| EVENT REPORT 10.28.08 4:28 PM |
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| Movin' Mountains |
| Bringing in cacti, large landscape photographs, and rustic-looking furniture, the Sundance Institute recreated scenes from its Park City home inside the Roseland Ballroom for its annual gala. |
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A slate of Hollywood stars came out for the Sundance Institute's 27th annual gala last night. As in years past, the nonprofit brought artists and alumni like Jane Fonda, Alec Baldwin, Christine Lahti, and Chevy Chase to a fund-raiser hosted by president and founder Robert Redford. This year, the institute's director of development, Emily Laskin, enlisted Overland Entertainment to mix rustic elements of Park City with some urban components of New York and create an intimate setting for the 400-person dinner at the Roseland Ballroom.
Designing a warm and cozy environment reminiscent of the resort town inside the expansive concert and event venue was a logistical challenge that Overland sought to overcome by separating the cocktail and auction area from the dinner space. Using wooden flats to enclose the dinner tables and stage, the production and design crew placed vignettes of items up for bid and a lounge around the perimeter. To evoke familiar scenes from Utah, the venue was furnished with props such as library shelves, leather couches, neon signs, director's chairs, weathered wooden cabinets, and pots of succulents. |
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PHOTO GALLERY |
 | Designed so that every guest would have a view of something, the dining area was enclosed by large canvas photographs and collages.
Photo: aliceandchris.com for BizBash |
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 | Small pots of succulents and loose pebbles covered the tabletops in the dining area.
Photo: aliceandchris.com for BizBash |
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 | The production crew recreated the Sundance Resort's intimate Owl Bar for the cocktail area.
Photo: aliceandchris.com for BizBash |
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 | Judah Friedlander, Hope Davis, Michael Imperioli, and Aasif Mandvi served as waiters for the night.
Photo: aliceandchris.com for BizBash |
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 | One of the auction areas was designed to look like a typical Park City souvenir shop with autographed scripts and DVDs, gift baskets, and video game packages set on wooden tables and inside weathered cabinets.
Photo: aliceandchris.com for BizBash |
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 | In a vignette decorated with director chairs and a neon TV sign, the gala auctioned off set visits and walk-on roles for shows like Damages, In Treatment, and Brothers & Sisters.
Photo: aliceandchris.com for BizBash |
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 | Overland recreated the porch at the Sundance Institute for the display of holiday packages to Park City
Photo: aliceandchris.com for BizBash |
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 | Graffiti like "Yes, Bob will be here" added a whimsical element to the decor.
Photo: aliceandchris.com for BizBash |
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 | LED tickers inside fake birch trees displayed playful comments like "Life looks better on celluloid."
Photo: aliceandchris.com for BizBash |
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 | The design extended to the venue's exterior with the name of the event on the marquee and decals of birch trees covering the glass entrance.
Photo: aliceandchris.com for BizBash |
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The event's production, which Overland creative director Paula Longendyke described as involving "a lot of forklifts, genies, and late nights," featured landscape photos of Utah, printed onto large pieces of canvas and placed on the temporary walls surrounding the dining room. The team also recreated the institute's porch and a Park City ski shop to give the auction vignettes more of an experiential feel. The Owl Bar—a popular filmmaker hangout inside the Sundance Resort—served as the inspiration for the cocktail lounge, which was filled with Navajo rugs, comfy leather furniture, and wooden book shelves.
In addition to a guest list of actors and entertainment luminaries from Norman Lear to Ira Glass, the Sundance Institute also reached out to chef Tom Colicchio to create the menu and celebrities like Hope Davis, Judah Friedlander, and Michael Imperioli to act as waiters for the night. Following dinner, the nonprofit hosted an after-party with alum John Cameron Mitchell serving as DJ.
The funds raised from the event will support the organization and its development programs for independent film and theater artists.
—Anna Sekula
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