What does Immersive Theatre 'do'? By contrasting two specific performances on the same theme - one an 'immersive' experience and the other a more conventional theatrical production - Nandita Dinesh explores the ways in which theatrical form impacts upon actors and audiences. An in-depth case study of her work Pinjare (Cages) sets out the 'hows' and 'whys' of her specific aesthetic framework. Memos from a Theatre Lab places Dinesh's practical work within the context of existing analyses of Immersive Theatre, using this investigation to generate an underpinning theory of how Immersive Theatre works for its participants.

Documenting a theater project for incarcerated youth in a New Mexico juvenile detention facility, this book presents the script of a play about prison life, and interweaves the author's creative, self-reflective text (autoethnography). The collaborative experience of writing and staging such a play enacted by prisoners frames a discussion of larger social and political themes in the criminal justice system, and of the complexities of getting juveniles to engage with administrators and social workers as mentors.

What does Immersive Theatre 'do'? By contrasting two specific performances on the same theme - one an 'immersive' experience and the other a more conventional theatrical production - Nandita Dinesh explores the ways in which theatrical form impacts upon actors and audiences. An in-depth case study of her work Pinjare (Cages) sets out the 'hows' and 'whys' of her specific aesthetic framework. Memos from a Theatre Lab places Dinesh's practical work within the context of existing analyses of Immersive Theatre, using this investigation to generate an underpinning theory of how Immersive Theatre works for its participants.

Immersive Theater and Activism is both a book of plays, and a book about writing and staging plays for Immersive Theater. Through the creation of scripts that place spectator-actors in less explored scenarios within juvenile detention, wartime interventions, and immigration processes, this book provides practical strategies for directors and playwrights who work with immersive aesthetics. Although this book is framed by a particular approach to Immersive Theater, its ideas will be useful in the creation and performance of any theatrical and pedagogical effort that is less conventional in its use of audience participation. Ultimately, Social Activism & Immersive Theater puts forward scripts and strategies that will help practitioners create theatrical environments that are immersive and pedagogical; aesthetically evocative and politically provocative; simple and complex.