Midsummer Scream has been a convention full of teasers to get us psyched for the Halloween season about to come upon us, but luckily we won’t have to wait too long to see more of what Shine On Collective has brewing for us. This past weekend, Shine On gave us quite the taste of their newest intimate and interactive experience, “Devoted”. “Devoted” is a four-part series, written by Anna Mavromati and directed by Marlee Delia, that will be premiering over the course of  the next few months. This series will be intense, dark and unsettling, but intimately engaging. “Always,” the first show of the series, took place this weekend for Midsummer Scream attendees.

The premise of this particular show involves an intimate, one-on-one encounter with Cara (Trish De Luca); a sad but sweet woman who takes particular interest in you, the audience member, and the potential love that you could provide to her. She tells a brief piece of her story during the 5-minute interaction you share with her within the confinement of a pop-up dressing room, and asks if you can give her the real emotional connection that she so desperately seeks. At the end of your meeting, she leaves you with a personal letter that perhaps hints at what to expect if you choose to join her next time. The performance was executed absolutely beautifully, and I sincerely found myself indulging in Cara’s story and yearning to provide her with everything she begged for.

What may be most exciting about this series of performances is the potential for a truly personalized immersive experience. After the performance, each participant was given the opportunity to fill out a form to include personal information (including social media accounts and names of loved ones). The form was required to receive an invitation to their upcoming experience, “Forever,” which will be an invitation-only event. Not much information has been divulged in regards to what we can expect for the next pieces of the series, but from the looks of it, it is going to be an original and exciting addition to the immersive theater scene. After participating in this short, but stunning performance, Shine On most definitely left me begging for more.

So what do you say; will you join her? She’s waiting…

WEBSITE: http://www.shineoncollective.com/devoted

PERFORMANCES

ALWAYS – Midsummer Scream in Long Beach July 30 and 31 2016

TOGETHER – ScareLA in Pasadena – August 6 and 7 2016

FOREVER – September 2-4 2016

DEVOTED – October 2016