Scenario grows and expands to meet client and industry needs
interview by Martin Palicki
Well-known industry fabricator Scenario has played key roles in themed entertainment projects around the world. Owned by the Kajima Corporation, Scenario is part of a portfolio of leading construction and development companies with offices in the USA, China, Philippines, Thailand, Australia and Hong Kong. Scenario’s USA division, led by Dan Moalli, is responsible for all projects in the Western Hemisphere, and the Asia Division, led by Tom Stapleton, runs projects in Asia and the Middle East. Dan and Tom report to CEO Rob Sirgiovanni.
Scenario recently announced the opening of their LA Studio in Los Angeles, California, expanding from Orlando in the North American market. The LA Studio will function as a design headquarters for the company, led by Steven Rambousek, Global Director of Design, and Natasha Wells, Director of Operations, as well as a team of designers, project managers, HR representatives, and financial services specialists.
Greg Senner, Scenario’s Director of Project Development, leads the company’s business development and estimating team, working to build and enhance relationships with industry professionals to expand awareness of Scenario’s diverse capabilities and global reach. We spoke with Greg to learn more about the expansion and planned growth.
Some people think of Scenario as “the rockwork company” but you can do a lot more. What capabilities do you feel often get overlooked?
Yes! We do a whole lot more! One only has to look at our body of work for Universal, Disney, Warner Bros., and others, to understand that we are one of the world’s premier show set fabricators, especially when it comes to the physical realization of the world’s most iconic IPs. Our artisans, technicians, engineers, and designers are in high demand, and we provide design-assist services to architects and design studios. We offer independent project, program, and construction management services, even if we aren’t a party to the fabrication or installation efforts. And our Launch division is re-writing the script on what it means to be a turnkey provider of attraction development.
Tell us more about Launch and your expansion.
With the Scenario LA Studio focusing on design and project management, we have shifted all US fabrication to our two Orlando locations. Combined, these facilities have over 175,000 square feet of shop, office, and storage space, allowing us to design, fabricate and stage scenic and thematic elements of any size.
The Launch division was born of a strategic partnership between OE Experiences and Scenario. Launch is a turnkey development service with a unique, innovative model, delivering business advisory, financial support, and construction management for all sizes and forms of location- based entertainment.
With the combination of OE Experiences’ background in financial consulting and business management, and Scenario’s decades of project and construction management expertise, Launch is uniquely qualified to bring experiential projects to life. Launch provides full- scale project development services, from blue-sky creative, business planning, project financing, design, and construction, through turnover to the operator.
We believe Launch sets the example for including all these services in a single, collaborative entity. Utilizing our collective expertise and industry connections, Launch enables us to form highly synergistic project teams by selecting partners best suited for a particular opportunity’s goals. This affords clients something of great value to them: a combination of expertise, easy communication, and clear vision.
What benefits does focusing US manufacturing in Orlando provide to clients?
The primary benefit is lower overall project costs. But there are other benefits as well. Orlando’s prominence in the experience economy has resulted in many of our clients relocating to or consolidating their global design departments there, making collaboration even easier. And as the number-one tourist destination in the USA, Orlando is readily accessible from many parts of the world. Many of our non-local clients extend their stays when they visit; they can enjoy all the region has to offer and get to know the industry better.
Being in Orlando also means we have access to a large, readily available pool of skilled artisans who help us create our work. Orlando’s skilled labor pool has grown by over 200% in the last three years, and companies in our space have all continued to grow as a result.
How will the new Scenario LA Studio better position you to serve the themed entertainment industry?
Not only does productivity increase, but the volume of design, technical assist, and planning work we can take on also significantly increases. Our capabilities in these areas are easily scalable and the depth of experience our teams possess is vast. We are looking at projects right now where we can design the entirety of a location and manage fabrication within Scenario and across vetted industry partners. Being a single point of contact and providing a consistent design voice, style, and process is a huge benefit for our clients within the themed entertainment industry.
Aside from the strategic advantage across time zones, it is important to Scenario that we continue to be easily accessible to our clients across the US and around the world. The three-hour time window between California and Florida helps provide a level of communication consistency that is required today.
Tell us more about market trends and how Scenario is responding to them.
