Posted in: Games, Interview, Pop Culture, Video Games, VR | Tagged: Soapstone Comedy

Soapstone Comedy Founder on App Customization, Partnerships & More

Soapstone Comedy founder Aaron Sorrels spoke to Bleeding Cool about the VR Meta Horizon app's customization, partnerships & future.

To say Aaron Sorrels' (aka The Unemployed Alcoholic) plans to spearhead the standup comedy experience into the virtual reality world as ambitious would be an understatement, as Soapstone Comedy Club offers aspiring comedians their shot to test their chops to see if they can perform on stage like the pros. Unlike other performing apps on consoles, not only do would-be performers get to interact with their virtual audiences live, but they would also have the option to play interactive games via the Meta Horizon platform. Sorrels spoke to Bleeding Cool about the customization features and themes at the Soapstone, any current and prospective partnerships, and if he plans to expand features exclusive to Meta, elsewhere.

Soapstone Comedy Founder on Customization, Partnerships Like Gilda's Laughfest and More

BC: As far as the customization features, since it's an interactive environment, how broad are we talking here in terms of how users can change the environment? Is it something that you could change from the daytime setting or specific lighting features? Are there some form of knick-knacks? A lot are into the whole DLC, where they could put like window dressing, or will there be holiday themes? We're also in the middle of Pride month. What do we have working here?

AS: Yeah, for sure. We try to keep things seasonal and relevant, and there are more dynamic changes too. Like, one of the party games is called Rave, and when people activate that, the stage will turn into this competition field where you've got three people trying to mimic dance moves. Whoever mimics the most correctly, then they end up winning. At the same time, the Skybox, or what the exterior environment looks like, turns into this real techie rave type feel where you can see some computer lines across and all that. It looks like the ones and zeros are breaking through the reality of it.

As far as the future of Soapstone, are there themes or promotions where you're working to partner up, providing space for comedy troupes like Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Groundlings, SNL, Kids in the Hall? How big are your ambitions going?

Yeah, absolutely. Any organization like that, or individually even, if they're curious about the space, wanted to connect, and talk about something, I'd be happy to talk with them. Currently, we've got a number of collaborations that we do. We work with a comedy club in Grand Rapids, Michigan called Dr. Grins. A lot of times when the headliners will come in to perform there. We'll then do a virtual reality show in coordination with that, and that's been a really fun collaboration. They're great people over there, and then one that's actually playing right now is a collaboration we have with Gilda's LaughFest (named for late comedienne Gilda Radner). They're an organization that hosts a comedy festival that raises money and awareness for Gilda's Club, is an organization that provides support for anybody that's going through cancer or a grief journey.

Any other major plans in 2025 you want to share?

There is one thing coming up in five months, and as things unravel, I hope I can tell you. That's going to be super cool, but the biggest thing that we're focused on now is that we've got a good, solid community doing great shows. The key is that we want to share this experience with folks. There's a lot of people that have come in and found their tribe at the Soapstone. They've found their opportunity to express themselves. They've found their opportunities, and oftentimes discovered a love to entertain, and in that magical moment, we want to invite others to come in and experience that.

Do you have any plans to expand beyond the Meta platform to grow your audience? Are there going to be similar interactive experiences online like home consoles, YouTube streaming or Twitch?

Certainly, we want to connect with people on as many platforms as we can from a social media standpoint. At our website, there are links there to all our socials If people want to check out what's going on. As far as the platform goes from the get-go, we've been exclusively Meta Horizon. That's been my mode of operation my whole life, I would much rather have a few deeper relationships than a whole bunch of shallow relationships. That model's been good, and Meta has been a great partner through all of this, and I am excited about what the future holds as far as how this platform is taking shape and what it's developing into.

Among the choices Soapstone users can go are Hanalei Bay, which immerses you in a chill island vibe inspired by the magical Hanalei Bay in Kauai, Hawaii, which is available for ages 10+ and NYC, which casts a vibrant urban setting overlooking the NYC skyline for ages 18+. For more, you can check out Soapstone Comedy on Meta Horizon and Discord.

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