Beaudry Interactive, an experiential design and production studio specialising in themed entertainment, museums, exhibitions, live shows, and branded experiences, has shared insights into how Diva is shaping the future of interactive spaces.
Since the late 1990s, the pioneering work of David Beaudry, founder and principal of Beaudry Interactive, has advanced real-time, non-linear show control – empowering performers with live, in-the-moment management of sound and lighting in mainstage theatre productions.
This innovation has driven Beaudry Interactive’s R&D efforts, leading to the development of Diva, its award-winning, continuously evolving suite of hardware and software tools. In essence, Diva provides real-time interactive show control for both designers and performers.
Over the years, Diva’s capabilities have expanded far beyond the stage, powering interactive experiences of all shapes and sizes.
Diva has become the key ingredient in creating memorable out-of-home experiences, from activating entire lands in theme parks like Sesame Street Land to adding real-time magic to TV game shows such as Disney Channel’s Win, Lose, or Draw.
It also involves crafting engaging guest interactions in cultural and educational venues, like the Inspector Training Course at the Discovery Cube in Southern California, and reinventing character meet-and-greets, exemplified by Small Talk with Big Bird.
Diva is designed to ignite creativity and bring ideas to life, with three main components: tools for real-time control and manipulation of design elements; tools for sensing and analysing audience behaviour in live environments; and tools for effortlessly mapping those actions to creative intent.
Diva ISE (Interactive Story Engine)
To illustrate the power of Diva ISE, David Beaudry gives a real-world example of one of their past projects:
"Picture the scene: over 600 sound, light, and theatrical effects cues. Dozens of sensored props and set pieces. Couple screens. Two live performers. 20 guests. A choose-your-own-adventure-inspired script. Two shows an hour. No stage crew. No stage manager.
"Oh, and every show needs to be personalized to the guests in attendance. Go!”
In Diavolo’s Transit Space, Diva helped to weave poetry, sound, show structures, and movement into one organic whole,allowing performers to connect deeply with text and sound while their choreography intertwined with the space itself
Diva ISE has played a central role in many projects and productions, addressing the challenges of personalisation (how do we provide performers with information about who is in their space), performer empowerment (how do we give performers control over the show to help them shape the experience based on their audience), and guest empowerment (how do we put the magic in the hands of the guests).
The Trunk Show, Transit Space, Small Talk with Big Bird, and the Inspector Training Course projects all incorporate Diva ISE at their core, creating dynamic environments that provide a unique experience to each guest.
Diva SC (Show Control)
Diva SC isn’t your typical show control software. It acts as middleware that often sits between more traditional control systems, such as Q-Sys and Medialon, and a collection of stand-alone interactives.
The software highlights Diva’s technology-agnostic approach. Choose the best control, A/V, and sensing tools for the job, and let Diva SC integrate them into one cohesive experience.
Diva SC communicates via DMX, serial, TCP, UDP, OSC, sACN, TUIO, Telnet, and more. It is used in many of the firm's larger projects requiring high coordination between seemingly disparate systems.
At Sesame Street Land, Diva orchestrates all digital interactives and the Smart Bubble Wand, syncing with the park-wide show control system and allowing characters to transition seamlessly between interactive experiences and parade appearances.
Examples include Interactive Play at Sesame Street Land at SeaWorld in Orlando, Sesame Park in San Diego, and Currents Interactives on the Carnival Jubilee.
Diva AHM (Application & Hardware Manager)
Often working alongside Diva SC, Diva AHM is the control software that operates behind the scenes, ensuring the health and stability of the experience.
It acts as a watchdog, ensuring all systems function properly by monitoring and logging application heartbeats, CPU stability, microcontroller and sensor performance, and many other metrics.
Armed with tools for instantly relaunching, rebooting, and even power cycling malfunctioning systems, Diva AHM works behind the scenes at experiences such as the Putting District at Atomic Golf in Vegas, Atomic Odyssey at Atomic Museum, and the E.L. Wiegand Educational Activity Center at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, ensuring low operational overhead while delivering the best possible guest experience.
Early integration is key
Advanced interactive technologies, such as Diva, are most effective when integrated early in the project's initial design phases.
Valeria Beaudry, principal of Beaudry Interactive, says:
“More often than not, interactive technology is treated as a bolt-on layer, something added after the physical environment, spatial layouts, exhibition designs, or even immersive media are already locked in.
“This leads to misalignment between space, content, and technology, often forcing teams to 'jam in' digital elements that feel disconnected from the rest of the experience.
"Worse, it tends to force teams into developing expensive, fully custom solutions to make the interaction work, driving up the total cost and complexity.”
In contrast, involving interactive designers like Beaudry Interactive early allows the space, experiences, and technology to develop together.
Guest interactions become part of the architecture and flow, rather than afterthoughts. Throughout the process, the choice of proven technologies is guided by the experience, as well as their reliability and suitability.
This approach ensures the final interactive experience is not only cost-effective but also feels cohesive, intentional, and deeply aligned with the storytelling goals of this new built environment.
Beaudry Interactive is also helping clients develop distinctive, reliable, and cost-effective interactive experiences using its Adaptive Interactives framework.
Beaudry Interactive will be exhibiting at IAAPA Expo, which is taking place in Orlando from 17 to 21 November.
