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ABOUT ME
Learn more about me, my work, and my journey to this moment.
I’ve given keynote talks and led workshops about collaboration, immersive design, and the future of storytelling for the likes of:
Facebook
Breckenridge Film Festival
Storyworld 3.0
Stanford University
Creative Experience Santa Fe,
RealTime Conference
REMIX Summit
Next Stage Summit
Worlds in Play
Immersive World Adventure
My theatrical experiences have been developed nationally and internationally, including at:
With Austin’s acclaimed Rude Mechs
New York and Hollywood fringe festivals
hey, youLET’S GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER
I’m Joanna, a storyteller, immersive experience designer, and creative strategist focused on lighting up projects that have the power to shift the world through the alchemy of business, art, and personal transformation.
For nearly six years, I was the Senior Story Creative Director for Meow Wolf, leading story development and world building for multiple projects, including the Omega Mart exhibition in Las Vegas, Convergence Station in Denver, and the overall strategy for the company’s story universe. I am currently a narrative and experience design consultant on a range of projects, including with Jon Favreau, Chloé Zhao, Wim Hof, and for Virgin Voyages.
Throughout my career, I’ve has also crafted stories and experiences to inspire change for companies like Nike, Nordstrom, Dell, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and I spent eight years as a music writer for the Seattle Times.
My own creative work often explores mystery, wildness, and transformation. That work is fed by extensive training in spiritual and energetic practice, including with the International School of Temple Arts, and well as training in Reiki and kundalini energy facilitation.
I have an MFA in Playwriting from The University of Texas at Austin.
quick factsWHAT MAKES ME TICK
BIRTH CHART
☉ Leo | ☾ Libra |↑Scorpio
#1 BUCKET LIST ITEM
Tour as the singer of a country band.
DOG OR CAT PERSON?
I have both! Biscuits is the cat and Gravy is the dog.
PLACES I’VE TRAVELED
All over Europe— favorites include Slovenia and Greece! I went to Turkey recently, and I did an epic trip to Australia and New Zealand in my ‘20s. I’ve been to 43/50 states!
HOW I GET IN THE MOOD (TO CREATE)
Cold brew, comfy seat (either bed, couch, or hammock), creative energy meditation, a few minutes of warm up— either journaling or writing a prayer poem (poems that all start “A Prayer For…”), and then dive into whatever project feels most alive.
FAVORITE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES
Sleep No More put me on the path, And Then She Fell, and the Rude Mechs’ Now Now Oh Now.
MOST INSPIRATIONAL ART
Christian Rizzo’s b.c, janvier 1545, fontainebleau; “Awesome”’s West (both at On the Boards in Seattle); Rubber Repertory’s Casket of Passing Fancy.
MY CHILDHOOD DREAM
To be Nancy Drew or a marine biologist (why was marine biology so popular in the ‘90s??)
IF I COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT THE WORLD…
Liberate everyone from shame and trauma around pleasure and sexuality. I truly believe we could actually have peace.
Design Values
Good Trouble
I’m a loving disrupter. How can we challenge our audiences without alienating them? How can we use big-impact immersive design to invite shifts in perspective?
Fear & Excitement
The most memorable experiences of our lives generally strike a balance between fear and excitement. I design a careful scaffold of the two, in order to keep audiences leaning in to what’s next.
Presence
I believe that audiences come to immersive experiences because they want to be truly, deeply seen by other humans or the environment. I believe in designing for moments of authentic presence and connection between the audience and the experience.
World Building
Detail and depth matters. I spent years at Meow Wolf learning the art of building compelling, rich worlds that audience don’t want to leave.
Spectacle & Magic
I love the magic that can be manifested in a live event, whether it’s happening by cutting edge technology or good ol’ fashioned spit and duct tape. I design for all of the senses, and I use moments of audio/visual spectacle to create big surprises.
Don’t Forget the Body
How are we inviting the audience (and the creators!) into their bodies, inspiring creative flow, and championing physical and energetic connection?
Start With Why
In my experience, the success of any project rests of starting with a clear articulation and team agreement of why we’re doing it— why now, why us, why this? Then we quickly follow up with the audience experience goals: what do we want them to think, feel, do, and leave with? From there, we have a clear north star to return to at any time.
learn moreHere’s my story.
In 2015, smack-dab in the middle of getting my MFA in Playwriting at the University of Texas, Austin, I found myself on the floor of my apartment, considering checking myself into a mental institution. I was in the throes of a months-long episode of panic disorder, and fear had completely taken over my life. At the same time I was experiencing the most creative innovation and inspiration of my life, my body was fully disconnected from my mind, and it was sending up some very intense white flags.
It’s taken nearly a decade of study in energy work, ritual practice, and creative shamanism for me to learn to actually listen to my body and, more than that, learn how to partner with its desires and wisdom in order to access unleashed creative flow and wild inspiration.
For many years, I separated my professional creative work from my more fringe embodiment/spiritual practices. I’m speaking more openly now, though, in service of the collection liberation of our bodies and our creative spirit.
I want to work with others who are turned on by turning on creative flow in order to bring the most epic, impactful, and memorable live and media experiences into the world.
WANT TO WORK TOGETHER?