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Zach.Fish

Interactive and Immersive Art

  • Portfolio
  • Speaking
  • Visual Art
  • Polycule (the Game)
  • About
  • Contact

The Story of the Inside

An original myth that depicts the invention of the inside by the first magician. Told as oral tradition, accompanied by live music, and physical theater.

Role: Director/Writer
Music: Walker Staples
Choreography: Sydney Lozier
Performance: Colin Epstein, Zach Fish, Sydney Lozier, Livanna Maislin, Walker Staples

Photographs: Animal

Dinosaurs Made of Dinosaurs

Where do our materials come from? Even the most “man-made” materials are crafted from the petroleum goo that’s been left to us by long dead life. Like a millennial oroboros, “Dinosaurs made of dinosaurs made of dinosaurs” is a piece about recursive consumption, where material form chases after material origins until it catches it by the tail.

Created as part of the Port Labs Oakland AIR program, 2024.
SOLD

Grace Window

An evening of acoustic music paired with 24 lasers streaming through the historic stained glass window in San Francisco's Grace Cathedral. A combination of the new and old, high tech and low, Grace Window asks us to slow down, breath in, and experience the power of light.

Role: Content Producer

Client: Illuminate SF

Venue: Grace Cathedral

100 League

100 League is a pop-up IRL interactive gameshow where everyone in the audience plays at the same time! Powered by our custom button boxes, teams of 4 compete against other teams in games of both knowledge and skill. Trivia, 8-bit games, trash talking and leaderboards, this game show will get the audience out of their seats cheering.

Role: Creative Director

Client: Strange Outfit/Two Bit Circus

The Lost Inn

Audience joins the crew of the Lost Inn in an immersive noir fairytale set in a historic mint. Follow the characters from room to room as they unfurl their mysterious tales, and journey into the basement vaults for a dark exploration of the characters' interior.

Role: Production Manager, Lighting Designer

Press: SF Chronicle
Award: 2025 No Proscenium Award

Client: 13th Floor Theater

Venue: San Francisco Mint

Photos: Jana Ašenbrennerová

Wasted

Created and displayed in collaboration with the Emerald Cup 2023's Sustainable Package Award, "Wasted" contemplates the relationship between new industries and waste. This piece combines projection mapping, LED neon, and packaging waste from more than 50 brands to create an experience that is both eye catching and through provoking.

Client: The Emerald Cup

Photo: Trevor Tarin

Rocket Sync

Work with a teammate to safely land your ship! In this fast paced, collaborative video game console, players flick analogue switches, plug in cables, and share information to navigate their ship through the asteroid field and safely to the planet's surface.

Role: Creative Director

Client: Microsoft Black Hat Conference/Strange Outfit

Developers: Common Opera

Exposure

Made from nearly 200 discarded covid rapid tests and in collaboration with a local COVID rapid test manufacturer, "Exposure" was created as part of the Urban Ore Artist In Residence program 2022. Exposure was created and displayed entirely for free with a $10,000 price tag.

Client: Clip Health, Concord CA.

Urban Ore Artist In Residence 2022

Nocturne X

An otherworldly forest of sound and light on planet Nocturne X. In this large-scale interactive playground, participants encounter a rich environment of extraterrestrial life that reacts to your every touch and movement.

This 3 month hybrid digital/physical installation wove together sensor reactive LED sculptures, real-time rendered Unity projections, and high fidelity physical environments to create an immersive alien planet. Participants arrive through an interplanetary space station, interact with alien plant life, and uncover the story of the explorer who discovered the wonders of this world

https://nocturne-x.com/

Role: Director, Producer

Client: Numina Studio

Venue: Gray Area, SF

Photos: Reese Brindisi

An Assemblage of Monsters

An immersive gothic fairytale in which participants are invited to explore the haunted home of Gideon Gray, and through arcane communications gain a glimpse into the mysterious events that occurred there over 100 years ago

Assemblage of Monsters unfolds in multiple directions, inhabiting hallways, parlours, window ledges, gardens, and staircases. Participants are cast as party guests, following the characters on two separate but intersecting storyline tracks

Multiple rooms hold interactive ephemera to provide a truly tangible story . Secret letters, forgotten photographs, personal items, scientific experiments

A dark, evocative fairytale portrayed through dance, physical theater, games, and scripted text

Read more: SF Gate Review

Role: Production Designer, Performer
Client: 13th Floor Theater/ Non Plus Ultra

Venue: SF Mint, Alta Potrero Building, Agape SF

Photos: Trevor Tarin, Elizabeth Noriega

I Dared My Best Friend To Ruin My Life

A massive online interactive misinformation awareness project, accompanying the release of a 10 episode web series based on a story from r/nosleep. Spanning well beyond the boundaries of film , the interactive narrative took place over 50 social accounts and 100 locations on the internet, weaving together a robust world of characters and interactive projects that could be explored by the audience. Led by a large scale Alternate Reality Game, more than 10,000 participants were treated to an engaging experience aimed at teaching media literacy and misinformation awareness.

