“Do you remember?”
Charlie’s eyes are bright, plaintive. She wrings her hands nervously, shoulders hunched.
We glance at one another, shake our heads. We don’t remember the ritual. We don’t remember any of this. We only arrived five minutes ago.
We have gathered here, in Fire’s apartment, at Charlie’s behest. When she emailed us beforehand, she explained that Fire, beloved Fire, has disappeared. But if we all work together, if we all complete the ritual, we can bring her back.
There’s just one hitch. Even though we’ve all done the ritual before, none of us seem to remember it. We don’t even remember Fire. Sometimes that happens, Charlie says, when you’re not a full member of the coven yet. You forget.
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But not to worry. She’s been given the beginning of the ritual, in a dream. Together, we’ll find our way to completing it. Together, we’ll bring Fire back.
And with that, we dive in to The Ritual, the latest from Shine On Collective. Designed for a small audience — six or fewer — the show depicts the efforts of a coven to complete the ritual and save Fire. Audience members are asked questions, given tasks, and taught a language of gestures and chants — a language which by the end seems second nature. But for the most part, they are there to bear witness: to hear the strange stories these women tell.
Attendees of Shine On’s previous shows will notice a structural similarity to their To The Wild: repeated rites, dancing and walking in circles, and invocations, interspersed with whispered moments with the characters in closets and corners. These private moments, like To The Wild, involve playful games, dark fairy tales, and ominous warnings. But this reads less as a repurposing of old material and more like a thematic choice. This is what Shine On does: they write dreamlike encounters, woven with fairy tale allusions, feminist messaging, and light dancing. Linear story is minimal; so is set design. This experience is about a tone, a mood, listening to the words of women.
The result will not be for everyone. There is a homemade quality to Shine On’s work that may read as either endearing or frustrating (perhaps depending on how one feels about paying $80 for it). It is easy to catch a glimpse of the next room before you are supposed to be aware of it; to notice a pre-written note before a character mimes writing it; to hear one of the witches flubbing her line as they all chant together. There are rough edges to the dancing and choreography, and some wearable props could use some tweaking. The show, in short, relies a bit too much on the goodwill of its audience.
But for those who come in a generous spirit, there is a surreal and evocative storyscape to mine. The script showcases a rich tapestry of imagery and thematic elements — sisters, creatures, mirrors, memories, time itself — and these recurring motifs add to the eerie, uneasy feeling that, despite your missing memories, something seems familiar after all. For fans of Shine On’s signature style, and for newcomers looking for a low-key and wistful experience, The Ritual hits all the marks.
The Ritual has a sold out run through September 29, 2019 in DTLA. Tickets are $81.20 total, including fees.
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