Lifting the Curtain on Theatrical Effects
Imaginary Worlds10 Sep 2025

Lifting the Curtain on Theatrical Effects

I’ve covered digital and practical effects in film and TV, but creating special effects for live theater is a whole other challenge. J&M Special Effects has been up to the task for 40 years. Their crew has worked on shows from Hadestown to Harry Potter and The Cursed Child to Disney musicals like Frozen and Aladdin. I get a behind-the-scenes tour of their Brooklyn warehouse, where failure is part of the process in figuring out how to make the magic work. I talk with partner and designer Jeremy Chernick, along with pyrotechnician Bohdan Bushell, about how theatrical effects have evolved with new technology -- and why they can sometimes be too good at their jobs in making the impossible seem possible. This episode is sponsored by Remi and ShipStation. Start your 60-day free trial at ShipStation.com and use the code IMAGINARY. Try Remi risk-free at shopremi.com/IMAGINARY and use the code IMAGINARY to get up to 50% off your nightguard at checkout Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episoder(300)

Murderbot Is Ready for Its Close-Up (But Not Eye Contact)

Murderbot Is Ready for Its Close-Up (But Not Eye Contact)

Murderbot is a killing machine in the far future that would rather spend its time binging an intergalactic soap opera. Shooting bad guys with lasers is much less stressful than making eye contact or e...

4 Jun 202538min

The Bright Legacy of Dark Shadows

The Bright Legacy of Dark Shadows

Next year marks the 60th anniversary of Dark Shadows. The gothic soap opera wasn’t originally intended to include a vampire, but when creator Dan Curtis introduced the character of Barnabas Collins in...

21 Mai 202539min

Body Horror Gets Under My Skin

Body Horror Gets Under My Skin

We all have that one thing we just can’t watch. For me, it’s body horror -- the kind of horror where grotesque and disturbing things happen to someone’s body, like in The Thing, The Fly, or The Substa...

7 Mai 202537min

Bonus: Syd Mead Full Gallery Tour

Bonus: Syd Mead Full Gallery Tour

Last week, we heard about a new exhibit in New York called Syd Mead: Future Pastime. The exhibit closes on May 21st, and I know most listeners won't be able to see it in person. So in this bonus episo...

30 Apr 202551min

The Optimist Behind Blade Runner's Dystopia

The Optimist Behind Blade Runner's Dystopia

The late Syd Mead was a visual futurist who was hired to imagine the worlds of Blade Runner, Tron, Aliens, Elysium and other sci-fi films. His work in Hollywood has been lauded for decades, but there’...

23 Apr 202536min

Blueprints for Utopias

Blueprints for Utopias

The golden age of sci-fi was filled with utopian visions the future. These days, when sci-fi creators project ahead several decades, the world is looking a lot more dystopian. But there is a group of ...

9 Apr 202539min

Mary Blair: Coloring Outside the Lines at Disney

Mary Blair: Coloring Outside the Lines at Disney

In honor of Women’s History Month we’re producing a two-part series about two artists who were visionaries and trailblazers. In part 2, we look at the career of Mary Blair. She changed the way Walt Di...

26 Mar 202536min

Bonus: Superstar Stuntwoman of Silent Cinema

Bonus: Superstar Stuntwoman of Silent Cinema

In the previous episode, I talked with author Mallory O'Meara about Milicent Patrick, but there wasn't room to include this bonus material about Mallory's new book, Daughter of Daring. It tells the am...

19 Mar 202517min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
konspirasjonspodden
aftenpodden-usa
alt-fortalt
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
popradet
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
wolfgang-wee-uncut
grenselos
synnve-og-vanessa
frokostshowet-pa-p5
min-barneoppdragelse
rss-dannet-uten-piano
fladseth
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
rss-frekvens-med-anine-olsen
opptur-med-annette-og-ingeborg