In the Los Angeles area, the term “immersive theater” is often associated with something horror-related. While the bulk of immersive experiences do tend to lean on scaring the hell out of guests, there are a handful out there that are branching off into other genres, giving us a taste of something new. Needless to say, I was excited when an Instagram account called Ves_Corp began following me a few months ago, alluding toward some sort of experience.

The constantly posted photos of some of the world’s greatest scientists and inventors, both real and fictional, making me wonder just what the hell they were going for. Not too long after, their website opened, asking for people to sign up to beta test…something. Of course, I jumped on it, and patiently waited weeks for the next step.

Throughout that time, they began to drop secret messages in their Instagram posts, leading to secret parts of the website, all the while adding more to their overall story. A video was found (that was eventually posted on Instagram) of a man testing out some sort of equipment in a garage, and then popping out of existence. Needless to say, any sort of science fiction immersive theater excited me greatly!

Finally, slots to beta test opened up, and I quickly jumped on one of the few available on their third evening of tests. At last, my day came, and I arrived at the locations, as per the address they sent me, earlier than expected. I was next to a neighborhood, and was curious where to go.

However, the address they gave me led me to the wrong location when using Apple maps (a few others had this same issue), and after some scrambling, I was running across the street, to the other end of the street I was on, to find them. I was 10 minutes late, hot and sweaty, and somewhat annoyed by the mix up. I tried not to let it get the best of me, signed my waiver, and was given an ID card, before being told to climb into the back of the waiting U-Haul truck.

Now, as a fan of haunts, being told to climb into a truck such as this is no big deal for me…it happens all the time! However, I was concerned as to how the experience was going to play out here. Since their earlier, hidden, video gave off an air of “back alley, garage mad scientist” vibe, it definitely fit into the story, but I was curious how they were going to pull it off.

After a brief introduction, and being fitted with the same backpack that caused the scientist to blink out of existence in the aforementioned video (they called it the Vesuvius 1), headphones were placed over my ears, and we began the test.

If I am interpreting the story correctly, the pack is a device that allows you to travel through dimensions and see other worlds. At least, that is what I got from what I learned before arriving, and what took place in the truck.

What was unique about this was how they were able to use the small, confined space of the truck to make you feel like you were elsewhere once the proceedings got underway. In the darkness of the truck, with the pack pulsating in time to the music and sounds playing in my headphones, two strange experiences unfolded before me. As far as theater pieces go, it was definitely well-done, and it was great to have a group pull off something like this and have it NOT be horror-related.

My qualm about the experience itself is that a chunk of it seemed very similar to event I experienced last year during the Halloween season. After asking some friends who also did it, our consensus was the same: if they did NOT do the other event, they loved it, and if they did, they found it very similar and it took them out of the story a bit.

It was also much shorter than I anticipated…I thought that, because of my being late due to the directions, I received an abbreviated show. However, again, after consulting with friends, we all got the same thing. It seemed like I was in and out of the truck in no time at all, and I found myself wishing for more time with the device.

While no means a bad show, it did stay true to its “beta test” nature, and felt like more of a trial than anything else. It seemed like the Ves Corp team is testing the waters, to see what they can do in these new, unique spaces, before expanding into something else.

This is new theater, and I am excited by the prospects of it. I think, much like they preach and with some refinement, Ves Corp can have a bright future in the immersive community, especially since they are going with the science fiction angle. I am happy to support new, emerging groups, especially if they continue to try new things and branch out from what we know.

Though I did leave with a sense of wanting more, at the time of this writing, I am still unsure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I do know that I will continue to watch Ves Corp, and see what their next experience holds.

For more information, be sure to follow them on Instagram, and sign up for updates on their website.