The Dating Project - First Date

First Date is a performative roleplaying game in which two people re-enact a first date by following a series of instructions on a smartphone. In doing so, they begin to perform an uncanny mimicry of a modern day conversation in which smartphones are always hyper-present, altering the rhythm of our encounters with each other. First Date blurs the line between fiction and reality, and between when we are performing and when we are being ourselves. Are concepts like 'intimacy' and 'authenticity' even possible anymore in our screen-oriented culture? Or can technology offer us ways of forming closer connections with each other?

Watch the trailer here

CREDITS

concept, direction & scripting Dan Mussett concept & tech Vincent Van Dijck scripting, dramaturgy & scenography Barbara T’Jonck scripting, communication & 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.