E-Max Experience

An eerie haze poured onto the floor of Love Gym from four smoke machines in front of a giant movie screen as Exonians settled onto the bleachers. Snacks in hand, Exonians of all ages filled the stands as they dove into the beloved world of Harry Potter through Exeter’s very first E-MAX experience of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”Kicking off with free concessions at 7:30pm, students were greeted with mini-M&Ms, a selection of popcorn, and bottles of Squamscot soda. Only two weeks into the school year, students appreciated the opportunity to meet the other students on campus. “I wanted to come here to both socialize and watch the movie,” lower Steven Gao said. “My friends are here and it’s a great way to relax.” Students eagerly awaited the movie while watching a slideshow of Exeter throughout the years. Not only paired with an impressive surround sound system, a multitude of special effects such as rolling fog, haze, and lighting effects that coincided with the events of the movie enhanced the experience. “We had a discussion about it and we decided that “Fantastic Beasts” was probably the best [movie to show] because of all the special effects [it had],” upper and Recreation Committee co-head David Kim said. Improving upon last spring’s “Black Panther” movie night, the Student Activities Office partnered with MFI productions, a company which has experience in doing hundreds of college and high school events all over New England.Working months in advance, PEA’s Student Events Coordinator Kelly McGahie was responsible for making the event a reality. After working with MFI productions on a variety of student events for almost a decade, she was excited to work with them again to create a unique experience to start off the school year. Though McGahie was the spark, and ultimately the person who tied the event together, she was appreciative of all the hard work that everyone put into the event. “The student council reps have been on it…I’m grateful for the PEAN for helping out…I can’t thank enough the MFI people…and I can’t give enough credit to the folks here at Elm Street dining hall.”Wanting student input, McGahie enlisted the help of the Student Council Recreation Committee to make the final touches as well as to help advertise the event. “We’ve been having a lot of meetings with Ms. McGahie…The first week of school, we actually met with the guys who are in the production company,” senior Katie Yang, a co-head of the Recreation Committee, said.In order to arrange the best event for Exonians, McGahie constantly met with the group of students who carefully selected the movie and eventually came up with the name of the event. “[McGahie] said that there were connections because Hogwarts is a boarding school of the magical world and we’re at Exeter, the boarding school of the no-majs [people without magical powers],” senior Ela Ferhangil, another co-head of the Recreation Committee, said. To welcome students back to another school year at Exeter, the Harry Potter universe explored similar elements of the concept of boarding school in a more fantastical atmosphere.After the end of the movie, Love Gym was once again transformed—this time, into a dance floor. Music started playing, and Exonians began dancing with their friends. “It looked like something you’d see at a concert,” said senior Nyaila Newbold. “It looked cool.” With E-MAX being the first official non-academic student event on campus, the many collaborators on the event hoped their weeks of preparation had paid off and that everyone had enjoyed the event. “We’re hoping that this is going to be the place where preps, lowers, uppers and seniors just comes in and we’re all together,” Ferhangil said before the screening of the movie.“You’re going to be with your friends and there’s going to be surround sound, a big screen and there’s also going to be a dance at the end. There’s something for everyone.”