Scenario is at an exciting point in its growth. Orlando has become a focal point for the themed entertainment market in the US, with its attractive business climate and significant pipeline of future projects. Our ability to support creative teams with our large pool of technical designers has seen incredible growth, as Scenario’s experience and expertise gets integrated into early-stage design and development, expediting project delivery timelines and managing project budgets more effectively. We are seeing increased demand for turnkey project development services. That’s why we started Launch, leaning into Kajima’s team of developers, our heritage of successful projects at any scale, and our partners’ industry-leading consulting and design services.
We are also seeing growth in projects that replicate nature in outdoor spaces, in hospitality, entertainment, and commercial markets. This perfectly aligns with Scenario’s capabilities as premier providers of rockwork and recreations of other natural elements like trees, water features and artificial foliage.
On the production side, we are always working to improve our project processes and equipment, as the demand to shorten project timelines increases. We have the fastest, most accurate rockwork system in the world. It translates large physical or virtual models into individual modules that retain the movement and fidelity of the rockwork design. Those modules are then exported directly into our 3-D fabrication machinery, creating individual “chips” or rebar sections, which are then assembled in the field like a giant puzzle. Our proprietary concrete mix is then “shot” onto the chips, carved by artisans, then painted. The entire process is 30% more efficient than traditional rockwork done in the field, while retaining the original creative intent. We are moving more and more into 3-D printing and production, and we are taking full advantage of having multiple production facilities across the world to balance our workload. At the moment, we have four shops working on a single project!
You are also going through a rebranding; what changes can your clients expect to see in the company?
Our rebranding is subtle and deliberate, packed with intention: “We are Scenario. We build the worlds storytellers imagine.” We will retain our iconic logo and will begin to roll out and announce new projects, products and people in the coming months.
We are intentionally adopting “A Kajima Corporation” as our tagline, acknowledging the gravitas and support of our parent company. As we grow our reputation to be more than just “The Rockwork Company,” leveraging Kajima’s contributions as an international general contractor assists focus and serves as an anchor to our roots. You’ll see an updated website launching soon that reflects the united efforts of our USA and Asia groups as one global company. It will highlight our expanded capabilities and company philosophies. This will, of course, also affect our email addresses, so please update your contact database appropriately when the official announcement is made public.
Scenario frequently works on high-profile projects that you can’t always publicly disclose – but the company is also mentioned often in Thea Awards credits lists. What are some of your favorite Thea projects Scenario has worked on?
Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi
Yes, we have had the distinct privilege of contributing to nearly 20 Thea Award-recognized projects since 2003. Of these, my favorites are Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (Disneyland, 2020), Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (Disneyland, 2021), Super Nintendo World, (Universal Studios Japan, 2022), Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure, (Shanghai Disneyland, 2017), and Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi (UAE, 2020).
How are you positioning Scenario for the future?
We see increasing discussion on this topic every day. AI, VR, AR, gamification, real-time customization of immersive experiences are all being projected as frontrunners for where the industry is heading. Scenario is fortunate that we have such a wide variety of career backgrounds and personal interests within the industry that help us to stay on top of these trends.
But I also think it is important to maintain relationships with our trusted partners and vendors, benefiting from their expertise when we collaborate on projects. We are currently designing a project that integrates audio, visual, and haptics within a themed restaurant on a cruise ship. It requires high levels of integration coupled with deep understanding of the unique requirements of a maritime environment. It’s these kinds of projects that keep Scenario evolving as a major competitor across market sectors.
Creating these experiences – even if purely digital – still requires design, integration, and management, which Scenario is amply qualified for. There is additional good news in that themed environments, rockwork, IP characters and IP-based attractions are all still very much in demand. People still want to be transported to other times and places, and Scenario has proven time and again our robust abilities to deliver the elements that make this possible. Scenario builds moments guests remember for a lifetime.
Scenario will continue to build on its global presence throughout the coming years, leaning into its ability to produce work in the USA, Middle East, and Europe, to manage projects of any size, anywhere in the world. We will continue expanding our capabilities as a turnkey developer of attractions, resorts, corporate, and cultural projects across a broad spectrum of creative inspiration. We will continue fostering relationships with industry partners. We will explore new ways to collaborate in markets where we do not yet have a physical presence. In short, we will always, always, always be in quest of ways to improve our performance, our workplace culture, and our ability to “Build Worlds That Storytellers Imagine.” •
