Step Inside Secret Cinema’s Arcane Immersive Experience in Los Angeles

Right on the heels of the first season finale of Netflix’s Arcane, the animated adaptation of the global videogame phenomenon League of Legends, Los Angeles fans of that world can partake in the seedy underbelly of Zaun for the next four weeks at the Arcane Immersive Experience.

What does “immersive experience” mean, exactly? Secret Cinema started as a tiny cult upstart in London that staged small live interactive events. Today it’s grown into a global enabler of fandom, staging large environments within all kinds of IP from Stranger Things to Star Wars. When you buy a ticket, it’s like signing up to be an extra within the world of your favorite film or television show. Working officially with the license holder, the Secret Cinema team create original storylines designed for all levels of audience participation, from just observing with slight interactions, to working with characters in the story to reveal or discover elements of the evening’s main goals.

For Arcane’s Immersive Experience, you’re signing up to go into the neglected Undercity which is run by criminal overlord and architect of an independent Nation of Zaun, Silco, and his enforcer daughter, Jinx. When you buy your tickets, a bespoke character in the city is generated for you to use during the two-hour experience when you’re addressed by Zaun residents or Piltover’s Enforcers patrolling the event space. You can wear what you want, but the steam punk, vigilante aesthetic looks great amongst the production design you’ll be wandering around. There are no cameras allowed inside the venue, which encourages just being in the moment. It’s a great vibe. Also note, it gets warm once capacity is achieved so dress in layers, and wear comfortable shoes as sitting isn’t part of the evening.

There are two tiers of tickets: general admission and VIP. Both operate the same way, except VIP tickets get you a Zaun pin to get special access to Silco’s lair, a drink and food token, and early entrance that places you inside Zaun before the rest of the attendees are ushered in about 10 minutes later. Experientially afterwards, it’s mostly the same.

Everyone starts the evening with an intro from Piltover’s Sheriff Marcus from the series, who warns that masks are required the whole time (as well as your checked vaccination status) to protect you from the “noxious” fumes in Zaun, which is clever world-building for our times. A tunnel with video wall projections gives audiences an introductory synopsis of Arcane Act I, with a real life Vi and Powder reenactment to set the stage for the dominant storyline of the night: the reunion of estranged sisters Vi and Powder/Jinx.

Everyone is then welcomed into Zaun and the centerpiece bar, The Last Drop. A multi-level set welcomes the attendees to free-range roam and interact with actors playing characters from the series. If you want to really dig into everything the night can offer, your assigned team color and group will get herded into corners to go on missions like acquiring shimmer, or even distributing it throughout the set to aid Silco’s goals, which contribute to a unique climax to the story that changes based on the participants each night. Characters like Vi, Jinx, Sevika, Marcus and random Enforcers will wander and conscript those interested in side missions.