Growing up, Jordan ‘Juicy’ Pham loved singing. But a lack of confidence and opportunity meant he wasn’t able to express his passion until much later in life, when he joined a university Glee Club. Diving deeply into the world of musical theatre, Pham found a new confidence and community, which grew in unexpected ways.
Driven by these experiences, he’s now undertaking a novel practice: hosting musicals and special events within multiplayer online game Final Fantasy XIV, in a space where everyone can harness their creative potential. For Pham, it’s been transportive.
Free of the complexity of real world staging, and the limitations of global time zones and travel, Pham has hosted an array of virtual performances engaging the Final Fantasy XIV community. He first staged a virtual production of Hairspray, managing every aspect of its virtual recording and delivery.
He recently hosted a virtual parody of of Avenue Q, titled Boulevard Kweh, with the cast performing live in the game. He’s also hosted various themed performances, including a Bridgerton-inspired ball, and a choose-your-own-adventure experience set around an airline.
As Pham told ScreenHub, it’s all about providing a creative space for likeminded folks, and having a platform to orchestrate wild, creative ideas in a safe, welcoming environment.
‘In the game, everyone’s just so kind and open-minded, and non-judgemental,’ he said. ‘A lot of people have told me these events and musicals have made them more confident, have brought back their love and passion for singing, given them a reason to play the game during quiet times. It’s really fulfilling … it’s so inspiring as well, because through these events, I also started doing other creative stuff.’
Per Pham, the idea started small. He first discovered Final Fantasy XIV around the launch of its Reborn reboot, and spent years jumping in and out of the game with new content drops. At first, he was drawn by the character designs and world building. Then, he became more entrenched in the game’s community, and in-game activities.
To begin, he was simply hosting in-game karaoke nights, providing a space for players to share their passion and talents for singing. They would meet up in game and join Discord calls together, then take turns singing their favourite songs.
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‘I met a lot of people through that, and I think I was just daydreaming,’ Pham said.
Slowly, his ideas for a bigger event began to coalesce, with his daydreams focussed on the musical, Hairspray. As he told ScreenHub, he’d seen the movie, and the musical, and he loved both. He recalled thinking that he could recreate stages in Final Fantasy XIV using the game’s player housing system, and from there, thoughts snowballed.
‘We had Glamours to recreate the costumes. I was like, “wait, I have the tools in this game to pull it off,”‘ he said. ‘When I was thinking of the roles for that musical, some of the voices that I heard during karaoke night, I could picture them in those characters.’
So, Pham pitched the idea to his fellow karaoke lovers. He admitted a lot of people though the idea was ‘crazy’ because they didn’t know what was possible in the game, or if he could actually get it done.
‘I remember during the first rehearsal – that’s when I made the stages – everyone that signed up and said yes came to the rehearsal [and said] “Oh my gosh. I can see it. I can see it working.”‘
The group did weekly rehearsals every Monday for a few months, with Pham guiding the process. Pulling from his experiences in Glee Club, he applied his skills to the virtual production, choreographing in-game dances and performances, and ensuring Hairspray was represented accurately.
The team ended up doing two virtual shows, with the end result experienced live, and in VOD format. While the show being live meant it ‘wasn’t the most polished production’ per Pham, it remained clear how much effort had gone in.
As Pham told ScreenHub, this virtual Final Fantasy XIV production of Hairspray required prebuilt stages, a script for the story, a backing track with instruments, and pre-recorded vocals for some segments, as well as direction for emotes, in-game actions, positioning, and timing. All of this relied on Pham’s instincts, working within the structural limitations of Final Fantasy XIV.
Hairspray Live! – Final Fantasy XIV Performance
Audiences responded very positively to the clear passion on show. ‘This is so fun and well put together!’ one commenter wrote on YouTube, as aligned with the wider reception. ‘You can really see the heart and hard work that went into breathing life into Hairspray through FFXIV. What an epic coming together.’
‘The feedback has been really overwhelming,’ Pham said. ‘It’s just been really insane.’
Curating this performance of Hairspray served as an important learning experience for Pham, who was able to indulge his passions in an open, creative space. While he had previously dabbled in singing, he hadn’t had a chance to learn more about music production, until Hairspray. It wound up being the opportunity he needed, as he developed his own real life skills, alongside his peers.
With Hairspray leading to other opportunities, as well as a growing creative community, Pham expressed great pride in his journey, and being able to provide such a rich experience for those around him.
‘I’m most proud of the community that’s been built from this,’ Pham said. ‘Especially for people like myself who don’t get the chance to enjoy singing and dancing in real life, to do an actual musical. I don’t think I’m that talented, or I don’t have the experience to do [a musical] but we get to, through Final Fantasy XIV and these events.’
For Pham, the game serves as a creative platform where everyone is able to participate, no matter their skill level, or the resources they might have in their personal lives. Living through a virtual avatar, players can express themselves in new ways, without fear of judgement, or the restrictions that might otherwise be placed on them.
‘Even though it’s not as physically demanding, or an actual professional production, it’s still something that is memorable, and that we’re super passionate about,’ Pham said. ‘We all have a goal to work towards, to put on a great show for everyone.’
‘I’m most proud of giving everyone a chance.’
In the months ahead, Pham plans to continue hosting new events in Final Fantasy XIV, although he’s not trying to brand himself as a musical-only operator. These productions take months of time and effort, so before embarking on his next quest, he’s keen to create new, smaller experiences for everyone, while continuing to build an online space and community where everyone can express themselves.
You can can see the work of Pham and the wider JJammin’ community over on YouTube.
