Why Adults Need Pretend Worlds: The Power of Immersive Experiences

Join us for an engaging evening where makers, trailblazers, practitioners, and obsessive deep‑dive thinkers share their most captivating stories at your local bar in Houston!

Hosted by Curiosity Brews.

🗓️ Date: January 27, 2026

🕡 Time: 6:30 PM

📍 Location: The exact location of the event will be announced at least 1 week before the event. An email will be sent to the email provided at the time of purchase.

📚 Talk: "Why Adults Need Pretend Worlds: The Power of Immersive Experiences"

🎤 Speaker: Patrick Radecker, a civil engineer and immersive entertainment enthusiast

What can happen when adults step into the story instead of watching from a seat?

Traditional entertainment normally means sitting in the dark while something happens on a screen or stage. Immersive experiences flip that and put the audience into the world. You talk to characters and make choices that help to shape the story.

Many adults have forgotten how to play, but immersive experiences can bring that back.

In this talk, civil engineer and immersive entertainment enthusiast Patrick Radecker shares how one experience, Disney’s Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser, completely rewired his thinking about stories, connection, play, and imaginary worlds. What started as a bucket-list trip turned into an obsession with immersive theater, interactive art, and experience design.

Patrick will pull back the curtain on questions like:

• What are some of the tools that make an experience feel immersive instead of just themed.
• Why stepping into a story can resonate with us more than watching a similar story on a screen.
• How imaginary worlds and immersive theater can help us see ourselves and other people with more empathy.
• What design tricks creators use so that audience members feel like the main character.

You will hear vivid stories from inside various immersive experiences, learn some of the design choices that make them so powerful, and get a short guide to immersive and interactive options you can check out in and around Houston.

You do not need any background in immersive theater, theme parks, or LARP (Live Action Role-Playing). If you enjoy stories, like to people-watch, or secretly wish grown-ups were allowed to play more, you will feel right at home.

You will walk away with:

• An understanding of the range of immersive and/or interactive experiences available.
• A new way to think about play, pretend, and “escape” as an adult.
• A clearer understanding of why immersive experiences feel so intense and memorable.
• A few local ideas for experiences you might want to try next.

About the Speaker

Patrick Radecker is a civil engineer by day, who fell completely in love with immersive entertainment after his first stay on board Disney’s Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser. Since then, he has chased down immersive shows, interactive art installations, and LARPs whenever he can. He's been learning everything he can from other artists and creators, and has started designing and acting in experiences of his own. Patrick has spoken at Halcy-con, a convention dedicated to immersive entertainment, where he has shared panels with Oscar and Emmy-winning creators.

Grab a drink, meet curious minds, and explore interesting ideas at Curiosity Brews!

AGENDA

6:30 PM – Doors open: find a seat (open seating!), order food & drinks, and expect a bar line—arriving early is key

6:55 PM – Host introduction

7:00 PM – Talk begins

7:45 PM – Audience Q&A

8:00 PM – Have 1:1 time with the speaker, mingle with fellow guests, and order another round

8:30 PM – Wrap up

Also check out other Arts events in Houston, Theatre events in Houston.