www.TeamZander.com

www.EmetsCrossingNews.com

Role: Interactive Narrative Producer/Chief Narrative Officer

Client: This Is Definitely Real

Artisanal Blockchains

A physical cryptographic installation, Artisanal Blockchains aims to fill the need for increased exclusivity felt by the Crypto elite now that blockchains have been popularized.

www.ArtisanalBlockchains.com

Role: Designer, Fabricator, Lead Cryptographer

Graphic Design: Jenna Van Hout

Featured in: The New Modality, Val-U-Mart

Doortals to the Shattered Plain

A massive scale interactive theatrical narrative, spanning 5 days, 16 floors, and 8 thousand active participants. Each room in this hotel was converted into a unique setting from our storyline. Interactive characters roamed the halls with bands of supporters, questing after the magical keys to their inheritance and the salvation of the world. Festival goers were given the chance to fight alongside their heroes, share in their tragedies, and participate meaningfully in their victories.

Role: Immersive Theater Producer

Photos: Chayna Girling

Say Cheese

A 4 day outdoor immersive event set at an archeological dig-site of a famous lost city. Rival scientists battled senselessly over their theories of how to utilize their discoveries, meanwhile letting their followers descend into chaos and religious fervor. Unable to reach a compromise, the protagonists destroy each other leaving their community without leadership or plan.

This multi-day immersive theater event featured dozens of in world art pieces, coordinating to tell a single story. Interactive performers wound their way through the event, driving the emotional arc of the participants, and organizing their experience.

Role: Immersive Theater Producer

Photos: Chayna Girling, Trevor Tarin

The Museum of Cheeselantis

A one room museum dedicated to the history of Cheese-lantis, ancient lost city of lactose. The Museum of Cheese-lantis educated visitors about the traditions of this once great culture, and displays a variety of artifacts to give a full portrait of this lost people. The Museum was available for visitation only for a short while, onsite at the outdoor archeological dig-site of the city itself. Once inside, viewers were transported from a dusty and sun-scorched environment into cool, archival grade modernity.

Role: Museum Director/Curator

Photos: Chayna Girling

Space Pilots in Spaaaaace

A live-action, science-fiction radio play! Hear the performance transmitted over handheld FM radios as you follow the intrepid crew of The Punisher and their journey through space and time in their attempts to get themselves and a groups of diplomats home safely. This site is responsive piece that can be performed any environment, including festivals, stages, parties, or swimming pools.

Role: Company member, Production Designer

Client: 13th Floor Theater

Photo: Bob Epstein

The Associates

A four day immersive utopia, where we invited only the most carefully selected members of society to take part in our arcology. Upon sealing the doors, however, participants realize that the evils they wanted to keep out of their new society are already locked inside with them.

A multi-day interactive storyline with dozens of discrete interactions with semi-improvised masked multi-media characters. The Shadows whispers on the phone lines, over the audio, and inside the minds of the audience, slowly exhorting them to join their devious revels.

Role: Immersive Theater Producer, Character Designer, Director

Client: Private Client

Photos: Chayna Girling

Moon Oil

An up close theatrical experience custom designed for a cryptocurrency ICO. Moon Oil was a multi-sensory experience giving participants a real taste of volatile market forces. Moon Oil enthusiasts lined up for just a small taste of the miracle elixer mined straight from the moon.

Role: Associate Interaction Designer

Client: Mobile Coin

Ghost Face

A halloween event at a public venue. Attendees were given the opportunity to rid themselves of their inner demons, and give them faces so they could easily be identified. Containment and capture then became the priority, allowing the guests to party freely, unhindered by their inner demons.

Role: Game Designer, Performer

Client: 13th Floor and 20 Mission

Venue: Public Works

Photos: Dirk Wyse

The Magic Jar Hunt

A non-linear, analog scavenger hunt in which players hunt down 8 different colors of LED lit mason jars and collect clues to find a hidden prize.

Players received a card with a grid on it, and instructions to hunt down the 8 different colors of mason jars. The final clue led them to a vista location, where they found a magic box with prizes, and special audio story to tell.

The non-continuous format of this hunt was created particularly for family groups, or groups with mixed ages.  Since the order is not important, and it is all about the finding, anyone can begin to play at any time just by acquiring a map card.

