien Gray to the team in 2022. An award-winning creative director, director and choreographer, Sparks has worked in a wide range of mediums, from Broadway musicals and independent short films to award shows and concert dance, while Gray is known for his boundary-breaking immersive work for top companies worldwide, including Universal Studios Japan, Universal Beijing Resort and the Ocean Flower Island Resort and theme park in Hainan, China.
Given the rapid evolution of technology, how do you envision immersive experiences shaping the future of the entertainment industry? What specific trends or innovations do you believe will have the most significant impact?
Jason Sparks (JS): Empowering audiences by granting them agency is a crucial element in the evolution of immersive entertainment. This can manifest through direct interactions with live performers or through app-based platforms that allow audience members to influence the direction of a performance. Today’s audiences increasingly seek to transition from passive observers to active participants in their entertainment experiences.
Damien Gray (DG): Innovation lies in making technology invisible, seamlessly blending digital and analog worlds. We can imagine a future where we are fully immersed in environments, interacting with them and experiencing their responses. Everything is at your fingertips in your phone and every aspect of the live space can be interacted with through your phone. The phone doesn’t become a distraction; it becomes a supercomputer that pulls you into the world that’s been designed just for you.
What sets RWS Global apart from other companies offering immersive experiences?
JS: RWS Global boasts a dedicated creative team that continuously monitors industry trends and developments. With extensive backgrounds in theme parks, cruise ships, leisure entertainment, as well as Broadway and commercial theater, our team’s deep connections within the industry enable us to provide clients with exceptional talent and innovative solutions.
DG: First and foremost, we are about live performance. We’re about bringing the best out of dancers, gymnasts, acrobats, actors and musicians. We start with building the shows and focus heavily on getting them right on the page before we take it to the stage. We consider the guest at every critical key point in their experience.
Can you elaborate on your company’s unique focus on cruise ships and how this differentiates you from competitors?
JS: Understanding the mindset of cruise passengers is essential. These individuals are on vacation, and it is important for us to engage with them in a meaningful way. Passengers select different cruise lines for a variety of unique reasons, and we recognize this diversity. As a result, we customize our entertainment offerings to align with the specific preferences and expectations of these audience members.
DG: Cruise ships are perfect for the immersive world because everybody on the ship is there to simply have a good time and experience something. You have a captive audience and can create a varied number of experiences which involve them directly and which they feel are custom made for them. The variety can be vast. Even the ship itself, moving from one place to another, allows you to create immersive experiences connected to the location, so you don’t need to get off the ship – your experience continues.
When designing immersive experiences for cruise ships, what are the challenges and considerations? How do you ensure that the experience seamlessly integrates with the existing ship environment and itinerary?
JS: Creating any form of entertainment comes with its challenges. However, we believe that these challenges can serve as opportunities for innovation. At RWS Global, we take pride in being solution-oriented, viewing obstacles as chances to enhance our creativity rather than as setbacks.
DG: Craftsmen always must consider their tools. Often, we’re creating experiences where a technology might not exist and so we invent one. If we do that successfully, a patent is issued and then that experience is fueled by technology that was birthed by that experience, which is exciting on the innovation front. When someone says something’s impossible or “we’ve not done this before,” we say, “We have to do it, so let’s figure out how!”
Can you share some examples of recent onboard projects?
JS: The Exchange on Marella Voyager is a hidden, adults-only speakeasy, where guests enter through a pair of classic English red telephone boxes. Within the phone boxes, guests dial a specific number and must give a secret password to get in. Once inside, guests are greeted by characters who tell stories, sing songs and banter with the crowd.
DG: We recently launched the Bright Lights Society onboard Cunard’s Queen Anne. The Bright Lights Society hosts a variety of captivating immersive entertainment, transporting guests into multiple different worlds with an enticing array of daytime and nighttime experiences. Using industry-leading technology, custom visual elements, top-tier talent and unique food and beverage offerings, our team has transformed the space into different scenes, curated for each show.
JS: On MSC World Europa, we conceived an onboard guest experience by developing an elevated entertainment venue. Luna Park Arena comes to life each night with three interactive concerts, bringing together technology and stunning visuals to create unique experiences for guests.
How do you stay abreast of the latest technological advancements and incorporate them into your designs? What are some examples of innovative technologies you’ve used in previous projects?
JS: We recognize that consuming industry insights is as crucial as creating original content. Staying informed about our competitors’ work is essential for maintaining our competitive edge. This adaptability allows us to repurpose technology across different divisions; for example, innovations in our sports sector can be effectively applied to our immersive theater projects and vice versa. This interconnected approach fosters a dynamic exchange of ideas, distinguishing us in the industry.
DG: BlackTrax technology has been incredible in that we can follow people perfectly with lights and we can follow them with video and project on their bodies precisely. HOLOPLOT’s 3D Audio-Beamforming is incredible – we can bring one sound to one ear and an entirely different sound to another ear with beamforming. Innovations in sound now are becoming truly immersive and applicable across many disciplines.
How do you measure the success of an immersive experience?
JS: Success is defined by a satisfied client, the smiles on the faces of the audience, the fulfillment performers experience while sharing their art, and the lasting emotional impressions everyone carries with them for years to come.
DG: I measure the success of an immersive experience by asking myself the following questions: Could the performance have happened without the audience? For a truly immersive experience, the audience must be an active participant. Their interactions should have consequences that influence the outcome. These experiences are reciprocal: not only do we see them, but they also see us. A truly immersive experience could not happen unless that audience was there. The fundamental core of immersion lies in creating mystery and rewarding curiosity. •
