"I found myself walking the streets of SL, literally," she explained. "I had no friends. I didn't know anyone. I didn't know how to rent land or how to get my own place. I didn't even know what a prim was."Then one day she found a theater, which offered comfort and a dark place to change her clothes. She also met an avi that helped her find a beautiful home on a rainforest sim. Shortly after, she learned that the theater had been removed.
"I was heartbroken again, but I now knew how to use the search engine and I went out to find my own theatre," she said. "I wanted to have my own land with the theatre on it. I wanted it to be free for people, just like the one I had found was free for me. I wanted it to be a place open for anyone to go. When the drama gets too rough, but you don't want to log off of SL, it was Gabi's theatre, where she always left the light on."
Gabi's theater is an Aramax Cinema, which she purchased for 5,000L. After finding a home for it on Short Beach, in an amusement park, she and sim owner, Ellen Spark, realized there was going to be a problem. For one, the build was an unmodifiable skybox and there was no way to get inside. She loved the interior that this one had, which was very realistic. It has a huge movie screen with curtains that open and close. The lights even turn on and off."But, how do people get inside, I couldn't cut a hole in the side or remove a wall," she said. "Well, I went searching for a ticket booth. I guess I thought, put a ticket booth in front of a big black box and people could get inside."
She saved the landmark which sold ticket booths. She teleported there and learned it was an art gallery that belonged to Mike Hamlin. Gabi said he was inside his empty gallery, heartbroken.
"It was just an empty shell of a shop," she explained. “The owner of the sim had lost it and Mike had lost many of his custom builds. I had told him my story, how I had bought the theatre and truthfully, had no clue how to have people come inside."
Mike looked at Gabi's theatre and stated that he could create an entranceway for her as a gift. Building would deaden the frustration of his own loss. Creating a facade for her was wonderful, adding a dance floor on the roof with a clock that kept (Second Life) time, was more then she could dream of.
When in the theater, you should find a seat so that you don't disturb those already watching one of the movies. Click on the DVR and select a movie from the pop up. Your quicktime will activate and the movie will begin like it would in a rl theater. If your viewer doesn't cooperate, relog with another viewer. Best behavior and no typing are expected.
Asked how she determines which movies to present, considering that her audience is all age levels and global, she replied, "I go with the movie choices that I enjoy watching. I assume there are more comedies and action movies than horror flicks, because I enjoy watching those more. I try not to get movies with nudity or foul language, because those movies just don't interest me."
Her favorite comedian is Adam Sandler, so you'll be sure to see a number of his movies available. Seasonal movies are provided and even a few personal requests are honored.
Use the custom made teleports to enter the theater, leave it, tp to the roof or visit the fishing area.
"Another friend added a different screen so that my one and only movie at that time could play," she said. "Everything was so difficult. The original teleports to go from the inside to the roof were difficult for me to set up. I didn't know how to build or do anything and I had to have so many people help me create my dream of this wonderful theater. I couldn't have done it without all the people that I met along the way."Gabi watched every step of the building process and was amazed with Mike's skill. She named the theater Sweet Dreams Movies and Mike created the logo for her. She stated that Mike is not only a builder, but a terraformer and content creator, as well. His vision gave her dream life.
A friend introduced Gabi to the sim owner of Short Beach. This seemed the perfect solution to where to rez her building.
According to Gabi, Short Beach, Long Beach, Sunset Beach and Bikini Beach were four connected sims. They were inspired by Long Island, New York. With a carnival theme, visitors enjoy free rides and play $10L games. They pay tier so others have a safe, fun area to enjoy.
"I wanted to give and if people want to tip me, that is wonderful," she said. "But, I don't make enough tips to pay one week's tier. It's not a money maker. It doesn't pay for itself. It would be nice if it did, however I wanted to give to the community and it brings me great happiness to see other people enjoy what I have to offer."
You'll find Sweet Dreams Movies on one-quarter of Short Beach, which provides additional room for other recreational attractions near her theater. So look for her spook house around Halloween, her ice skating rink in the winter and her meeroo petting island now. She even treated SL couples to a Tunnel of Love during Valentine's Day and had a raceway in the summer.
As for feedback from her return visitors, she's told that she has the best theater in Second Life because of the number of movies in her collection.
"People enjoy coming with a loved one or just to spend time alone," she told me. "There are a lot of regulars who come and a lot of new people who visit the amusement park. They see the theatre and come back later to watch a movie together. I've never had to ban anyone. Everyone who comes is pleasant toward one another and is courteous to others watching a movie."
Look for freebies around the holidays in the theater and fireworks on the roof on New Years Eve. Sweet Dreams Movies has participated in a few Grid-wide hunts. It's also a vendor for breedable turtles.
Check out Gabi's Sweet Dreams Theater; enjoy three free popcorn and a quiet date with your favorite avatar.
Netera Landar
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