Role- Game Designer

Client- Mendocino Magic

Photos- Marina Masterpiece

Uni-culture

An immersive mythical creature preserve in which participants worked together, assisted by heroic Parkies, to preserve a rare Sasquatch, while fighting off the monoculture of rampant Unicornism.

Role: World Director/Immersive Story Creator

Scope: Collaborated on the formation of the setting and storyline, created and designed the Parkie and Unicorn characters, relationships and styles, coordinated 40+ art projects in interacting with the main storyline, directed off-stage and roaming interactions between characters and participants

Role: Immersive Theater Producer, Stage Show Lead Producer

Client: Private Client

Photo: Neil Girling

Mythological Verification

A participatory active experience in which more than 100 festival participants took part both physically and intellectually in the storyline. Interactive field games, led by story’s protagonists and designed to fully immerse participants, brought the people into the story, and brought the story into their bodies.

Role: Game Designer, Director

Client: Private Client

Photos: Chayna Girling

Play More

A physical team-building workshop which encourages collaboration and real-time problem solving among students. Participants train communication, interaction, and relational skills, while also working within a fun physical structure. This workshop has been taught in more than 15 US states and 10 countries worldwide

Role: co Game Designer with Marria Grace

Photos: Sarah Duryea, Marina Masterpiece

Radio KSTK

A completely real, hyper-local, custom programmed FM radio station, broadcasting 24 hours a day during a multi-day immersive festival. In addition to music, both live and recorded, programming included interviews with artists and scientists, game shows, live sports casting, dating shows, divorce announcements, and 2 minute radio plays.

Role: Founder, Station Director, Program Director

Client: Private Client

Photo: Marina Masterpiece

Poachella History

A fictitious history diorama depicting the humble beginnings of Poachella State Mythical Creature Preserve. Six different artists collaborated to provide a seamless experience for participants, weaving together laser cut craft, hand done sculpture, raspberry pis, and custom soundscapes. This stationary exhibit was viewed over 500 individual times, by nearly 1,000 participants over 48 hours.

Client: Private Client

Role: Project Manager, Lead Designer

Photos: Evan Stiles, Chayna Girling

Snacks Be With You

A snack based belief system encouraging concious consumption, self-acceptance, and enthusiastic participation. Adherents could take snack-communion, read a sermon from the holy cookbook, or create their favorite snack in effigy as an offering to the Great Snacks

Role: Creator, Project Lead, High Reverend Radish

Client: 20 Mission

Photo: Dirk Wyse

Disco Party Monster

A multi-day meta-immersive narrative hotel party in which the client company was fictitiously selling itself off to increase the valuation of the company. This piece was intended to demonstraite the consequences of the confluence of art that you love and monetary excess.

Role: Immersive Story Creator, Character Designer, ARG Designer

Scope: Collaborated on crafting the story line and crafting of the meta-narrative. Designed personality traits and costumes of main characters. Created a wrist band based experience game encouraging spontaneous interaction between participants.

Role: Stage Show Producer, Costume Designer, Character Designer

Client: Private Client

Photos: Chayna Girling, Trevor Tarin

Total Eclipse

A satirical ritual in honor of the full solar eclipse, examining our relationship to formal ritual, collective experience, and cyclical transformation. Festival goers will exposed to a multi-day ficticious-information campaign of both scientific and spirtiual nature, culminating in a non-appropriative celebratory cerimony.

Role: Spectacle Director, Misinformation Collaborator

Client: Oregon Eclipse Festival 2017, w/Beigewater LTD

Photos: Chayna Girling

Pi(e) Savage Saves the World

A multi-day immersive fantasy festival in which participants band together to prevent a giant pie from outer space from smashing into the Earth.

Role: Main Event Producer, Puppet Show Designer, Immersive Story Creator

Scope: Conceived and coordinated over 30 artists and technicians in the creation of a stage show, integrating elements from emergent art projects and main storyline. Directed and designed a multi-dimensional puppet show involving space flight, lasers, and giant pastries. Collaborated in the character creation and multi-day storyline.

Role: Stage Show Producer

Client: Private Client

Photo: Quincy Cardinale, Trevor Tarin, Zach Fish

Donnie Speaks

What to do when a Ducktator seizes power? Party goers were treated to a one night oppresive regime, complete with uncrossable border walls, make media trolls, and a mass games performance giving tribute to the great leader. Participants were exhorted to join the Party Party, and preserve the values of the party all the way until breakfast. In the end, resolution could only be achieved when the quietest among us have space to speak, and their voice can be heard like a great roar.

Role: Main Event Producer, Character Designer, Immersive Story Creator

Scope: Produced 3 stage shows featuring over 60 performers and special effects including snow effects, bubbles, lazers, swarms of drones, compressed air cannons, clouds of feathers, and breakfast served for 1,000+ participants.

