Love makes you do weird things.

Like lose your senses. Go against your better judgement. Or even find yourself looking for a note underneath a tree on a busy street in Los Angeles…as I was last night. This was how I started the fourth and final section of the DEVOTED series, aptly titled “Devoted”, from Shine On Collective.

Building off of their two, short shows during the summer haunt conventions (Always and Together), and their invitation only third chapter (Forever), Devoted ends Cara’s saga as she desperately wants to find true love in the form of you.

Yes, you. Sitting there, reading this right now. Cara loves you, and only wants to be with you. While the other shows where solitary experiences, in Devoted, you are paired with someone else. In this case, I was with my fiancé, Martina. Cara loves us both, she said, and wants the three of us to be together, part of each other, forever, in a strange, polyamorous love triangle.

WARNING: Minor Spoilers Ahead

The show wastes no time in bringing you into Cara’s past, exploring more of her memories, as she attempts to get you to understand what makes her tick, and what she is looking for from you. Her tragic history is dark, darker than I ever expected, as the scenes play out before you. Sometimes, Cara is with you. Sometimes, you are Cara, seeing things from her perspective.

Though you enter the memories with someone else, you will rarely see them. Cara’s memories will reveal themselves to you, sometimes intertwining with your partner, but more often not. In fact, for such a small space that the show takes place in, Shine On did an amazing job of keeping Martina and I apart. To the point where I completely forgot she was even there with me, and was surprised to see her when we re-connected for the final scene.

The world that Shine On has created for Cara is amazing. It is filled with her past, and her memories, but something isn’t right. They aren’t just passive…they are living, breathing things, fully aware of the fact that they are fragments in Cara’s mind, only wanting to escape, to end their own torment…and Cara’s. While the heart of the story may be Cara’s, the experiences are shared by all, and you feel for each and every single one of them.

From our previous interactions, from the conventions to the last show and even interactions online, we know Cara to be a bit unstable. She is the unreliable narrator here, as I felt that the events of her past, and her memories, are fractured; skewed and remembered in a way that holds a hint of truth, but may not be completely right.

Much like in Forever, they make good use of the space. Of particular note was a scene that played out in the bathroom, nestled closely with someone else, in a bathtub filled with love notes. When the door opened, the world was transformed. Instead of a bathroom, it was now a gateway into a safe haven. To say anymore would spoil the scene, but it was truly fantastic how they were able to convert the space into feeling like something completely new. They did this multiple times throughout the show, and I credit Phoebe Merten’s lighting design as part of the reason it worked so well.

I quickly realized later on that only I received the experience in the bathtub, though. As Martina and I de-briefed in the car, comparing our stories, there were a few scenes that either she or I had experienced that caused the other to go “Wait, I didn’t see that! What happened?!” Again, in such a small space, it was amazing that we both had vastly different experiences in Cara’s world, all at the same time. To me, that was Cara, revealing herself to us in her own way, trying to get us to understand her by showing us both different memories.

Yet again, Trish DeLuca brought her A-game to the table as Cara, making us both feel for her AND fear her in the same breath. Over the course of the last few months, she has become Cara, and really made the character her own. She fully commits, and makes you believe that Cara is real. By show’s end, the look in her eyes will haunt you forever. She is an incredibly gifted actress, especially when it comes to immersive theater, and one I look forward to seeing what else she does next.

While DeLuca did most of the heavy lifting the last time around, this time, she is joined by others that are just as gifted as she is, many of which you will have intense, one on one scenes with. I can’t even pick any standout scenes with them, because honestly, they were ALL stand outs.

Taylor Thorne’s Victim Girl made you fear for your own safety, as she tried to help you get through the bad times. When she hugged me, I truly felt she was doing it for me just as much as she was doing it for her. Eric Vallante was chilling as the father, desperately trying to change his ways, while also doomed to repeat his past mistakes. Alexander Echols’ portrayal as The Ex took the conventional role of “bad boyfriend,” and completely turned it on its head, making me feel for him and for what Cara had done to him. I didn’t even see Marlee Delia as the Therapist, but Martina said her scenes with her were also top notch.

Delia pulled double duty, and also directed the show again. Since first seeing her work in THE TRUTH some months back, Delia has proven time and again that she truly “gets” immersive theater, and knows how to make it work. Devoted is no different, really showcasing her skills at taking a complicated show, and making it run like clockwork.

Though the story was developed by Delia, DeLuca, and Anna Mavromati, Mavromati deserves mountains of praise for writing the show. The subject of dark love such as this is always complicated, and in the wrong hands, could become too hokey. However, Mavromati expertly avoids any pitfalls, and has some of her strongest writing to date in this show. She made me laugh, she made me sad, and she emotionally devastated me with Cara’s story.

While seeing the previous three shows did enhance this final experience for me, newcomers shouldn’t worry; Devoted is a standalone show, and is just as dark and twisted on its own.

I really can’t say enough good things about this show. It really was wonderful. I would urge you to purchase a ticket to see it for yourself, however, it is now sold out. However, there is a mailing list to sign up for, and I suggest you do so in case they extend. It really is a hauntingly beautiful show, and though it closes this chapter on Cara, it makes me excited for what Shine On Collective has in store next.

For more information on Shine On and Devoted, and to sign up for their mailing list, visit them online at www.shineoncollective.com