The Cosmorama of the Great Dreamland Fire

An immersive, 360 degree painted environment in the 19th century style.  Built as a piece of The Great Coney Island Spectacularium. 2011-2012.

Installation view, “The Cosmorama of the Great Dreamland Fire”, 2011

In Coney Island, as in most of the United States at the end of the 19th Century, immersive spectacles using live theatrical effects were still a major commercial attraction. The public’s desire for the illusion of space, their obsession with confounding the death impulse, and a neverending fascination with seeing other cultures “live and up close” created numerous opportunities for the blurring of art and commerce in the form of panoramas, dioramas, moving paintings, magic lantern shows, and large-scale theatrical productions. These shows were the height of a theatrical tradition that has since been entirely dominated by the film industry – with Imax films and multiplexes taking the place of the “cast-of-thousands” theatrical event.

• Director – Aaron Beebe
• Concept – Joanna Ebenstein
• Scenic Painters – Ernesto Gomez, Jesse Poleshuck
• Sound Designers – Scott Wyman Neagle, Wythe Marschall
• Script – Wythe Marschall
• Lighting Designer – Seth Reiser
• Assistant Lighting Designer – Simon Cleveland
• Set Design – Aaron Beebe
• Set Construction – Huckster Fabrication, Grace Baxter, Kate Dale, Katie Karkheck, Patrick Wall
• Day/Night printing by Rosebrand
• Equipment by Altman Rentals