Where Dark Drama Sparks Bright Ideas: A New Vision for Theater

This summer, our eLab Accelerator teams are fully immersed in building intentional, impactful ventures. The program equips founders with business development strategies, practical entrepreneurial skills, and personalized, curated mentorship, providing everything they need to bring their startup vision to life. Participants will pitch their ventures at Keller’s annual Demo Day hosted in New York City.

House of Bones Theater Company (HOBTC) is the brainchild of Ash Baudelaire and Matthew Cooperberg. Together with their associate John Heitz, they are building a gothic theatrical world where the absurd edges into the unsettling. Departing from traditional (a)live theater, their productions are filmed in a single-camera point of view and structured as a virtual limited series with episodic acts.

With a strong artistic vision already in place, Baudelaire and Cooperberg applied to the Accelerator program to deepen their understanding of the practical realities of launching and sustaining a startup.

“Our goals this summer are to get a clearer picture of the entrepreneurial side of what we’re building,” said Baudelaire. “That, and honing our marketing, launching social media accounts, planning our first shows, and finalizing our pitch deck,” added Cooperberg.

With guidance from mentors Ben Lehnert, Entrepreneurship and Design Fellow, and Nena Golubovic, Director of Design for Impact, they discovered the value of staying flexible, continuing to build content, and finding inventive ways to engage their audience.

“There’s a big rise in niche content right now, and if House of Bones can capture younger audiences with their novel storylines and delivery format, I can see them drawing millions into their universe. They’re also a great example of the range of student ventures we get to work with at Keller,” said Lehnert.

With that insight, the team is now developing a trailer, teaser campaigns, and even an interactive gaming puzzle to spark interest ahead of the show’s debut.

“Keller programs are at their most powerful when they help teams evolve early ideas into something more intentional and impactful — enabling founders to uncover constraints, articulate a broader narrative, and discover new pathways to change. This summer, I’ve had the privilege of working with the House of Bones team — an incredibly passionate group that’s embraced the challenge of rethinking their approach. Even when exploring areas outside their expertise, they’ve shown a remarkable ability to absorb new concepts and translate them into forward-looking possibilities for their venture,” said Golubovic.

The team says feedback from their advisors has validated their direction and is shaping how they move forward in the final weeks of the program.

"We’re thinking of Demo Day as HOBTC’s Day One,” said Cooperberg, “the moment we put our ideas to the test, stress-check our plan, and step fully into the next chapter — where preparation becomes momentum.”

Register to attend our eLab Demo Day and get a sneak peek into the future of innovative theater!