What kind of a hero are you? What story is this?

These are the questions asked by Shine On Collective in their latest show, SWEET DREAMS. This story began during the Hollywood Fringe Festival back in June, where a young man named Phillip was searching for Rose, his lost love. While that outing was merely a prologue, followed by a quick, audio-based offering at Midsummer Scream, their current show is a fully realized production, allowing us to be the hero we were meant to be.

SWEET DREAMS begins by inviting you into a sleep study, with Phillip, and soon you are whisked away into the world of dreaming. Phillip explains that we are all heroes in this story, and that it is up to us to help him find Rose, the girl of his dreams, but literally and figuratively.

Before going on, it should be noted that there are two different versions of this show: Heavy Sleeper and Dreamer. Heavy Sleeper is for those who are more adventurous; you go through alone (for the most part), and have plenty of intimate one on ones with the characters. This version lasts about 90 minutes. Dreamer is slightly less intense, and there are more guided through in small groups. This version is about an hour.

I attended a Heavy Sleeper performance of the show, because of course I wanted to see the scope of the experience! While I am not sure what scenes play out differently for the two different ticket types, I can say with great confidence that I was incredibly impressed by the show I saw.

Based upon the legend of Sleeping Beauty, writer Anna Mavromati wisely decides to tackle the fairytale as just that; a fairytale. Building off the fact that there are multiple versions of the story, the characters are self-aware of their literary trappings, knowing full well that in each version, their roles change. When you speak to them, they are often not sure which version they currently are, as things shift and bend to the story’s whim.

The show is definitely a multi-faceted affair, with a seemingly simple story unraveled to unveil complex layers. Characters, and their motivations, are not who you originally believed them to be, while the tale of Rose unfolds before your eyes.

I was treated to some incredible one-on-one performances throughout the show, and was amazed at how the story wove together. For the first half of the show, it seemed like the scenes were entwined together into an interwoven tapestry of repetition. I would often be part of one scene, and see another play out before me, before being part of said scene myself later on. This is not a knock against the show at all, as being able to see all sides of the action, from different perspectives, strengthened the story overall. It gave me a different perspective, quite literally, to see how one character interpreted the action, versus how the others did. This also speaks volumes about how the show is laid out; things had to be timed just right in order to get us all into the right place at the right time, and I was impressed by their ability to do so. A lot of this had to do with the direction of Shine On Collective’s resident director Marlee Delia. Not only was she able to get some incredible performances out of her actors, but she did a fantastic job of keeping everything running smoothly.

For the second half of the show, things became divided between myself and the other attendees. Apparently, we all had very different scenes with various characters, as we excitedly exchanged details later on.

My scene involved the characters of the Sister and the Dragon. While it started off with the Sister sweetly explaining her history with Rose, it quickly took an incredibly dark turn that I was not expecting. It was the most emotionally and physically intense scene of the entire piece. Taylor Thorne played her Sister role with religious zeal, and commanded an incredible performance from start to finish. On the other hand, Stepy Kamei as the Dragon managed to be the single creepiest thing I have ever experienced in an immersive show, all with just the movements of her body and incredibly convincing dead eyes. I am going to have nightmares about her for weeks, I am sure. Which is fitting, consider this scene is apparently known as “Night Terrors.” It is one of the best that Shine On has ever done, and it really left me with an intense feeling of dread.

The rest of the actors were phenomenal as well. Though we meet earlier during The Prologue back in June, it was great to see Hannah Faust’ Rose grow even more. Her desperation to escape from her story felt incredibly real, and it was quite the emotional feat that she tackled nicely. Learning about her past, her present, and her potential futures really made Faust bring her A-game, and she absolutely did.  

Alexander Echols’ Philip is definitely one of the biggest jerks in any immersive show I’ve seen, and that’s a compliment. His own desperation, not to escape the story but to find Rose, comes off him in waves…nothing else matters to him, and it shows through his actions. Having been a fan (and friend) of Echols’ for a few years, I am glad to see that he is finally getting the meatier roles he deserves, because he is damn good here.

Special shout outs are also needed for Taylor Goss (the King), Lyssa Samuel (the Queen), and Dylan Little (the Doctor), as they definitely were all fantastic. While I did spend as much time with them as some of the others, they all were wonderful in helping to tell this story. Each provided a fantastic one-on-one moment that showed off their incredible skills.

Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the great sound design from Kate Kohler, whose music and soundscapes help set the tone of the piece. Celia Sutton’s set design and props were also top notch, including some fun surprises at the end that I was not expecting.

Overall, SWEET DREAMS is Shine On Collective’s most ambitious project yet, and they absolutely created something wonderful. I am incredibly impressed at how the company has grown over such a short period of time. SWEET DREAMS is a huge leap forward in all aspects of their work (writing, acting, directing), and it makes me even more excited to see what they come up with next. While this show may take place within a dream, don’t sleep on this one and miss it. You will be sorry if you did.

For more information, and to purchase tickets to the show, visit them online at: http://shineoncollective.com

Promotional photographs provided by Larry Duncan.