The third area of the event is the DiscOasis itself, which features a live DJ, a roller-skating rink, a dance floor and other fun activities. “The DJs rotate and mix from a preselected and curated song list from Nile,” noted the team. “This gives the DJs agency to make their performance their own, but ensures that the music lives within the DiscOasis world.”Photo: Getty Images for Constellation Immersive
LOS ANGELES—As producers continue experimenting with new, safety-first event formats, one that’s been a welcome addition is the walkthrough experience, which allows guests to fully immerse themselves in an environment while still respecting social distancing. A recent standout example of the format? The appropriately named DiscOasis, a walkthrough theatrical experience that’s billed as a “glittering sonic fantasia for the soul."
Taking over the South Coast Botanic Garden near Los Angeles, the public, ticketed experience, which kicked off July 17 and runs through Labor Day weekend, is a walk through the garden. Along the way, guests explore six different sonic areas, each featuring a different photo op-friendly art installation that’s inspired by a specific disco song, as well as a live actor interacting with guests. The path is all leading to a final area with a disco-inspired roller skating rink, a colorful dance floor, retro arcade games, food trucks and other fun, interactive details.
The event is a collaboration between Los Angeles-based experience studio Constellation Immersive (an affiliate of Creative Artists Agency) and Grammy Award-winning musician Nile Rodgers, who curated the soundtrack as the DiscOasis’ official “groovemaster.”
“After we opened our holiday drive-through experience last year, ‘The Elf on the Shelf’s Magical Holiday Journey,’ we brainstormed ideas for the spring or summer that we could stage outdoors and that we felt would resonate with audiences after a year of living through COVID and lockdowns,” explained Constellation Immersive’s Thao Nguyen and Marty LaSalle. “We decided that music was a universal element that brings people together, and aligned behind a music-inspired outdoor experience.”
Scroll down for a look inside the experience, and to learn more about how the team is pulling off a safe, impactful gathering right now.
After their idea took shape, the team reached out to three-time Grammy award-winner Nile Rodgers. “Nile understood the vision immediately and jumped on board to consult with us on the overall experience and curate all the music and sound elements."
“The DiscOasis is about bringing people together and inspiring them through joy and individuality. Nile has been building the We Are Family Foundation for years, and its mission to empower youth to tell their stories in a way that fosters understanding and inclusivity is fully aligned with the spirit of the DiscOasis and disco music in general,” noted Nguyen and LaSalle.
Nguyen and LaSalle say they hope to continue the experience in some form once this iteration wraps. “The DiscOasis has been imagined as a living, breathing pop-cultural entertainment event—so we expect to work with Nile and other artists to evolve the experience and bring it to other markets in the future.”