Client: Private Client

Photos: Quincy Cardinale

Art of Artificial Intelligence

A curated display of art pieces created by Artificial Intelligences or algorithms with minimal human input. In some cases, humans are involved in the performance of the art, others are exclusively machine based. This piece explored the ideas of credit and ownership in art, intellectual property, humanity, and what it takes to be an artist.

Role: Curator, Video Designer

Find Yourself

A massively scalable, asynchronous name game, designed to spark spontaneous interaction between participants and catalyze the creation of intimacy. This low commitment, easy to play game has been tested on groups over over 1,00 people, and sends players on a journey through the event on a search for themselves. Participants will find pleasure in the pursuit, and in the defense of the selves they most hold dear.

Role: Game Designer

Fun and Games

You are never to old to play.  This workshop will get people up on their feet and out of their seats to play collaborative, low pressure, physical games that can be used in any environment.  Fun and Games gets people working together, moving, speaking, and learning in ways they never have before. We play a variety of fun, easy to learn, physical games that can be enjoyed by all everyone.  We'll be looking at big group games, small group games, partner games, and circle games. We’ll play some traditional games that have been around for a long time, and we’ll share some new games that we’ve created just for this experience.  Come have the type of fun that's usually reserved for kids. No prerequisites, no physical requirements, (no kids allowed).

Role: Game Designer

Collaborator: Marria Grace

Photo: Sarah Duryeah, Daniel Calvert

Strange Election

An all night immersive event in which 3 political parties fielded crazed candidates who competed for the favor of special interest art groups. Leadership was determined through democratic process in which money was fed directly into a paper shredder in support of the chosen candidate. After the money was tallied and weighed, the remaining mass was fired in celebration over the waiting crowd.

Role: Interactive World Director, Election Commissioner, Campaign Manager

Scope: Created and managed election and voting mechanics, collaborated on primary storyline, and managed all official election events. Collaborated on character design, and party structure.

Photos: Tom Bishop, Piotr Wojnarski and Elena

PokeMeme Go

An interactive and performance art piece which aimed to make people reconsider the externalities of their actions within the Augmented Reality gaming world. Festival goers were treated to innocous real-life verisions of they had seen on their screen, and were gradually led down a twisted path ending in mythical characters being exploited in lethal sporting environment. No PokeMemes were harmed in the making of this art piece.

Role: Creator, Director with Marria Grace

Client: Symbiosis Gathering

Ninja Hoops

Ninja Hoops is an martial arts, action comedy, hula hoop duo. Known throughout the world, Ninja Hoops has performed and taught in more than 15 countries. For more information about this project, please go to www.youtube.com/ninjahoops

Role: Creator/founder with Marria Grace

Photos: Greg Spickard, Melinda Ryder

Lunch is Coming

A four day event with a fictional environment based entirely around breakfast foods. A multi-level quest encourages participants to stretch the boundaries of their faith, and eventually join the Alluminuminati, the true beaters and shakers behind the world. Joining the Alluminuminati gave players access to masked late-night rituals, secret missions hiding breakfast morsels throughout the venue, tattoos to demonstrate loyalty, and a late night parade into Lunchegeddon.

Role: Interactive Experience Designer, Game Designer

Collaborators: Marria Grace, Benja Juster

Scope: Creation of a secret society within the party, crafting prophetic rituals and missions to involve those most committed to the narrative.

Work Breed Die

A post-post-apocalyptic party in which what remains of human society finally emergences from their nuclear bunkers to celebrate. Conflict between two differing philosophies break out, and humanity pushes the button once again.

Role: Character Designer, World Building Team, Performer

The Story of the Inside

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Dinosaurs Made of Dinosaurs

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Grace Window

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100 League

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The Lost Inn

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Wasted

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Rocket Sync

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Exposure

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Nocturne X

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An Assemblage of Monsters

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I Dared My Best Friend To Ruin My Life

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Artisanal Blockchains

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Doortals to the Shattered Plain

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Say Cheese

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The Museum of Cheeselantis

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Space Pilots in Spaaaaace

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The Associates

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Moon Oil

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Ghost Face

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The Magic Jar Hunt

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Uni-culture

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Mythological Verification

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Play More

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Radio KSTK

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Poachella History

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Snacks Be With You

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Disco Party Monster

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Total Eclipse

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Pi(e) Savage Saves the World

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Donnie Speaks

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Art of Artificial Intelligence

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Find Yourself

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Fun and Games

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Strange Election

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PokeMeme Go

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Ninja Hoops

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Lunch is Coming

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Work Breed Die

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