JJ Ruscella
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ruscella Immersive · Orlando, Florida
I have spent a lifetime looking at the world through the lens of theatre.
Press & media- BronzeTelly AwardDirecting & writing
- WinnerSkyline Indie Film FestivalThe Karaoke King
- AwardedH. Hiter Harris III AwardExcellence in instructional technology
- Designed forLincoln CenterLive-action simulation stage
- Adopted byU.S. Air ForceImmersive design taxonomy
JJ Ruscella directs. Over thirty years that has meant stage plays, a feature film, a university donor gala with two hundred performers, live simulations for police and educators, and immersive experiences worn on the head rather than watched from a seat. The medium keeps changing. The job does not.
He trained as a theatre artist, earning his MFA at Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts, and spent twelve years at the University of Central Florida teaching theatre and film. There he founded the Interactive Performance Lab with UCF's School of Film and Digital Media, developing techniques for simulation actors and new forms of live-action simulation and immersive theatre. That work — putting a real person inside a staged situation and making it count — is the through line to everything since.
He went on to build the Shenandoah Center for Immersive Learning from concept into a student-run immersive design and production lab, earning the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges’ H. Hiter Harris III Award for Excellence in Instructional Technology, to co-author a peer-reviewed taxonomy for immersive experience design that now underpins how the U.S. Air Force teaches XR to commanders, and to create OrchestrateXR, software for designing and orchestrating immersive learning experiences. He co-founded Ruscella Immersive and directs its productions.
One craft, four rooms
- 1989–2008The stage
Directing and producing theatre in Central Florida and beyond, then teaching acting, film and performance at UCF.
- 2001–2013The screen
Feature film, holiday shorts and branded work. Directed and produced The Karaoke King; ran the acting program at the New York Film Academy at Disney-MGM Studios.
- 2002–2020The simulation
The Interactive Performance Lab, live-action simulation for police and educators, then building Shenandoah's immersive production lab.
- 2020–nowThe headset
The immersive design taxonomy, OrchestrateXR, federal public-safety work, and the experiences Ruscella Immersive designs today.
Selected credits
Direction & production
- The Karaoke King — feature film, director and producer. Winner, Skyline Indie Film Festival
- Santa Talks — Bronze Telly Award for directing and writing
- Shenandoah University Holiday Gala — produced and directed annually; roughly 200 performers, an 85-piece orchestra and a 70-person chorus
- Theatre — Romeo and Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird and Summer and Smoke at Shenandoah University; The Diviners at UCF and Shenandoah University; Crimes of the Heart at Flat Rock Playhouse, the State Theatre of North Carolina
- Kris: The Legend Begins — novel, published nationally
Labs, programs & institutions
- Interactive Performance Lab, UCF — founder and director, with the School of Film and Digital Media
- Shenandoah Center for Immersive Learning — founding executive director; grew the team from 3 to about 20
- New York Film Academy at Disney-MGM Studios — director of the acting program, 2001–2006
- Studio 52, Flat Rock Playhouse — designed, built and launched the education division
- NEXTWave Network Alliance — founder; participants include the U.S. Air Force, Apple, UCF, UVA, Insight, CDW and VIPC
Research, standards & public sector
- A Taxonomy for Immersive Experience Design — co-authored with M. F. Obeid, presented at the Immersive Learning Research Network conference, 2021
- Air University, U.S. Air Force — guest professor; the taxonomy became the foundation of the Air Force's Vector program
- Department of Homeland Security — work through SCITI Labs and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers
- Virginia Public Safety Brain Trust — director, VIPC Public Safety Innovation Center
- Virginia Governor's Smart Communities Initiative — led the Virginia Virtual City Brain Trust
In brief
For press
Short and long biographies, approved headshots, the Ruscella Immersive logo pack and production fact sheets are available on request, and directly in the press kit. Interview requests are answered by the founding team within one business day.
Open the press kit Email press