Guest blog written by Rebecca Maag, founder of Cheerful Secrets and creator of the event, Overheard on a Train (Instagram @cheerfulsecrets)
Overheard on a Train is an interactive immersive experience that happens on board CapMetro’s Red Line! You and three friends will sign up as a group, and you’ll receive a script when you board the train at Downtown Station. This is a fun, unique chance for you to get on the train, get off your phone, and have a good belly laugh with your friends.
During the train journey, your foursome will read the script to each other, out loud. Think of it as a table read and you’re the actors! You won’t know the plot in advance; instead, your collective story will unfold with each page you turn.
“We’re thrilled to see our creative community coming together and choosing CapMetro as part of this unique event,” said Muriel Friday, Vice President of Rail Operations at CapMetro. “As a public transit agency, we’re always looking for innovative ways to get people out of their cars and onto public transportation. It is exciting to see our Red Line as a vehicle of creativity for many first-time transit riders and we hope this inspires more people to explore the city and continue using public transit.”
Overheard on a Train debuted last year as the very first event of its kind. In fact, combining creativity, community, and public transit was such a unique idea that the SXSW Innovation Awards named Overheard as a 2025 finalist in the “Urban Experience” category. As the creator of this event, I am thrilled to be recognized by this worldwide celebration of creativity. And I’m very excited to bring this event back to Austin audiences this spring!
This idea was born during the pandemic. A friend mentioned that it would be fun to read a script of an episode of The West Wing. I set up a Zoom call, assigned roles to my friends, hung an American flag on the wall behind me, and we had a great time. Such a great time in fact, that we kept it going with other shows—Friends, Justified, Peaky Blinders, Parks & Rec, Friday Night Lights, E.R., etc.—and even threw an Emmy awards ceremony for ourselves to recognize great or hilarious moments we’d had. That experience was a real bright spot during the pandemic and it showed me that people really do have fun when they get to play pretend—we never grow out of that.
I wanted to create a way to spread that fun to others! My production company, Cheerful Secrets, specializes in creating unique immersive experiences. Using the CapMetro Red Line was the perfect setting to offer different storylines—different people, leading different lives, that happen to intersect on the train. I knew that once our scripts put four characters on a train, we could let the real-world trappings of public transit create an immersive environment for audience members, creating an experience that is both unique and familiar.
All told, Cheerful Secrets wants to create conversation and help people have fun. If that sounds good to you, then come find us on the CapMetro Red Line and climb aboard!
The experience lasts two hours on Saturday afternoons, includes a free drink at intermission at a local bar, and we always start and end at Downtown Station. Check out the user experience video at the bottom of the Cheerful Secrets website. Tickets are on sale now!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Dates, times, and tickets:
Tickets are $35 per person and only sold in batches of 4; the price includes your train fare + one free drink for each guest. Shows at 2:15pm and 4:45pm on Saturdays: 3/15, 3/22, 3/29, 4/12, 4/26, & 5/10. Get your tickets now at www.cheerfulsecrets.com/train
What are the different storylines that you offer to guests?
When you buy tickets for your group, you’re able to choose which script you want to read. Maybe you’ll pick THE BAND, in which four bandmates are on their way to a gig, or THE BACHELORETTE PARTY, where four Austinites head to a winery to celebrate a friend. Or, this year, we are proud to offer two new choices: THE BANK ROBBERS, featuring four Austinites who hope to get rich quick, or THE MIDDLE SCHOOLERS (great for kids and families, age 11+), in which four students head to a science fair with a group project that got a bit… unusual.
Are there other people on the train? What do they think of this?
Yes! CapMetro keeps the Red Line running 6 days a week, and we are happy to share a smile with other commuters who witness our event unfolding. They might be surprised, but they are always charmed to see our Overheard guests having such a good time.
What else does Cheerful Secrets do, and what’s coming up next?
Cheerful Secrets creates unique experiences in Austin. Past events include an interactive séance based on Austin’s real-life history, and a fake press junket for a fake rom-com. The best ways to stay informed are to follow us on Instagram @cheerfulsecrets and sign up for email updates by scrolling to the bottom of our website. As a sneak-peek for you CapMetro readers: we’re currently working on a choose-your-own-adventure audio experience, and also planning a guided brainstorm event to help participants create their own board game!
