Frida

Ten minutes away from Orange in the heart of Santa Ana is the community’s only arthouse cinema. When you don’t have anything to do, you go to the movies hoping a secret message will spill out from the screen and inspire you. This theatre has seen you cry and laugh and walk away flabbergasted.

It’s the one and only movie theatre you have ever danced in. People gathered at the top of the theatre and down the aisles to watch at some points a distorted David Byrne wobble on stage. Oh! The joy you felt when 50 patrons ran in loops around the red velvet seats to the sounds of “Life During Wartime”. You didn’t know anyone there but it didn’t matter as long as you all stayed on beat, jumping up and down, spinning to the music coming from all directions.

You could smell the heavily buttered popcorn and light scents of IPA from attendees. People were laughing and pointing and standing up in their seats clapping. Sweat drizzled down your face in long streaks until it would crawl under your chin and down your neck. It felt amazing and you felt alive. When it was over, you didn’t want it to be. The hot overhead theatre lights came on and you could see everybody. We all looked like hot messes jumbled up, picking up spilled bottles and trying our best to not step on the trampled popcorn littering the red carpet aisleways.

When you left, the air outside was cooling and dried the sweat on your face in an instant. People congregated outside, smoking cigarettes and looking down at their phones, recapping the night’s festivities. They captured every dance move, every person belting out lyrics alongside a hundred others and every moment of joy that filled the theatre. It was special and it was different and you hoped you could experience it again soon.