About Visceral Theatre

Visceral Theatre is an energetic, immersive theatre company based in Kansas City. We produce work that creates immediate and personal connections between the performer and audience. 

Founded in 2019 by JT Nagle and Chelsea Rolfes, Visceral Theatre was grown out of a desire to bring intimate, immersive theatre to the Kansas City community. Inspired by such productions as Sleep No More, Then She Fell, Miasma, and Lonely Hearts, Visceral Theatre strives to explore the line between production and experience. The audience is brought into a new world and asked to be an active participant. 

The inaugural production, ICARUS, by co-founder JT Nagle was produced in the summer of 2019 at a secret location in Prairie Village, KS. Audiences were thrust into a story of loss, revenge, and forgiveness. Their next production, OMELAS, based on the short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin will premier at another secret location in Kansas City in the summer of 2020.

​Visceral Theatre focuses on small audiences, intimate stories, and personal connections.

JT Nagle
Co-Founder

 JT Nagle is an actor and director currently based out of Kansas City, MO where he is pursuing his MFA in Acting at the University of Missouri - Kansas City. After writing and directing Visceral Theatre’s inaugural production, ICARUS, in 2019 JT studied with Third Rail Projects in NYC during their Immersive Theatre Intensive. In Kansas City, JT has performed at KC Actor's Theatre, Unicorn Theatre, Coterie, EARTh, and the Multicultural Theatre Initiative. Before moving to Kansas City, JT lived in Chicago where he performed in productions at Goodman Theatre, Shattered Globe, Muse of Fire, Broken Nose, Oil Lamp, iO Chicago, and Waltzing Mechanics. Directing credits include ICARUS (Visceral), The Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare All-Stars, Chicago), and The Problem (University of Kansas). Assistant Directing credits include Richard III (Muse of Fire, Chicago). JT is currently inspired by the work of Punchdrunk, Miasma, Birch House Immersive and Blackout. 

Chelsea Rolfes
Co-Founder

Chelsea Rolfes is an actor and artist currently based in Kansas City, pursuing her MFA in Acting at the University of Missouri - Kansas City. Last summer Chelsea helped produce Visceral Theatre’s inaugural production of ICARUS with JT Nagle. As an actor in Chicago, Chelsea has worked with First Folio Theatre, Muse of Fire Theatre, Babes with Blades, Waltzing Mechanics and Oil Lamp Theatre. Elsewhere, Chelsea has worked with Syracuse Stage, Edinburgh Fringe and Montana Shakespeare in the Parks. She co-created Tokoyo - A Japanese Folktale, a devised piece exploring cultural movement, produced at The Red House Theatre in Upstate New York. 

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