The floors were still and the neon-colored rooms silent when I stepped into Meow Wolf Denver's Convergence Station for an early-morning rehearsal. Hours later, the same rooms would be flooded with guests, but for now, I was watching something truly strange come to life: Phenomenomaly.
Launching on Saturday, June 21, Phenomenomaly is a site-specific live performance experience staged inside the corridors of Convergence Station that tells the story of the Flickerwerm migration. The show turns the already surreal multiverse into a stage for a tale of transformation and interdimensional intrigue.
"My creative vision for this show is shedding light on how the familiar can be wondrous," says the Denver show's director and stage manager, Cerene Onsite, as I walked alongside them as the cast of Phenomenomaly rehearsed scenes in the sprawling alien world of Convergence Station.
With a full cast of twenty freelance clowns, dancers, puppeteers and performers from Denver’s immersive scene, this isn’t just another museum activation — it’s a living, looping narrative built into the bones of Meow Wolf itself.
As I shadowed Onsite, we stumbled across a wandering Misfit, a new character in Phenomenomaly who claims to have knowledge of the secret "ingredients" needed to open a portal for the Flickerwermz. This character had a yellow head with multiple sets of eyes and purple lips and proudly held up a mysterious object.
"It’s supposed to be hard on the outside, soft on the inside — just like me,” the character said.
“It’s an egg,” Onsite offered, smiling. “Did you know it was an egg the whole time?”
“No, I had no idea,” the misfit replied. “It looked shiny, so I had to pick it up. Then a Keeper of Obscurity got really excited about it, so I’m going to keep this one.”
That kind of spontaneous, participatory discovery is at the heart of Phenomenomaly. According to Onsite, the show centers on the arrival of the Flickerwermz, glowing, firefly-like creatures that appear when the conditions of energy, emotion and engagement are just right.
“This is the first time we are having the Flickerwerm migration,” Onsite says. “They’ve popped up in other dimensions, but never here in Convergence Station. We’re trying to create the right frequency to draw them in — and that takes the audience’s participation.”
The show revolves around two groups of characters: the Misfits, colorful, speaking guides who lead guests on a scavenger hunt to summon the migration, and the Keepers of Obscurity, silent, movement-based performers of unknown origin. Attendees can encounter either group at any time during the afternoon and decide whether to follow, participate or simply observe.
“If you’re a guest, you don’t know when you’re going to come across an interaction,” Onsite says. “We're running this show for multiple hours. So let's say you come in and you don't follow a Misfit into this universe, well, you might run into a Keeper, and then you decide to follow their mission. Pretty much wherever you first interact with a character, if you feel compelled to follow, that's your entry point of the story."
Each cycle of Phenomenomaly lasts roughly an hour and loops throughout the day from 2 to 8 p.m. Some guests will meet a Misfit in the front lobby before they ever enter the exhibit; others might find themselves drawn into a ritual with a Keeper deep inside Eemia. But it all leads to a culminating ceremony in the sprawling, cathedral-like space of Numina, where the collected energy (and ingredients) summon the Radiant Leviathan, the majestic elder form of the Flickerwerm.
“The Flickerwerm is just the baby,” Onsite says. “The Keepers are the grown-ups, and the Leviathan is the elder worm. Although the audience may not be aware of what they are helping to create by summoning the portal, by the end, they will realize they have been a part of something much larger."
As performers moved around the space, practicing meeting in Numia for the grand finale with watches that allow them to all arrive at the same time, Onsite took a moment to reflect on the cast's deep commitment. Most of them are local artists who were hired specifically for their immersive experience and collaborative style.
"Our unique approach to the show is that we are an ensemble, which means that we move as an ensemble, so everything is reactionary to each other in space, in action and in expression," Onsite says. "So it's nobody just having a solo moment. It's about how we have the moment together."
The show is part of a broader interdimensional storyline that also plays out at Meow Wolf’s Las Vegas location, though the characters, setting and activation are entirely unique to Denver. When asked if the migration might eventually reach other Meow Wolf locations, Onsite demurred.
“I cannot say. I don’t have any information about how that could potentially work together,” Onsite says. “But what’s really unique is that we find many people who’ve been to Vegas have also been to Denver, so it’s a cool way to connect those creative worlds.”
Adding to the magic, Phenomenomaly will feature weekly performances by local artists such as Spirit of Grace, Brothers of Bass, Emerald Zombie, Bella Diva World Dance, Circus Foundry, Ana Luna and LuneAseas. These rotating artists provide “key ingredients” during the finale ceremony, ensuring that no two Leviathan summoning parades are ever quite the same.
Outside of Meow Wolf, audiences may also spot the “Misfits in the Wild” this summer — roaming activations throughout Denver that hint at the migration to come. But the full Phenomenomaly only happens inside Convergence Station. You’ll need to step into the world, find the right energy and let your imagination do the rest.
“That’s what makes every show different: the people who are engaging with it,” Onsite says. “Some people might not help gather all the pieces, but they might join together for the finale. I imagine it's a different energy than if it's just a few people in here watching versus 150 people slowly wandering through. People bring the energy to the show, and we work with that energy to transport them to a world that feels both serious and mysterious, familiar and goofy."
