WorldStage has expanded its expertise in xR production with the opening of xRStage Times Square @ New 42 Studios. The venture is a partnership of WorldStage and New 42, a performing arts nonprofit which operates New 42 Studios, an array of 14-column-free rehearsal studios, at 229 West 42nd Street.
xRStage Times Square is the latest WorldStage LED Smart Studio location offering a production facility with a dynamic LED stage and fully immersive xR production capabilities. Extended Reality (xR) is an exciting new production technology that combines live-action camera tracking and real-time rendering to create immersive and interactive virtual environments. To date, WorldStage has built studios in Secaucus, New Jersey; Nashville, Tennessee; two in the San Francisco Bay area, as well as several in tradeshow environments.
Already well-known for its 14 rehearsal studios, ten of which fit the entire footprint of a Broadway stage, New 42 Studios has attracted theater, film and television clients as well as nonprofit performing arts companies in the two decades since its founding. Now, the addition of xRStage Times Square will provide those clients with new production opportunities and serve a growing roster of customers eager to take advantage of advanced technologies for their projects. New 42 partnered with WorldStage to utilize the LED volume for their June celebration in Times Square called “Let’s Get This Show on the Street.”
“xRStage Times Square is a very flexible space that suits many different uses,” notes Shelly Sabel, Creative Director at WorldStage. “With its adaptable seating configurations and LED volume, the space can serve fully immersive xR productions, projects requiring LED backdrops, pre-recorded presentations, live broadcasts and hybrid events with live and virtual audiences.”
The studio has customizable room layout options for bleacher seating from 64-140 people, plus lounge, banquet, classroom and meeting seating. The dynamic LED stage features a ROE 3.1mm c3ONE LED back wall (19.67’ x 15.73’) and angled side walls (13.77’ x 15.73’) for a total of 48’ of horizontal space. The studio also incorporates an interactive 5.1mm LED i5Floor.
The studio has a built-in production booth and a broadcast-ready video village located on stage and, like WorldStage’s other xR production stage locations, offers a complete camera and video package, full lighting and rigging, audio, and a webstreaming package. xRStage Times Square also provides all the services and amenities needed for any production, including dressing rooms, green room and catering space.
