Third Rail Projects

What Third Rail Projects does

Third Rail Projects, founded in 2001 in New York City by Tom Pearson, Jennine Willett, and Zach Morris (25th Anniversary forthcoming in 2026), is a private LLC operating as a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas. The company designs and produces site-specific and immersive theatrical experiences in which audiences participate as active co-creators of the narrative, drawing on multi-sensory environmental design, sound, choreography, and dramatic writing.

The product portfolio comprises (i) live immersive productions such as Then She Fell, The Grand Paradise, Ghost Light, Ikaros, and Confection, deployed at venues including Lincoln Center Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, and Folger Shakespeare Library; (ii) the VR experience Wolves in the Walls, co-developed with Fable Studios and Oculus Story Studio; (iii) experimental short films, notably The Night Garden, distributed via Vimeo On-Demand at 2.99 USD rentals and 9.99 USD purchases; (iv) educational workshops and multi-week academic residencies priced at 300 USD per 4-session series (with subsidized 200 USD tier); and (v) professional consultation services covering concept development, dramaturgy, audience experience design, choreography, and staging for external clients including Ecstatic, Adventure Lab, China Dream Entertainment, Google, and Fable Studios.

Revenue is generated across five streams: ticketed live performances, workshop registrations, consultation fees, Vimeo digital content transactions, and donations/foundation grants channeled through Fractured Atlas. Capital structure is non-equity, with no disclosed venture funding or parent entity, and ownership and creative direction are concentrated among the three co-artistic directors. The company holds no patents or trademarks, and its principal intangible assets are a 20+ production content library, a Peabody Award (2023), an Emmy Award (2019), and multiple Bessie Awards and Drama Desk recognition.

Name

Third Rail Projects

Legal name

Third Rail Projects LLC

Website

https://thirdrailprojects.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Third Rail Projects is a Brooklyn-based immersive theater company that designs and produces site-specific, multi-sensory theatrical experiences, VR works, and educational programs for arts audiences, academic institutions, corporate clients, and arts organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Immersive and Site-Specific Theater

NAICS

Performing Arts Companies (7111), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Motion Picture and Video Exhibition (51213)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Musical Theatre (Non-Broadway/Fringe) (MPAGABAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Performing Arts & Music Lessons (Dance, Drumming, Instrument Lessons, Theater) (THAJAKAC), Alternative Content Exhibition (Live Broadcasts, Concert Films, Sports, Opera) (MPADAKAG)

Keywords

• Immersive theater
• Site-specific performance
• Experiential theater
• Theatrical workshops
• Audience-centered design

Headquarters

HQ city

Mamaroneck

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Performance Tickets and Admissions: Revenue from live immersive theater performances presented at venues, festivals, and site-specific locations. Productions like Then She Fell, The Grand Paradise, Ghost Light, and others were presented as ticketed live experiences.
2. Education Workshops: Fees from immersive theater workshops including the 'Immersive Makers' series ($300 for 4 sessions) and 'Writing for Immersive Theater' programs. Private workshops and residencies for institutions are also offered.
3. Consultation Services: Professional consultation services for creative projects, including concept development, dramaturgy, audience experience design, and staging. Services develop into deeper collaborations with various clients.
4. Streaming and Digital Content: Revenue from Vimeo rentals ($2.99 for 48 hours) and purchases ($9.99 for streaming/download) of documentary and short films including The Night Garden, Between Yourself and Me, and As Time Goes By.
5. Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations and institutional support for research and development, rehearsal space, performer compensation, and materials. The company is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas (non-profit arts service organization).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Third Rail Projects creates and presents immersive, site-specific theatrical productions in which audiences become active participants in the narrative. Beyond live performances, the company sells educational workshops on immersive theater creation, academic residencies, and creative consultation services for external projects. It also distributes experimental films via Vimeo and offers published poetry collections by its co-founder.

Product overview

Third Rail Projects is a New York City-based performance company specializing in immersive, site-specific, and experiential theater. The company's portfolio includes a diverse range of offerings: immersive theater productions (Then She Fell, The Grand Paradise, Ghost Light, Ikaros, Behind the City), educational workshops and residencies for artists and institutions, creative consultation services for external projects, experimental films (The Night Garden), VR experiences (Wolves in the Walls), and published poetry collections (Still, the Sky, The Sandpiper's Spell). The company is led by co-founders Tom Pearson, Jennine Willett, and Zach Morris, and operates the Global Performance Studio for international cultural exchange programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Global Performance Studio: An international program for cultural listening and exchange founded by Tom Pearson, which cultivates opportunities for artists from different cultural backgrounds to engage in diplomacy through shared practice, dialogue, and community building.