Phenomenomaly runs Saturday, June 21, through Saturday, August 9, at Meow Wolf Denver's Convergence Station, 1338 1st Street. Admission is included in general admission. Learn more at meowwolf.com.
Launching on Saturday, June 21, Phenomenomaly is a site-specific live performance experience staged inside the corridors of Convergence Station that tells the story of the Flickerwerm migration. The show turns the already surreal multiverse into a stage for a tale of transformation and interdimensional intrigue.
"My creative vision for this show is shedding light on how the familiar can be wondrous," says the Denver show's director and stage manager, Cerene Onsite, as I walked alongside them as the cast of Phenomenomaly rehearsed scenes in the sprawling alien world of Convergence Station.
With a full cast of twenty freelance clowns, dancers, puppeteers and performers from Denver’s immersive scene, this isn’t just another museum activation — it’s a living, looping narrative built into the bones of Meow Wolf itself.
A group of immersive performers rehearses a dance sequence from Phenomenomaly's grand finale.
Toni Tresca
"It’s supposed to be hard on the outside, soft on the inside — just like me,” the character said.
“It’s an egg,” Onsite offered, smiling. “Did you know it was an egg the whole time?”
“No, I had no idea,” the misfit replied. “It looked shiny, so I had to pick it up. Then a Keeper of Obscurity got really excited about it, so I’m going to keep this one.”
That kind of spontaneous, participatory discovery is at the heart of Phenomenomaly. According to Onsite, the show centers on the arrival of the Flickerwermz, glowing, firefly-like creatures that appear when the conditions of energy, emotion and engagement are just right.
“This is the first time we are having the Flickerwerm migration,” Onsite says. “They’ve popped up in other dimensions, but never here in Convergence Station. We’re trying to create the right frequency to draw them in — and that takes the audience’s participation.”
You never know what's around the corner in Phenomenomaly at Denver's Meow Wolf Convergence Station.
Toni Tresca
“If you’re a guest, you don’t know when you’re going to come across an interaction,” Onsite says. “We're running this show for multiple hours. So let's say you come in and you don't follow a Misfit into this universe, well, you might run into a Keeper, and then you decide to follow their mission. Pretty much wherever you first interact with a character, if you feel compelled to follow, that's your entry point of the story."
Each cycle of Phenomenomaly lasts roughly an hour and loops throughout the day from 2 to 8 p.m. Some guests will meet a Misfit in the front lobby before they ever enter the exhibit; others might find themselves drawn into a ritual with a Keeper deep inside Eemia. But it all leads to a culminating ceremony in the sprawling, cathedral-like space of Numina, where the collected energy (and ingredients) summon the Radiant Leviathan, the majestic elder form of the Flickerwerm.
“The Flickerwerm is just the baby,” Onsite says. “The Keepers are the grown-ups, and the Leviathan is the elder worm. Although the audience may not be aware of what they are helping to create by summoning the portal, by the end, they will realize they have been a part of something much larger."
As performers moved around the space, practicing meeting in Numia for the grand finale with watches that allow them to all arrive at the same time, Onsite took a moment to reflect on the cast's deep commitment. Most of them are local artists who were hired specifically for their immersive experience and collaborative style.
"Our unique approach to the show is that we are an ensemble, which means that we move as an ensemble, so everything is reactionary to each other in space, in action and in expression," Onsite says. "So it's nobody just having a solo moment. It's about how we have the moment together."
The show is part of a broader interdimensional storyline that also plays out at Meow Wolf’s Las Vegas location, though the characters, setting and activation are entirely unique to Denver. When asked if the migration might eventually reach other Meow Wolf locations, Onsite demurred.
“I cannot say. I don’t have any information about how that could potentially work together,” Onsite says. “But what’s really unique is that we find many people who’ve been to Vegas have also been to Denver, so it’s a cool way to connect those creative worlds.”
Adding to the magic, Phenomenomaly will feature weekly performances by local artists such as Spirit of Grace, Brothers of Bass, Emerald Zombie, Bella Diva World Dance, Circus Foundry, Ana Luna and LuneAseas. These rotating artists provide “key ingredients” during the finale ceremony, ensuring that no two Leviathan summoning parades are ever quite the same.
Outside of Meow Wolf, audiences may also spot the “Misfits in the Wild” this summer — roaming activations throughout Denver that hint at the migration to come. But the full Phenomenomaly only happens inside Convergence Station. You’ll need to step into the world, find the right energy and let your imagination do the rest.
“That’s what makes every show different: the people who are engaging with it,” Onsite says. “Some people might not help gather all the pieces, but they might join together for the finale. I imagine it's a different energy than if it's just a few people in here watching versus 150 people slowly wandering through. People bring the energy to the show, and we work with that energy to transport them to a world that feels both serious and mysterious, familiar and goofy."
Phenomenomaly runs Saturday, June 21, through Saturday, August 9, at Meow Wolf Denver's Convergence Station, 1338 1st Street. Admission is included in general admission. Learn more at meowwolf.com.
