Once upon a time, Luci moved back home to Denver with two masters degrees and a broken heart. She had no single friends and no social life (unless you count Sunday pancakes with mom and dad which, don't get her wrong, I mean that's cool and all but the thing is she was 33 and a little broken and still had big career dreams but at the same time-let's face it- she was Princess Diana Bride for Halloween when she was 6, so there's that)...and all of a sudden online dating seemed like a really good idea.

So Luci hopped online and, you know, a lot of stuff happened...

And it got her thinking about things like what the hell do I say in my profile and should I message this guy first and what about photoshopping and Spanx and sex and how many sites should I be on at once and is this guy gonna pick up the tab or not and am I getting totally obsessed with all of this and does true love exist and can you actually find it online?

Anyways, one night Luci was spouting off about all this to some friends and it turned out they had stories about online dating too...and those stories-and the act of sharing them- made her feel a little less alone and a little more normal and she started thinking that the answers to her questions might be not be found in He's Just Not That Into You or Plato and Schopenhauer but in talking with other people about their own experiences with online dating. And because she's an actor and that's kind of how she thinks about things and how she makes sense of the world she thought all of this...stuff...might make a really good play. 

So Luci bought a little Sony tape recorder and started interviewing people about online dating and pretty soon the pool of friends and friends-of-friends she was talking to grew to more than 200 online daters, social scientists, entrepreneurs, digital marketers, dating gurus, fraud detectors, web consultants and fetishists.  

Luci transcribed all her interviews (holy shit was that a lot of work) and used them to identify themes and shape individual scenes and monologues. She held some really informal readings and was approached by the Denver Center Theatre Company about working together to curate and produce the piece. Together, they built an interdisciplinary team to create Date*: a one-act set in a stark apartment with a single live actor (Luci), a lap top and digital projections depicting her online dating life and the people she interviewed. It examines what happens when evolving technologies are used to satisfy human instincts to match and mate.

Date* premiered at the DCTC’s new venture Off-Center at The Jones in April 2012 and earned rave reviews. The show exceeded business expectations set by Off-Center (notably, more than 65% of the audience were first time DCTC patrons) and was nominated for Outstanding New Play by the Colorado Theatre Guild. It was immediately picked up for a run at The Scottsdale Center for The Performing Arts and subsequently received nominations for the 2012 True West Awards for Best New Work and Best Use of Multimedia and recognition from Mile High Critics as a Top Ten/Favorite Shows in Denver for 2012. 
 
The creative team continues working within a plastic development model to strengthen storyline, incorporate new interviews,  and rework film and projection elements to ensure Date* maintains relevance and continues prompting discussion about how people connect on and off line. They are excited to mount the newest version of Date* at The Long Center for Performing Arts in Austin, TX next fall; in the meantime, they are partnering with local singles groups and international dating websites to create thoughtful and fun singles events (Date* Nights), working to grow educational outreach initiatives (they've taught New Play Development courses at the University of Denver, Metropolitan State University and Arcadia High School) and honing their model so the show can include local interviews from the communities where Date* runs.