About IRIS Interactive
Our Mission
IRIS Interactive creates free, immersive performance experiences that bring communities together through shared participation. We use interactive arts to build real connections and strengthen the communities around us.
Our Vision
What Makes Us Different
Every IRIS Interactive event is free to attend or priced to be accessible for all incomes. Each one is professionally produced by experienced event planners and designed to make audiences active participants, not passive observers. We do not put on shows. We build experiences people step into.
Our Story
IRIS Interactive started in early 2025 at a fan event in Southern California. A small group of creators, cosplayers, photographers, and event planners came together around a simple idea: what happens when you merge cosplay with performance theater?
Our first project, the Lantern Rite Commission, had seven performers. It worked. Our second project, Operation IRIS, scaled to eighteen performers across three different game franchises, with over 95% of participants completing the full experience. That told us the concept had legs.
But growth was not the point. The point was access. We had all seen how the creative community was locked out of creative experiences by high costs, exclusive networks, and profit-driven gatekeeping. Too many talented people were on the sidelines, not because they lacked skill or passion, but because the traditional event world had built walls instead of doors.
By mid-2025, we established IRIS Interactive as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a clear mission: bring performing cosplay and creative education to the Southern California community in a way that is accessible to all. Our name comes from a fictional resource we created for one of our original event stories, a reminder that imagination and storytelling sit at the center of everything we do.
We have produced seven events to date, serving thousands of attendees across Southern California. We are growing, and we are just getting started.
Nondiscrimination Statement
IRIS Interactive Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic background, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic. This policy applies to all programs, activities, volunteer opportunities, and employment practices.