About Us

Ferryman Collective

Our company was born of the desire to explore what storytelling, interaction, immersion and entertainment can be rather than what it has been, to define a new generation of media with live performance in XR. We are a new kind of virtual reality studio, paving the way forward in this brave new world.

With a passionate team of multidisciplinary talents, Ferryman Collective aims to take you on unprecedented journeys into fantastic worlds and stories previously thought to be the stuff of dreams.

Founding Company Members

DEIRDRE V. LYONS is a Los Angeles producer, director, and performer, she is a co-founder of Ferryman Collective, creating live theatre in VR, starting with PARA, Krampusnacht, the award-winning Welcome to Respite, the co-creator of Gumball Dreams, named Best Experience of 2022 and Creator of the Year by XR Must. She was a 2023 SXSW mentor, included in the 2021 list of Top 100 Original Voices in XR, honored with the 2023 Innovation Award from XR Women and included in Volume 2 of the Global Top 100 Women of the Future in Emerging Tech, produced by Women of the Future. She is a sought-after speaker and a member of Television Academy and the Producers Guild of America.
Instagram – deirdrevlyons
Twitter - @DeirdreVLyons
www.DeirdreVLyons.com

Artistic Director Deirdre V Lyons

Director, Producer, Performer

DEIRDRE V. LYONS is a Los Angeles producer, director, and performer, she is a co-founder of Ferryman Collective, creating live theatre in VR, starting with PARA, Krampusnacht, the award-winning Welcome to Respite, the co-creator of Gumball Dreams, named Best Experience of 2022 and Creator of the Year by XR Must. She was a 2023 SXSW mentor, included in the 2021 list of Top 100 Original Voices in XR, honored with the 2023 Innovation Award from XR Women and included in Volume 2 of the Global Top 100 Women of the Future in Emerging Tech, produced by Women of the Future. She is a sought-after speaker and a member of Television Academy and the Producers Guild of America.
Instagram – deirdrevlyons
Twitter - @DeirdreVLyons
www.DeirdreVLyons.com

Managing Director Stephen Butchko

Director, Producer, Performer

Stephen Butchko received his Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre from Western Washington University. After moving to Los Angeles he began producing and performing in independent theatrical and motion picture productions with his wife Deirdre V. Lyons.
In 2020, Stephen made the transition to producing and performing live theatre in Virtual Reality when he became a founding member of Ferryman Collective. He is a member of the Producers Guild of America and most recently, the Television Academy.
VR theatrical works include: PARA, Krampusnacht, The Severance Theory: Welcome to Respite, and Gumball Dreams. Stephen is currently directing Ferryman Collective’s current theatrical production, Uncanny Alley: a New Day, in collaboration with VR pioneer Rick Treweek, based on his award-winning, dystopian VR world, Uncanny Alley. The production is being funded in part by the Unity Charitable Fund, a fund of Tides Foundation.
Twitter: @StephenButchko
Instagram: stephengbutchko
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/sgbutchko

Development Director Whitton Frank

Director, Producer, Performer, Marketing, Treasurer

Whitton Frank is a voice, film, television and theater actor from Los
Angeles. Her work in VR includes directing the English premiere of Find
WiiLii, performing in the award winning immersive VR worlds of The Under Presents and The Tempest, as well as the Ferryman Collective
productions PARA, and the award winning shows Welcome to Respite
and Gumball Dreams. A Ferryman team member since 2020 she is now a producer and director as well. She is a graduate of two prestigious acting universities, Carnegie Mellon University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and is a recipient of CMU’s Tartans on the Rise award. She is currently a sought after speaker at tech and immersive events around the world.
www.whittonfrank.com
Insta: @missredabouttown
X: @WhittonFrank

Company Members and Associates

Brendan Bradley

Partners & Collaborators

2026 Repertory Cast

2024/25 Season

Uncanny Alley: A New Day An immersive cyberpunk story co-produced with Virtual Worlds Company. This show had its world premier at the 81st Venice Film Festival and most recently was nominated for the 2026 Emmy Award for Outstanding Emerging Media. - Ferryman Collective production team: Deirdre V. Lyons, Whitton Frank, Stephen Butchko, and Christopher Lane Davis, a.k.a Screaming Color and Tanvi Agrawal. - Show Creation: Stephen Butchko and Rick Treweek - Theatrical Direction: Stephen Butchko - Artistic Direction: Rick Treweek - Writer: Stephen Butchko - Story inspiration: Rick Treweek, Deirdre V. Lyons and Clark Kohanek - Assistant Director: Deirdre V Lyons - World Animation and FX: Christopher Lane Davis - Avatar Designer and Creator: Rick Treweek - Original Music and Sound Design: Screaming Color - Voice Over: Bruce Barker, Ava Lucas, Adam Shedlock - Repertory Cast: Whitton Frank, James Hyett, Miles Berman, Athena Galvin, Ona Zimhart, Jacob Miller, Brendan Bradley, Jonathan David Martin, Nicole Eun-Ju Bell, Christian Copeland - French Repertory Cast: Nicole Eun-Ju Bell, James Hyett - Awards: Venice Fanhart3 Award, XR Must 2024 award for Best Interactivity/Performance and 2nd place for Best Sound Design, 2025 KFF XR Immersive Experience, 2026 Indiecade Winner: Performance Spotlight Award and Innovation in Experience Design Award 2026 Aurea Awards Winner: Impact

