How does one describe a thing as complex as grief? Is it rage? Despair? Fractured bravery?  How can you understand something that is no easier to grab hold of than a wriggling fish between your palms?

Creator/Director Meredith Treinen attempts to explain this difficult sensation in Grief, a living snapshot of the cavernous space left by loss. In this case, three sisters, Murphy (Natalie Llerena) Madeline (Juliet Deem) and Michelle (Rachel Rivera), occupy that space together, yet are tossed apart by how differently they attempt to process their agony at the death of their brother.   The sandbox-style of Treinen’s set, beautifully designed by Liam Moore and built by Miles Gracey, allows audience members to choose to follow any or all of the three grieving sisters as they struggle to process their impossible emotions.  Participants are free to move silently about the spartan yet sumptuous set throughout the piece, observing fine details: a forgotten pair of boots, an old flannel shirt, clumps of moss and plants and living, growing things strewn across a bedframe. This unique staging makes the production well worth repeat visits; new perspectives and story beats will reveal themselves as participants choose different tracks to follow.

 

grief grief project meredith treinen ceaseless fun immersive theater los angeles theater sandbox

Image by Nerris Nassiri

Juliet Deem portrays Madeline as the sprightly young sister, attempting to carry forward, barreling through normalcy as a coping mechanism, until suddenly her denial fails and she is left staring off into the distance as if she’s just realized she has lost him all over again.  She clings to her sisters even as she tests their patience. She folds and refolds the same blanket; it’s never just right, will anything ever be just right again?

Rachel Rivera’s Michelle is coiled rage, unwilling to be comforted by her older sister, thrashing and broken.  She has lost her protector, the one who always thought of her when she needed him.  She embodies the raw, beating heart of the production, all guilt and anger and accusatory glares because anything is better than the truth that he’s gone. She moves with a feline grace undercut with the tension of a coiled spring.

 

grief grief project meredith treinen ceaseless fun immersive theater los angeles theater sandbox

Image by Nerris Nassiri

As Murphy, the eldest sister, Natalie Llerena delicately portrays the tenuous balance between being the one to hold her siblings together and her desire to break down.  It is evident in her tired eyes that she feels as if she has taken her brother’s place in his permanent absence, fussing over her sisters as a way to shield herself from her own despair. She walks, slowly crumbling towards the floor as if the grey tendrils of her loss have risen around her ankles, yanking her to the ground, clutching and pulling at her until at last she shakes herself upright with a weak, false smile.

Grief succeeds largely thanks to an immensely talented trio of actresses who command Treinen’s lyrical script with ease.  Their performance is soundtracked by sound consultant Tommy Schulz, who has layered in perfectly timed songs that coast along the productions ever-moving crescendo like an echoing wail.   Couple this with a warm, esoteric set, increasingly strong monologues, and a welcome dusting of modern dance, and this is a production that stands out in the crowded scene of immersive theatre in Los Angeles.  Treinen’s deeply personal words, when delivered by her cast, strum against the very fibers of what makes up the human condition.  It is sad yet uplifting, desperate yet hopeful, a slow-burning crawl from the beginning of tragedy that inches towards closure. There’s no right way to grieve, but the true success of Grief is how it shows there isn’t a wrong way either; there is beauty in the breakdown, and then comes the rebuild.

 

grief grief project meredith treinen ceaseless fun immersive theater los angeles theater sandbox

Image by Nerris Nassiri

There are currently 8 more shows in the current run of Grief, spanning from tonight until October 14th. Tickets are on sale here. For more on Grief, you can follow them on Instagram at @griefproject.  

Review