In 2003 I was tasked with creating elaborately themed events at the just opened Boystown neighborhood dance club, Hydrate, as part of the  series I pioneered. In addition to the themed environments, I would also design and often participate in a late night dance floor performance/experience. It was my first regular work in a nightclub and both incredibly exciting and thoroughly exhausting. I created custom video content as part of each theme as well as themed staff uniforms.  I was given tremendous freedom to create, which proved to be an unparalleled learning experience with plenty of life-lessons along the way! I often pushed the limits of what a tiny storefront nightclub experience could offer. I’m surprised no one got hurt! One of the first themes was called Storm featuring Hurricane Hydrate, where I “artfully” trashed the place and where my part in the performance had me flying a kite in a theatrical “storm”. On the relatively tiny dance floor, Amidst flashing lighting and booming thunder, it actually rained via a high pressure misting system, and I was carried away on a cable and pulley system. We were never short of ambition!  Here are some highlights from the 25+ themed weekends.

MANY thanks to the talents of Charles “Jackie” Garner, Brett Locascio, Jim Glaub, Jessica Gonyea, Richie M. and Teena Angst (now BenDeLaCreme) for their help making some unforgettable moments.

Hydrate became a bowling alley and then an airline. Air Hydrate took flight as one of the most popular nights transforming Hydrate into an airline Included pilot and runway technician costumes. A choreographed stewardess performance to a custom mix of Kylie Minogue’s “Light Years” took place on the dance floor stage. This is one of the first times of many that I had the pleasure of collaborating with the brilliant Teena Angst (BenDeLaCreme). I regret there aren’t more images or video of the event!

The LAUNDROMAT theme was another one of my favorite weekends. A very graphic-heavy theme with a lot of fun resources. The dance floor was turned into a conceptual washer/dryer where a giant illuminated sign signaled the wash cycle (cue the foam and bubble machines), the rinse cycle (cue the H20 misters), and the drying cycle (cue the fans with dryer sheets attached). Good clean fun! So was the UPSIDE DOWN theme where I inverted anything we could including the sign out front and the logo on the staff’s t-shirts. The performance featured Teena Angst (BenDeLaCreme) , with myself and Jorge Quintero hanging upside down from the ceiling. Hydrate is spilt into two sections, at the time a red space and a light blue space, perfect for a Heaven and Hell weekend.