LABC Presents: Phantasmagoria: Lighting the World Beyond

A VERY LABC HALLOWEEN! Put on your favorite costume and come celebrate Halloween with the LA Breakfast Club! Magic Lanternist Melissa Ferrari and historian Dr. Franziska Kohlt will transform Friendship Auditorium into an immersive horror theater full of fantastical and dreamlike imagery. 

ABOUT THE PRESENTATION & MAGIC LANTERN PERFORMANCE:  On a rainy 19th-century evening, the public flocked to the Royal Polytechnic Institution of London to partake in the technological spectacle of a new Magic Lantern show. That evening, they were treated to a performance of bestselling children’s fantasy Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, whose author, Lewis Carroll, had long been an aficionado of Phantasmagorias, magic lanterns, microscopes, telescopes, and every optical spectacle the Victorian age had popularized to shape a culture.  These devices not only had a profound influence on the creation of one of the most popular children’s books of all time, but also on early cinema.

Historian of science Dr. Franziska Kohlt and magic lanternist Melissa Ferrari bring you a presentation and live Magic Lantern performance exploring the intersections of science, illusion, and the supernatural. Dr. Kohlt, inaugural Carrollian Fellow at USC, will share her research exploring how literary minds such as Lewis Carroll viewed new technologies and scientific discoveries of the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a means of accessing “other worlds” beyond human perception. The presentation will feature a revival of the 18th-century tradition of Phantasmagoria, a form of immersive horror theater where hidden projectors conjured apparitions and supernatural creatures, with a Carrollian twist.  Performed with authentic 19th-century Magic Lanterns and Ferrari’s handmade & antique slides, the show will feature a preview of their new collaboration Phantasmagoria: Lighting the World Beyond, premiering later that evening at the USC Doheny Library, and take you from rainy nineteenth-century London, via the mysterious sides of California, to realms unknown.

About Dr. Franziska Kohlt’s Book

Alice Through the Looking-Glass: A Companion (2024)

Edited by Franziska E. Kohlt and Justine Houyaux

This book offers a truly interdisciplinary exploration of the polymathic influences that shaped Through the Looking-Glass, the lesser explored sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It explores the work’s diverse historical intellectual influences as well as its kaleidoscopic afterlives, including scholars from the history of science, logic, philosophy, theology, literature, popular and visual culture, and translation studies as well as practitioners in business, data science, writing, and visual arts. The collection also offers insights into the minds of those who adapt, pastiche, or translate the Looking-Glass with an original poem, four new Jabberwockies, and an Italian translation of Looking-Glass’s iconic poem. This collection thus encourages us to re-evaluate the intellectual scope and place in society of this work.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

Dr Franziska Kohlt is a science historian, scholar of comparative literature and science communication practitioner. She holds a PhD from the University of Oxford, where she explored Victorian Psychology and Fantastic fiction as sister phenomena, and is currently a Research Fellow at the University in Leeds (UK) and Carrollian Fellow at USC. She is the author of numerous articles and books on Lewis Carroll, aspects of the history of science, from Insects to automata or dreams, and the importance of metaphor and analogy in science communication.

Melissa Ferrari is an experimental animator, nonfiction filmmaker, magic lanternist and educator who seeks to acquaint folklores of the past with contemporary culture. In exposing peripheral histories, she aims to unveil the wonder that lies in the shadow of nonfiction, rather than fiction. Her practice engages with the mythification of science and pseudoscience, the preternatural, and the history of phantasmagoria.  Originally from Virginia, Melissa is now based in Los Angeles where she received an Experimental Animation M.F.A. from CalArts. Her films and magic lantern performances have been shown in venues such as The Exploratorium, Hauser & Wirth LA, UnionDocs, Ottawa International Animation Festival, and the Ann Arbor Film Festival.  She is a 2024 Contributing Artist at the Philosophical Research Society.  As a documentary animator, Melissa specializes in handmade and experimental techniques.  Her commissioned work has appeared on PBS, BBC, CNN, and The New York Times.

ABOUT THE CLUB: Founded in 1925, the Los Angeles Breakfast Club still thrives with food, friendship, and fun. Our meetings are held in our clubhouse, Friendship Auditorium, located at 3201 Riverside Drive, near the corner of Los Feliz Boulevard, in Griffith Park. Best described as a variety show, attendees enjoy a catered breakfast, silly songs, club traditions, and an interesting presentation from a guest speaker.

TICKETS: Sales on labreakfastclub.com close 48 hours before breakfast. Non-members are $28 and Members receive a 25% discount when logged into their Membership Portal.

Please arrive between 6:45 - 7:00 AM sharp! Doors close at 7:15 AM. Your admission includes a buffet breakfast, enjoyment of our 99-year-old club traditions, plus a special presentation from our Speaker of the Week!

For our ticket refund and exchange policy, please click here.

Note: Membership discounts are a benefit for members current with their dues. If you would like to apply to become a member, click here for more information.

HEALTH & SAFETY: Surgical disposable face masks or medical-grade masks (i.e., KN95, KF94, N95) are strongly recommended when not eating or drinking, especially during the cold and flu season, and will be provided on request.

ANIMALS: Only Service Animals as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act are allowed indoors at this venue. Please keep pets and emotional support animals safely at home.