2023/24 Season

Find WiiLii: Episode 1 A collaborative cross -culture English adaptation of the original Korean production created by South Korean studio GiiÖii. This mind bending sci-fi adventure had its world premiere at SXSW in 2023 - Creative & Production Team: GiiÖii and Ferryman Collective - Executive Producers: Rene Hyewon Lee, Jay Kim, Sugon Kim - Korean Production Directors: Mina Hyeon and Sooyoung Choe - English Adaptation Director: Whitton Frank - Technical Director: Jungmin Hong - English Script Adaptation: Whitton Frank &Deirdre V. Lyons - Adaptation Producers: Stephen Butchko, Whitton Frank, Deirdre V. Lyons - Background Design/Visual Production: Kim Eunseo - Character and WiiLii Modeling, Animation: Kim Hyeonseo and Mina Hyeon - Background Design Assistants: Park Joobin and Kim Dayoung - World Animations: Christopher Lane Davis - Music Producer: Kim TaeYoon - Composer: Kim TaeYoon and Hwang HyeonSeok - Sound Design: Kim TaeYoon, Mina Hyeon and Sohee Kim - Voice over and Recording: Whitton Frank - Videographer: Choi Sang Min - Repertory Cast: James Hyett, Kelly B. Jones, Dasha Kittredge, Jacob Miller, Braden Roy, and Ona Zimhart - Additional Performances: Miles Berman, Nicole Eun-Ju Bell

2022/23 Season

Gumball Dreams An imaginative rainbow journey of renewal and transformation. Inspired by the world of Gumball Lounge, created by Screaming Color, and directed by Deirdre V. Lyons. It premiered at SXSW in 2023 and was featured at the 79th Venice Film Festival - Co-Creators: Christopher Lane Davis, aka Screaming Color & Deirdre V Lyons - Producers: Deirdre V Lyons, Stephen Butchko, Brian Tull, Braden Roy, Christopher Lane Davis, Whitton Frank - Artistic Director/Mandarin Version Director - Christopher Lane Davis - World & Animation Designer: Christopher Lane Davis - English Version Director: Deirdre V. Lyons - English to Mandarin Translation: Sun Vuong - Sound: Christopher Lane Davis, aka Screaming Color - Music: Screaming Color - Game Design: Christopher Lane Davis, aka Screaming Color, Braden Roy - Avatar Design: Brian Tull, Braden Roy - Graphic Design: Stephen Butchko, Braden Roy, Christopher Lane Davis, aka Screaming Color - Coding: SnugDad - VR World Building Consultant/Prefabs: Andy Aloisio - Repertory Cast: Brendan Bradley, Stephen Butchko, Melinda DeKay, Whitton Frank, Kelly B Jones, Dasha Kittredge, Deirdre V. Lyons, Jonathan David Martin , Ona Zimhart - Mandarin Cast: Chung-Jen Chao, Chia-Wei Chen, Yi-Yun Hsueh, Yuri Lin - Awards: Golden Fireball Award KFF 2022, Audience Choice Award SXSW 2022, Creators of the Year XR Must 2022, Best 2022 Experience XR Must 2022, Best Live Experience XR Must 2022, Best Immersive Performance Raindance Immersive 2022

2021/22 Season

Welcome to Respite A darkly creative look into the mind of Alex, who is looking back at their childhood while dealing with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Created by CoAct Productions and adapted to VR and co-produced by Ferryman Collective. - Original Production Creation: CoAct Productions - Artistic Director: Lyndsie Scoggin - Original Script Writers: CoAct Productions VR Adaptation: Lyndsie Scoggin & Braden Roy - Producers: Brian Tull, Braden Roy, Deirdre V Lyons, Stephen Butchko - VR World Builders: Brain Tull, Andy Aloisio - Special Effects/Animation Designer: Christopher Lane Davis Art Director: Danielle Levesque - Sound: Jeff Heimbuch - Co-Audio Director: Chrisopher Lane Davis & Jeff Heimbuch - Graphic Design: Lyndsie Scoggin, Stephen Butchko - Avatar Design: Beaux Cooper - Repertory Cast: Deirdre V. Lyons, Stephen Butchko, Whitton Frank, Christopher Lane Davis, Lyndsie Scoggin, Braden Roy, Eliot Adams - V.O. Cast: Jeff Heimbuch, Morghann Stevens - Awards: Best Narrative Experience Raindance Immersive 2021, Best Live ExperienceXR Must 2021 Best ixi Experience GIIOII 2021, Outstanding Achievement in Live VR Production No Proscenium 2021, People's Choice Award for Best Interactive Experience FIVARS 2021

Early Development & History

Born out of the pandemic, a group of creators started bringing their knowledge of real life immersive theatre into the Metaverse. Starting simple with a 20 minute proof-of-concept called PARA, they proceeded to create Krampusnacht, a finalist for the PGA Innovation award.

Company Awards

Augmented World Expo - Auggie Award: Best Indie Creators – 2025

9th International AIXR XR Awards - Rising XR Company of the Year – 2025

Support

As of 2025 Ferryman Collective is a 501c3 non profit company. All donations to the company are tax deductible and can be made easily through our website donation page linked below.