{"id":5380,"date":"2017-08-11T09:11:06","date_gmt":"2017-08-11T16:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/Becomeimmersed.com\/?p=5380"},"modified":"2020-04-30T10:02:31","modified_gmt":"2020-04-30T17:02:31","slug":"into-the-film-true-immersion-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/becomeimmersed.com\/into-the-film-true-immersion-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"A Night at the Opera! A Truly Immersive Treat by Into the Film"},"content":{"rendered":"
Masked strangers stand along 4th<\/sup> street in Santa Monica. Modest, elegant, or eccentric; dressed in lace butterflies, jewels flowers, wolves, and skulls. We are an odd motley crew of people, straight out of a strange film. New partisan identities went with every costume\u2014Barons, Marquises, Socialites and Aristocrats\u2014the cr\u00e8me de la cr\u00e8me of Bourgeoise elite. People eagerly shared their elaborate backstories and <\/em>gossiped <\/em>with famous dress makers and exotic trade collectors. <\/em>Tonight, I\u2019m Michelle De Nimes: a baroness from the south of France, invited to the Bal Masque hosted at the prestigious Th\u00e9\u00e2tre National de l’Op\u00e9ra.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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Days before you attend Into The Film’s\u00a0A Night at the Opera<\/em>, the immersion begun. With your official email, I was welcomed and invited to the Th\u00e9\u00e2tre National de l’Op\u00e9ra. This email further offered me a new identity to assume, and a secondary email pulled me deeper into the universe of Phantom of the Opera <\/em>with a detailed backstory. Spend this time daydreaming about your role. Into the Film<\/em> asked me to invest in it the way it planned to invest in me.<\/p>\n
A formal dress code further supported the story, helping build pure excitement. I thoroughly enjoyed putting my outfit together, planning my mask and doing some gentle research on my provided name. I had fun shopping, I had fun telling my co-workers about it, even before Saturday arrived.<\/p>\n
With all this anticipation, I was unbearably eager to play.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, a great loud shout echoed in the plaza as the theater doors swing wide open; \u2018The theater is open!\u2019 We are greeted by the Managers, Armand and Firmin, (Peter Berube, Erin Stegeman) the newest owners.\u00a0 They\u2019re all smiles and gracious to their rich, kind, rich, elite, rich benefactors. Did I mention rich?<\/em><\/p>\n
Once, inside the theater, we\u2019re flanked by double staircases that disappear upstairs. It is a magnificent white space, complemented by luxurious, red velvet curtains and antique furniture.<\/em> Incense wafts through the theater air. Everything feels as regal as the patrons look.<\/em><\/p>\n
The second story is an expansive wrap around balcony that is open to the theater below. But now it\u2019s draped and sectioned with the same deluxe, beautiful red velvet curtains. A fantastically tall model of the Eiffel Tower stands nearly in the center of the walk way. The foyer is now a caf\u00e9, framed in red. The studio is framed in red. A mysterious fortune teller\u2019s table is framed in a red corner with curling incense smoke.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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The\u00a0Historical Woman Club of Santa Monica <\/em>was used masterfully. Inside, it was completely, and temporarily, renovated to match the theme of the evening. If I mention only one thing, it\u2019s this: the application of red velvet and the sheer amount they used was strikingly regal and gorgeous. It made the space feel expensive, old and mysterious. The way the red stretched upwards along white walls, opened the space dramatically and made everything feel taller. But it wasn\u2019t just the main room\u2014every set they\u2019ve created is different, representative of its character and place in the story. Carlotta\u2019s dressing room was over the top. The Ballet studio was a functioning, mirrored work space.<\/p>\n
The location was also filled with secret nooks, private spaces, and highly trafficked places, all without ever feeling crowded. In its entirety, Into the Film reinvented this space to tell a story beyond the stage. The immersion of this space was its own constant, unwavering presence.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
My guest and I are escorted to the Manager\u2019s office. They ooh and Aah over how smart and stylish our masks are. They then hand us envelopes to be opened later. Until \u2018later\u2019 arrived, we are free to browse about the theater, to see the dance studio, enjoy the caf\u00e9, or have our fortune read. Cloth and sandalwood fans are even handed out to as an apology for the muggy, Paris evening <\/em><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/em>Boisterous ballerinas (Allison Minick, Zoquera Milburn, Eve Bui) emerge introducing themselves to the aristocrats. A disheveled man with a lantern slinks his way about the theater, much to the displeasure of the dancers. They skirt around him. Back in their studio, a note is pinned to the piano: \u201cPlease close the lid after use.\u201d Signed Opera Ghost. To the ballerinas, it\u2019s all a prank. There is no ghost. It\u2019s impossible. Ghosts aren\u2019t real. But what was real was the nefarious \u2018Rat Catcher\u2019 (Luke Scorcio), who lurked about eyeing guests, and a mysterious baroness (Erin Coleman) who was as nebulous as she was beautiful. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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