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14 August 2022
The Dating Project: First Date
Dan Mussett | GB/BE
Many phenomena have a second, third or even higher plurality: Second Life, Third Eye, Four Tops, Five Guys. But The Dating Project: First Date is unsurpassed in its adventurousness. The original!
Location
Zuiderpark/Terras
Running time
45 min.
Genre
Performance
Participants in this theatrical role-playing game follow a series of instructions on a smartphone, eerily mimicking a contemporary conversation in which the mobile phone is invariably hyper-present. The Dating Project: First Date reveals how we want to present ourselves, when we are ourselves and when we are not. Moreover, it gives a stunning but also amusing insight into our adhesion to screens. The key question: do 'real contact' and 'authenticity' still exist in a world of pixels? Or can technology help us to form closer bonds?
Under the banner of The Dating Project, various European artists are investigating the role of technology in social life. The project was initiated by performer and choreographer Dan Mussett [1988], who hoped to drown his grumbles about dating apps. He succeeded!
Attention: you can register for a time slot and receive a smartphone for participation, temporarily handing in your own phone.
Concept, Direction and Scripting: Dan Mussett
Concept and Tech: Vincent Van Dijck
Scripting, Dramaturgy and Scenography: Barbara T’Jonck
Scripting, Communication and Social Media: Bianca Zueneli
Graphic Design: Michael Strebel
Music: ‘Song to the Siren’, This Mortal Coil; ‘Crush’ Jennifer Paige.
Executive Production: wpZimmer
Coproduction: C-TAKT, KAAP, De Studio, Europalia Arts Festival: Trains and Tracks, Storm op Komst, Bozar, Brakke Grond.
Supported by: Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, City of Antwerp, Flemish Government Activiteiten Premie
With thanks to: Tuning People, GRIP, Andreas Fleck, Zehra Proch, Pauline Scharmann, Rubina Pabani, Laurent Delom, MAXLab, CREATIE, Beatrice Peadrini and all the participants who have taken part in the many, many try-outs.
