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Lighthouse Immersive/Illusionarium, opens July 29, Toronto Star Building, 1 Yonge St. Tickets here.
It ’ s about a bushy dog report. Production company Lighthouse Immersive has kept running into the juggernaut of COVID-19. Throughout Toronto ’ s million lockdowns, opening dates were set for their extravaganza productions that then had to be cancelled. While their first show, Immersive Van Gogh, last got a opportunity to run for a small while between lockdowns, the new show Illusionarium never had the luck. It was slated to open several times in 2020, but then languished during 2021. immediately, however, Illusionarium ’ randomness day is last at hand .
Lighthouse Immersive shows aren ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate barely any shows. They are gigantic epic adventures with the emphasis on the bible immersive. They are experiential dramaturgy where the hearing is consumed by jaw-dropping effects using 3D projections, 3D map, laser beams, LED walls and interactional social media. In the case of Immersive Van Gogh, the watcher is peppered with floor to ceiling, highly imaginatively placed images of the artist ’ second sour that convey Van Gogh ’ s enormous creative endowment overlie with deep psychological and emotional overtones. For its part, Illusionarium is a magic trick express like no other.
What Is Illusionarium?
british maestro sorcerer Jamie Allan is known for blending state-of-the-art technology with traditional magic to create mind-boggling digital illusions. For example, there is his celebrated trick of making hearing cell phones carry the lapp message. For Illusionarium, Allan and co-creator Tommy Bond, have imagined an immersive spectacle that takes audiences on a enlistment of the history and development of magic ,
The show is spread over four rooms, each from a different long time and featuring different high-tech effects. Palais Royale, hosted by Harry Houdini, includes double layer 3D volumetric hologram technologies ( whew ! ) and mind-reading sequences. The egyptian Hall transports audiences back in clock time with immersive room effects involving levitations and vanishings. On-Air Studios features beloved magicians who appeared on television in the Golden Age. finally, Evo-lusion Theatre gives a glimpse into the future of magic trick and technology. Whichever the room, however, the affection of the hour-long picture remains anchored in up-to-date digital illusions .
How Did Illusionarium Come About?
Corey Ross ( Starvox Exhibits ) and Svetlana Dvoretskaia ( Show One Productions ) are the Toronto producing team that gave us the mega-hit Immersive Van Gogh. jointly called Lighthouse Immersive, their follow-up spectacle is Illusionarium .
As a company, Starvox presents boastfully shows, and Ross is always on the lookout for endowment. His attention was caught by magician Jamie Allan who was, in Ross ’ words, a very big deal in Britain. In particular, Allan was known for his forward-thinking high-tech magic. For the last respective years, Ross has presented Allan ’ s one-man extravaganza iMagician in american cities, with Toronto being the adjacent diaphragm. then the pandemic hit .
Says Ross, “ With his dramaturgy display out of commission, Jamie and I were wondering what could we present with sociable outdistance. Jamie has an encyclopedic cognition of the history of magic. His family is filled with sorcerer artifacts, so the estimate began to emerge, why not create an immersive historic testify ? I showed him the effects used by Immersive Van Goh, and Jamie and his creative collaborator, Tommy Bond, took it from there. ”
amazingly, Dvoretskaia had initial doubts, but warmed up to the stick out when she found out that legendary magicians Penn & Teller wanted to be involved. “ My husband was very print by this, ” she says. The turning detail for her was Allans ’ mho creative presentation of the projected read. “ Jamie envisioned for me the fabulous travel that the audience would undertake. His presentation showed images of the combustion of witches and that in truth got to me. I saw the history and evolution of magic as a antic idea, ” Dvoretskaia continues .
Where Is Illusionarium Staged?
Ross and Dvoretskaia have breathed modern life into the erectile print press rooms behind the Toronto Star build. They already transformed two of the spaces into galleries for the presentation of Immersive Van Gogh and Gogh by Car. Illusionarium occupies the concluding empty partially of the press rooms, and is angstrom large as the two other galleries combined ( 23,000 sq. foot. )
This third base space, with its observation gallery, includes the old Toronto Star gymnasium. They besides found elevators, stairs and walled-up windows. In the transformation, the early gymnasium contains the lobby and gift denounce, while the warehouse is where Illusionarium is staged .
End Thoughts And Trivia
- The casting directors had to audition the necessary live magicians on Zoom.
- The technology, props and personnel involved in Illusionarium requires a huge backstage area.
- Illusionarium is a more regimented show than Immersive Van Gogh, as groups of 48 are led by guides through each room. You also have an assigned pod.
- When it was briefly opened between lockdowns, Immersive Van Gogh saw 200,000 people safely pass through the exhibit.
- The producers were prepared to reschedule the premiere of Illusionarium as many times as they had to.
My survive question to Ross and Dvoretskaia was, “ With two gigantic immersive shows running, are you guy building an empire ? ”
To which, they replied, “ Of class. ”
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