Mission

Nightshade Immersive Theatre is a new company based in Corpus Christi, founded by Ren Christensen in 2025. Born from a desire to challenge traditional ideas of what theatre is  and what it can be. Nightshade focuses on unconventional spaces and untold stories. We believe theatre exists everywhere, all around us. Our work steps out from behind the proscenium and into more accessible, abstract, and intimate settings. By breaking down physical and artistic barriers, we aim to create theatrical experiences that are bold, immersive, and accessible for everyone.​ The name Nightshade was chosen with purpose. Just as the nightshade plant is both beautiful and dangerous, we are drawn to stories that live in the shadows: bold, complex narratives that challenge expectations and resist easy categorization. At Nightshade, we aim to illuminate the unseen, the unheard, and the uncomfortable. We create space for voices that defy convention, and we gravitate toward work that thrives in ambiguity, contradiction, and emotional truth. Our performances take place in intimate, unconventional settings — not just as a stylistic choice, but as an invitation. We want our audiences close enough to feel the breath, the tension, the heartbeat of the work. This is theatre that doesn’t just entertain  it haunts, confronts, and connects. It lingers long after the lights go out.​ Nightshade Immersive Theatre’s first production, Constellations, marked the beginning of our journey. Staged within The Artisan — a cozy bar tucked in downtown Corpus Christi — the production embodied our belief that theatre doesn’t need a traditional stage to be powerful. By transforming an everyday space into a vessel for storytelling, Constellations demonstrated that meaningful, intimate theatre can happen anywhere. It was a declaration of our mission: to break down barriers between performers and audiences, and to bring bold, emotionally resonant stories to unexpected places.​ At Nightshade Theatre, the stories that once hid in the dark finally speak- and they're closer than you think. ​​