Products and services

• Immersive Theater Productions Site-specific and immersive theatrical performances presented at theaters, festivals, and non-traditional venues, where audiences become active participants rather than passive viewers. Targeted at adult arts and culture audiences and presenting institutions such as Lincoln Center Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, and Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
• Educational Workshops Online and in-person workshops teaching immersive theater creation methodologies, writing for immersive performance, and audience experience design, led by Third Rail Projects co-founders. Targeted at individual artists, students, and institutions.
• Academic and Partner Residencies Customized multi-week or multi-month residency programs for universities, colleges, and partner organizations that culminate in original performance work by participants. Targeted at academic institutions and arts organizations.
• Consultation Services Professional creative consultation services for external organizations covering concept development, dramaturgy, audience experience design, performance design, choreography, and staging. Targeted at arts organizations, theaters, entertainment companies, and brand clients.
• The Night Garden An experimental 28-minute movement-based short film shot entirely on smartphones, featuring surrealist vignettes and poetic imagery. Available for rent ($2.99 for 48 hours) and purchase ($9.99) on Vimeo On-Demand, and winner of more than 20 awards at over 40 international film festivals.
• Wolves in the Walls (VR Experience) Immersive virtual reality experience based on Neil Gaiman's book, featuring choreography from Third Rail Projects and created with Fable Studios and Oculus Story Studio. Winner of a Peabody Award and a 2019 Emmy Award for Outstanding Innovation in Interactive Media.
• Still, the Sky A poetry collection by Tom Pearson exploring Greek mythology themes of Icarus and Asterion, combining poetry with multimedia artwork. Winner of an Indie Reader Discovery Award in Fiction and a Readers' Favorite Book Award in Fiction-Mythology.
• The Sandpiper's Spell A poetry collection by Tom Pearson exploring littoral and urban landscapes, life, death, and memory. Selected as one of Kirkus Reviews Best Indie Books of 2019.

Quantifiable outcome

• Won a Peabody Award in the new category of Immersive/Interactive and a 2019 Emmy Award for Outstanding Innovation in Interactive Media for Wolves in the Walls VR experience
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fable StudioscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner on 'Wolves in the Walls' VR project. Fable Studios invited Third Rail Projects for choreography and motion capture work, which won both Peabody and Emmy Awards. The collaboration was pivotal to the project's success.
• Oculus Story StudiocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on 'Wolves in the Walls' VR project that won a Peabody Award and Emmy Award. The project was available on Oculus Quest platform.
• Emily Harvey FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProviding artist residency support for 'High Rise' project by Tom Pearson during acqua alta (high water) and Carnevale season in Venice, Italy, beginning early 2026.
• UIUC/Illinois Theatre - Daniel J. Sullivan Artist in Residence ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided initial development support for 'There's a Ghost in Everything' by Zach Morris, designed as a touring production for black-box theaters.
• Albany Park Theater ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing collaborative partner on immersive productions including 'Learning Curve' and 'Port of Entry' exploring immigrant stories in Chicago.
• La Jolla PlayhousecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPresented 'Ikaros' at the 2019 Without Walls (WOW) Festival. La Jolla Playhouse is a major regional theater presenting Third Rail Projects' work to new audiences.
• Denver Center for the Performing ArtsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPresented 'Sweet & Lucky' immersive theater production, described as 'unlike anything you've seen before' with extensive local media coverage.
• Lincoln Center Theater/LCT3coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPresented 'Ghost Light' at Lincoln Center, described as 'Third Rail are masters of the skewed perspective' by The New York Times.
• CEC ArtsLinkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided Back Apartment Residency Program fellowship supporting Tom Pearson and Marissa Nielsen-Pincus in Saint Petersburg, Russia for 'The Night Garden' project.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Punchdrunk: Pioneering UK-based immersive theater company behind Sleep No More, the canonical site-specific immersive production. Closest direct competitor to Third Rail Projects given overlapping methodology (audience-as-participant, site-specific environments, dance-theater vocabulary).
• The Wooster Group: New York-based experimental theater company known for immersive, technology-driven productions and site-specific work. Direct peer given shared New York avant-garde performance heritage and overlap in sophisticated, design-forward audience experiences.
• SITI Company: Founded by Anne Bogart and Tadashi Suzuki, SITI produces devised, immersive theater with site-specific and intercultural dimensions. Direct peer given similar ensemble-driven, design-led immersive methodology and overlapping university workshop offerings.
• Elevator Repair Service (ERS): Brooklyn-based experimental theater ensemble producing long-duration, immersive literary adaptations (notably Gatz). Peer given shared NYC base, avant-garde aesthetic, and overlapping audience of experimental theater-goers.
• The TEAM: Brooklyn/NYC ensemble producing touring immersive and politically engaged devised theater. Direct peer given shared NYC base, ensemble model, civic-thematic programming, and touring presentation model.
• Pig Iron Theatre Company: Philadelphia-based physical/immersive theater ensemble producing devised site-specific work with crossover academic programming. Direct peer given shared devised-theater methodology and touring presentation at regional presenters.
• Mabou Mines: Long-running New York avant-garde theater company producing experimental ensemble work. Direct peer given overlapping NYC experimental-theater history and similar ensemble-driven production model.

Regional players

• St. Ann's Warehouse: Brooklyn presenter that has hosted immersive and experimental international touring work (notably Punchdrunk). Comparable adjacency given shared NYC immersive-theater presenting ecosystem and overlap in audience development for site-specific work.

Broad incumbents

• HERE Arts Center: New York arts venue presenting experimental, immersive, and multi-disciplinary work. Comparable given shared NYC experimental ecosystem and frequent co-presentation of works targeting immersive-theater audiences.

Others

• Fable Studios: VR/narrative technology studio that co-developed 'Wolves in the Walls' with Third Rail Projects. Strategic peer given shared immersive content IP and overlapping Peabody-recognized innovative interactive media portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/trpnyc
• Facebookfacebook.com/ThirdRailProjects
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/third-rail-projects

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Third Rail Projects