Theatre Design

Located in Long Beach, California, the nonprofit Aquarium of the Pacific is Southern California’s largest aquarium and the fourth largest aquarium in the United States. The aquarium includes 12,000 animals and more than 100 exhibits that celebrate the inhabitants and ecosystems of the Pacific Ocean. In 2019, the aquarium opened Pacific Visions, a 29,000 square foot, two-story expansion that includes an art gallery, orientation gallery, culmination gallery, and the Honda Pacific Visions Theatre, the centerpiece of the aquarium’s 2019 expansion.

Mark Louis is Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas director of presentation. In that role, he is responsible for maintaining the level of technology that has become central to the exhibitor’s brand and identity. Louis is currently overseeing the opening of seven new Alamo theatres across the United States, while simultaneously maintaining the quality control of the established sites. When I contacted him to talk about how he approaches new builds he described himself as “busier that a one-armed reel-to-reel projectionist,” but he agreed to talk via email. Here’s an excerpted version of our conversation.

The Aquarium of the Pacific, located near the waterfront in Long Beach, California, recently opened its “aquarium of the future,” called Pacific Visions, which features an immersive theatre, multiple interactive art installations, and hands-on multimedia displays. Brian Edwards, owner of Edwards Technologies, the integration firm that designed and installed the theatre AV and FX system at aquarium, says the project is an example of the future of both the AV industry and of storytelling as a whole.

Odeon Cinemas Group is adding new Dolby Cinema auditoriums at two locations: Odeon Manchester Trafford Centre and Odeon Luxe Birmingham Broadway Plaza.