{"id":857270,"date":"2026-06-10T10:37:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T10:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/857270\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T10:37:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T10:37:25","slug":"this-personal-theater-experience-is-disguised-as-an-l-a-tarot-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/857270\/","title":{"rendered":"This personal theater experience is disguised as an L.A. tarot reading"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There\u2019s a sense of quiet mystery in tarot. That\u2019s why during my reading last week, it was more peculiar than disruptive when a dancer hopped on a table to lay at a 90-degree angle and jet her feet in the air.<\/p>\n

Despite said activity, the tone was contemplative, and moments later, as I was being asked to describe the colors and mood of a Ten of Swords card, I was tapped on the shoulder. After a gesture to follow, I was handed a lantern.<\/p>\n

The way I swayed the light would now dictate the performer\u2019s movements. We may not have been dancing, but it was close. Melancholic and intimate, the performer (Haylee Nichele) silently guided me to become comfortable in my discomfort, to sit with the evening\u2019s themes of longing, loss, confusion and impending grief. <\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Sam Alper\u2019s Bill, foreground, and Haylee Nichele\u2019s Constance in Koryn Wicks\u2019 \u201cYou Must Be Here for the Reading,\u201d an immersive tarot show. <\/p>\n

(Daniel Kleen)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou Must Be Here for the Reading,\u201d running through June 20 at North Hollywood\u2019s After Hours Theatre, is part theatrical and dance performance, part tarot reading and part cocktail hour. It\u2019s also personal, led by two actors who encourage the attendees to open up, to complete poems and to generally tune into their vulnerability.<\/p>\n

The 60-minute show, partly scripted and partly improvised, comes from the mind of Koryn Wicks. Trained in dance and choreography, Wicks\u2019 day job is in themed entertainment while her personal projects explore the immersive space. They\u2019re theatrical works that experiment with audience interaction. \u201cYou Must Be Here for the Reading\u201d is no different.<\/p>\n

The setup: Collectively, our group of eight has arrived at a tarot reading, only the famed reader we are there to work with, Constance, performed by Nichele on the night I saw, never arrives for her assigned role. We know her fate, but her partner, Sam Alper\u2019s Bill, who nervously attempts to carry on with the performance in her absence, does not.<\/p>\n

From there, \u201cYou Must be Here for the Reading\u201d becomes a show heavy on audience participation. There are scripted, story-specific beats, but the cards pulled \u2014 and the tales they tell \u2014 is, of course, randomized.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Sam Alper as Bill, an unsuspecting tarot card reader in Koryn Wicks\u2019 \u201cYou Must Be Here for the Reading.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Daniel Kleen)<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew that I wanted the audience to be the primary drivers of the tarot reading,\u201d Wicks says. \u201cI knew that I wanted the host to not be a tarot reader and there to be some sort of event that made it so the audience would have to take the reins and read the tarot.\u201d<\/p>\n

In turn, \u201cYou Must Be Here for the Reading\u201d works for both those who are novices to the space as well as those who are more experienced. During the pre-show, guests can explore tarot books and uncover slips of paper hidden in them that prompt us to answer questions or complete poems \u2014 the latter will figure into the performance. A worksheet given to us asks us to interpret some core tenets, as well as to enter the reading with a question we would like to explore. <\/p>\n

The show then focuses on how each attendee\u2019s desires, concerns or lived experiences shape the perception of the reading. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s drawn me to tarot is the way it\u2019s built on symbolism and the way that symbolism is embedded in the collective unconscious,\u201d Wicks says. \u201cI think it\u2019s really fascinating that we have this artifact that has this ability to give us insight into a lot of shared experiences. When I\u2019ve read different books about tarot, or had my cards read by different people, there is an openness to interpenetration. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe assignment I gave myself for this piece,\u201d Wicks continues, \u201cwas to create an experience in which you had a group of people coming together and going through the process of defining the symbolism and meaning of the cards in real time.\u201d<\/p>\n

And yet the show also pulls from Wicks\u2019 background in dance. While Constance never shows for the reading, her presence is still felt, often hovering or circling around the table with movements designed to interpret the tone of the reading. She\u2019s a ghostly presence, the gracefulness heightening the somber emotions of the night. Though she and Bill never interact directly, much of the dance seeks to explore their unseen bond. At times, Constance may call on various audience members to act as a dance partner. <\/p>\n

\"Artist <\/p>\n

Koryn Wicks, creator of \u201cYou Must Be Here for the Reading,\u201d an immersive tarot performance in which audiences are tasked with deciphering their own cards while a melancholic story unfolds around them.<\/p>\n

(Kayla Bartkowski \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cI really believe that one of the most beautiful things art does for us is remind us that we are not alone,\u201d Wicks says. <\/p>\n

Immersive art allows for a sense of participation, which Wicks hopes will increase one\u2019s appreciation of dance.<\/p>\n

\u201cDance is an embodied art form,\u201d Wicks says. \u201cThere is science that shows that some of the enjoyment from watching dance comes from imagining yourself moving. In North America, a lot of people haven\u2019t had an experience or education with dance, especially not concert dance. Then we ask them to sit in a dark auditorium in a small chair and not move to enjoy it. I found through my research, both practical and academic, there is something to inviting audiences to participate in dance that allows them to derive meaning from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘You Must Be Here for the Reading’ <\/p>\n

While there isn\u2019t enough time in the show for everyone to have a one-on-one experience with the dancer, watching an audience and cast member attempt to get in sync with each other underlines the night\u2019s themes of connecting. Ultimately, that\u2019s the space where the show resides. \u201cYou Must Be Here for the Reading\u201d uses tarot as a means to bring some structure to our often disconnected lives. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt stands in contradiction to our current historical moment,\u201d Wicks says of the show. \u201cIt\u2019s very anti-AI. It\u2019s asking people to sit with books and to find little seeds and not necessarily pursue solutions or puzzles. It\u2019s asking us to connect, sometimes with strangers.\u201d<\/p>\n

I kept my question that I brought to the reading secret, but I found the show provided a hopeful answer. Not because the cards offered a solution. Instead, they provided a community. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a sense of quiet mystery in tarot. That\u2019s why during my reading last week, it was more…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":857271,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[349847,1582,276,188247,10929,191088,207145,24568,349848,349849,349846,2961,224,5337,6215,4370,349845,182883,77917,236272],"class_list":["post-857270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-audience-interaction","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-constance","tag-dance","tag-dance-performance","tag-different-people","tag-experience","tag-immersive-space","tag-koryn-wicks","tag-l-a-tarot-reading","tag-la","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-reading","tag-show","tag-swords-card","tag-symbolism","tag-tarot","tag-wick"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116725381186083154","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=857270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/857271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=857270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=857270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=857270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}