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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.
The Team
Deirdre V. Lyons I Founder
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
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
Stephen Butchko |
Founder
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
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
Christopher Lane Davis aka Screaming Color I Founder
Director, Animator, Music and Video Production
Christopher Lane Davis, aka Screaming Color, considers himself first and foremost a musician, and is also passionate about writing, performing, photography, filmmaking, 3D design, and rainbows. Two of his most notable film achievements include winning “Best Picture” and “Best Concept in Los Angeles” at Campus Movie Fest in two separate years. In addition to producing his own music, he has also written the soundtracks for three video games produced by Team Dogpit, most notably Slam Fighter II. His theatrical achievements include writing and performing a short one-man show about the life of Salvador Dali and a full-length autobiographical "electronic-dance-musical" called The Road to Dawn, which he first performed in 2017. In 2020, he created his beloved VRChat worlds Club Gumball and Gumball Lounge, which caught the attention of Ferryman Collective and led to him joining their team and creating the special effects, animations, and soundtrack for their immersive theatrical VR show Welcome to Respite, which toured internationally and won many awards in 2021. He then worked with Ferryman Collective to produce another VR show, Gumball Dreams, which takes place in the world he had already created. Gumball Dreams also won a handful of grand prizes around the world, most notably the Golden Fireball Award at Kaohsiung Film Festival in Taiwan in October 2022. In January 2023, he moved to Taiwan to convert and direct Gumball Dreams in Mandarin, which premiered in October 2023. His most recent work involves creating music, audio, animations, and special effects for Ferryman Collective’s third major production, Uncanny Alley, which will be featured in the Venice Film Festival in August 2024. The next (eventual) big thing on his horizon will be to revive and develop his aforementioned musical The Road to Dawn, this time as an AR experience.
Christopher Lane Davis, aka Screaming Color, considers himself first and foremost a musician, and is also passionate about writing, performing, photography, filmmaking, 3D design, and rainbows. Two of his most notable film achievements include winning “Best Picture” and “Best Concept in Los Angeles” at Campus Movie Fest in two separate years. In addition to producing his own music, he has also written the soundtracks for three video games produced by Team Dogpit, most notably Slam Fighter II. His theatrical achievements include writing and performing a short one-man show about the life of Salvador Dali and a full-length autobiographical "electronic-dance-musical" called The Road to Dawn, which he first performed in 2017. In 2020, he created his beloved VRChat worlds Club Gumball and Gumball Lounge, which caught the attention of Ferryman Collective and led to him joining their team and creating the special effects, animations, and soundtrack for their immersive theatrical VR show Welcome to Respite, which toured internationally and won many awards in 2021. He then worked with Ferryman Collective to produce another VR show, Gumball Dreams, which takes place in the world he had already created. Gumball Dreams also won a handful of grand prizes around the world, most notably the Golden Fireball Award at Kaohsiung Film Festival in Taiwan in October 2022. In January 2023, he moved to Taiwan to convert and direct Gumball Dreams in Mandarin, which premiered in October 2023. His most recent work involves creating music, audio, animations, and special effects for Ferryman Collective’s third major production, Uncanny Alley, which will be featured in the Venice Film Festival in August 2024. The next (eventual) big thing on his horizon will be to revive and develop his aforementioned musical The Road to Dawn, this time as an AR experience.
Whitton Frank I Founder
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
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
Tanvi Agrawal I Associate Producer
Business Development Manager and Associate Producer
Tanvi Agrawal (they/them) is a theater director from New York City. They regularly direct new works for PlayGround, a playwriting collective, whose national board they also serve on. Tanvi studied American Studies and Theater at University of California - Berkeley, where they wrote an undergraduate thesis on Augmented Reality and Transhumanism. They also served as a creative director for XR @ Berkeley's immersive cinema team. Tanvi is currently pursuing an MBA at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. Their professional interest lies in entrepreneurship and investing in XR entertainment.
Tanvi Agrawal (they/them) is a theater director from New York City. They regularly direct new works for PlayGround, a playwriting collective, whose national board they also serve on. Tanvi studied American Studies and Theater at University of California - Berkeley, where they wrote an undergraduate thesis on Augmented Reality and Transhumanism. They also served as a creative director for XR @ Berkeley's immersive cinema team. Tanvi is currently pursuing an MBA at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. Their professional interest lies in entrepreneurship and investing in XR entertainment.
Performers
Collaborators
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