We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kiira Benzing a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kiira, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

One of the most meaningful productions I’ve created was the immersive VR Theatre production “Finding Pandora X.” I created this production during the pandemic at a time when the myth of Pandora felt very timely. My creative studio built multiple storyworlds so that we could bring live Broadway talent together in a 3D virtual space with audiences from around the world. Those audiences had an opportunity for meaningful connection but also for an embodied presence that made the production very special. The audience asked for the opportunity to fly, so we built that interactive ability. At a time when we were all very bound to our homes,, finding the freedom and agency to fly in a virtual world was empowering.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m an Immersive Creative Director with a focus on Immersive Theatre and XR. I’ve been working within the XR medium for nearly a decade and prior to that was the Film industry. Services include live action and performance direction, creative direction, interaction design, user journey narratives and designing for emerging technologies. I founded Double Eye Studios, a creative studio that handles creative development and writing, live XR events, live action production, worldbuilding and UX.
I am proud that our studio continues to innovate every year. We have accomplished many firsts within the industry – first AR narrative, first ensemble-based VR Theatre, the first VR production on the world’s largest volumetric stage, and the first scaling hybrid theatre for audiences. Our production of “Finding Pandora X” was the first VR Theatre production to win a Lion award at the prestigious Venice International Film Festival.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

The production of Runnin’ illustrates my resilience. Runnin’ was filmed on the world’s largest volumetric stage at Intel Studios and I was the first VR director and first woman to direct on the stage. It was a technically complex production and both the artists and the engineers were amazing. The choreographers and dancers worked so beautifully within the technological constraints. My co-creator Reggie Watts was so much fun to direct on the stage. We did encounter many technical hurdles but I never gave up and saw that production through to completion and its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Society and the entertainment industry needs to keep making space for women and diversity. We have to find more mindful ways to interact with each other and remember the value of creative thinking.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.doubleeye.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doubleeye/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiira-benzing-89368a61/
• Twitter: https://x.com/DoubleEyePro
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@doubleeyestudios1715

Image Credits

Double Eye Studios