One of L.A.'s most personal theater experiences is disguised as a tarot reading - BERITAJA

There’s a consciousness of quiet enigma successful tarot. That’s why during my reference past week, it was much peculiar than disruptive erstwhile a dancer hopped connected a array to laic astatine a 90-degree perspective and pitchy her feet successful the air.

Despite said activity, the reside was contemplative, and moments later, arsenic I was being asked to picture the colors and temper of a Ten of Swords card, I was tapped connected the shoulder. After a motion to follow, I was handed a lantern.

The measurement I swayed the ray would now dictate the performer’s movements. We whitethorn not person been dancing, but it was close. Melancholic and intimate, the performer (Haylee Nichele) silently guided maine to go comfortable successful my discomfort, to beryllium pinch the evening’s themes of longing, loss, disorder and impending grief.

Sam Alper’s Bill, foreground, and Haylee Nichele’s Constance successful Koryn Wicks’ “You Must Be Here for the Reading,” an immersive tarot show.

(Daniel Kleen)

“You Must Be Here for the Reading,” moving done June 20 astatine North Hollywood’s After Hours Theatre, is portion theatrical and creation performance, portion tarot reference and portion cocktail hour. It’s besides personal, led by 2 actors who promote the attendees to unfastened up, to complete poems and to mostly tune into their vulnerability.

The 60-minute show, partially scripted and partially improvised, comes from the mind of Koryn Wicks. Trained successful creation and choreography, Wicks’ time occupation is successful themed intermezo while her individual projects research the immersive space. They’re theatrical useful that research pinch assemblage interaction. “You Must Be Here for the Reading” is nary different.

The setup: Collectively, our group of 8 has arrived astatine a tarot reading, only the famed scholar we are location to activity with, Constance, performed by Nichele connected the nighttime I saw, ne'er arrives for her assigned role. We cognize her fate, but her partner, Sam Alper’s Bill, who nervously attempts to transportation connected pinch the capacity successful her absence, does not.

From there, “You Must beryllium Here for the Reading” becomes a show dense connected assemblage participation. There are scripted, story-specific beats, but the cards pulled — and the tales they show — is, of course, randomized.

Sam Alper arsenic Bill, an unsuspecting tarot paper scholar successful Koryn Wicks’ “You Must Be Here for the Reading.”

(Daniel Kleen)

“I knew that I wanted the assemblage to beryllium the superior drivers of the tarot reading,” Wicks says. “I knew that I wanted the big to not beryllium a tarot scholar and location to beryllium immoderate benignant of arena that made it truthful the assemblage would person to return the reins and publication the tarot.”

In turn, “You Must Be Here for the Reading” useful for some those who are novices to the abstraction arsenic good arsenic those who are much experienced. During the pre-show, guests could research tarot books and uncover slips of insubstantial hidden successful them that punctual america to reply questions aliases complete poems — the second will fig into the performance. A worksheet fixed to america asks america to construe immoderate halfway tenets, arsenic good arsenic to participate the reference pinch a mobility we would for illustration to explore.

The show past focuses connected really each attendee’s desires, concerns aliases lived experiences style the cognition of the reading.

“What’s drawn maine to tarot is the measurement it’s built connected symbolism and the measurement that symbolism is embedded successful the corporate unconscious,” Wicks says. “I deliberation it’s really fascinating that we person this artifact that has this expertise to springiness america penetration into a batch of shared experiences. When I’ve publication different books about tarot, aliases had my cards publication by different people, location is an openness to interpenetration.

“The duty I gave myself for this piece,” Wicks continues, “was to create an acquisition successful which you had a group of group coming together and going done the process of defining the symbolism and meaning of the cards successful existent time.”

And yet the show besides pulls from Wicks’ inheritance successful dance. While Constance ne'er shows for the reading, her beingness is still felt, often hovering aliases circling about the array pinch movements designed to construe the reside of the reading. She’s a ghostly presence, the gracefulness heightening the somber emotions of the night. Though she and Bill ne'er interact directly, overmuch of the creation seeks to research their unseen bond. At times, Constance whitethorn telephone connected various assemblage members to enactment arsenic a creation partner.

Koryn Wicks, creator of “You Must Be Here for the Reading,” an immersive tarot capacity successful which audiences are tasked pinch deciphering their ain cards while a melancholic communicative unfolds about them.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

“I really judge that 1 of the about beautiful things creation does for america is punctual america that we are not alone,” Wicks says.

Immersive creation allows for a consciousness of participation, which Wicks hopes will summation one’s appreciation of dance.

“Dance is an embodied creation form,” Wicks says. “There is subject that shows that immoderate of the enjoyment from watching creation comes from imagining yourself moving. In North America, a batch of group haven’t had an acquisition aliases acquisition pinch dance, particularly not performance dance. Then we inquire them to beryllium successful a acheronian auditorium successful a mini chair and not move to bask it. I recovered done my research, some applicable and academic, location is thing to inviting audiences to participate successful creation that allows them to deduce meaning from it.”

While location isn’t capable clip successful the show for everyone to person a one-on-one acquisition pinch the dancer, watching an assemblage and formed personnel effort to get successful sync pinch each different underlines the night’s themes of connecting. Ultimately, that’s the abstraction wherever the show resides. “You Must Be Here for the Reading” uses tarot arsenic a intends to bring immoderate building to our often disconnected lives.

“It stands successful contradiction to our existent humanities moment,” Wicks says of the show. “It’s very anti-AI. It’s asking group to beryllium pinch books and to find small seeds and not needfully prosecute solutions aliases puzzles. It’s asking america to connect, sometimes pinch strangers.”

I kept my mobility that I brought to the reference secret, but I recovered the show provided a hopeful answer. Not because the cards offered a solution. Instead, they provided a community.