The DCPA Off-Center has announced full casting for the world premiere of multi-award-winning artist David Byrne and author Mala Gaonkar’s immersive production, Theater of the Mind, which runs August 31 – December 18, 2022.

“I’m thrilled that the world premiere of Theater of the Mind will showcase the amazing talent of the Denver cast with this all-local cast,” said DCPA Off-Center Curator Charlie Miller. “Denver is home to a vibrant community of immersive artists and performers, and this outstanding group is among the best in the business.”

The Theater of the Mind cast will play The Guide, respectively, and Jessica Austgen (Between Us, DCPA Off-Center), Annie Barbour (Murder on the Orient Express, Arvada Center), Donnie L. Betts (Between Us, DCPA Off-Center ), James Brunt (Mosque, The Black Actors Guild), Janae Burris (Between Us, DCPA Off-Center), Kristina Fountaine (Stick Fly and Animal Farm, Arvada Center)Lisa Hori Garcia (The Great Leap, ACT), Abner Genece (Stick Fly and Animal Farm, Arvada Center), Steph Holmbo (8 Million Protagonists, 9th Space Theatre), Jenna Moll Reyes (The Wild Party, DCPA Off-Center) , Peter Trinh (Everybody, The Catamounts), Maggie Whittum (Into the Woods, Phamaly Theater Company) and Amanda Berg Wilson (Sweet & Lucky, DCPA Off-Center).

For a list of the creative team, see theateroftheminddenver.com/meet-the-creators.

Inspired by historical and current laboratory research, Theater of the Mind takes you on an immersive journey into the way we see and create our worlds. Co-created by David Byrne and Mala Gaonkar, the show uses stories from their own lives to form a narrative that you will see, feel, taste and hear.

Experience the wonders of your mind for yourself as you follow The Guide through a spectacular 15,000 square foot installation with 16 other spectators. As you explore intriguing environments, participate in a narration, and try out a range of sensory experiments, your guide will question why beliefs, memories, and even our identities are less fixed than we think.

Warning: the brain can wander. Side effects can include a distrust of your own senses, disorientation of self, and mild to very good time. You may not be who you think you are. But we’re all in this together.

Off-Center produces unexpected theatrical experiences that put the audience at the center of the story. What began as a small theater test kitchen in 2010 has grown into a signature program line for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, which is credited with bringing immersive theater to Colorado and helping establish Denver as a national center for immersive arts.

Off-Center’s large-scale productions that have received local and national acclaim include: Sweet & Lucky created with New York’s Third Rail Projects, Camp Christmas with artist Lonnie Hanzon, The Last Defender with The House Theater of Chicago, Perception live music by Tom Hagerman from DeVotchKa and a 360 degree production of The Wild Party. With support from the Doris Duke and Wallace Foundations, Off-Center has been recognized as a leader in developing new programs that attract new audiences. Through off-center, the DCPA is the only professional regional theater in the country that regularly develops and produces large-scale immersive and experimental works.