#DateMe: An OKCupid Experiment

When I met my boyfriend on OKCupid back in 2006, the site was nascent enough that I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into. Luckily, he was one of the first people to message me, and the only one who was charming enough to keep talking to. So when we met in person a few weeks into messaging each other almost daily (I know, a few weeks seems like an eternity in the world of online dating, but neither of us really knew any better), it was my first time meeting anyone from online dating. I was naïve to the scary, weird, and plain awkward mess that sometimes accompanies these types of dates.

Not so for Robyn Lynne Norris, the creator of #DateMe: An OKCupid Experiment. As a comedian and improv actor living in Los Angeles, Robyn was terribly lonely but also so freaked out by the online dating scene that instead of creating a dating profile for herself, she created 38, each as a different “undateable” character. She enlisted her friends to pose for the photos, sometimes using her own face. But most importantly, the profiles had to be really out there, archetypes of certain people, both male and female. Like TracyLovesCats (the crazy cat lady), DoorSlamEric (the unavailable guy), and BoobsandWangz (whose lifelong dream is to work at Hooters). Thus, the OkCupid Experiment began. 

#DateMe is the show based on Robyn’s experience tracking these profiles, using them as a kind of litmus test to determine what people respond to. It’s kind of like a one-woman show, sprinkled with improvisation, original music (Julie Nichols & Dan Wessels), audience participation, and facts about online dating today (did you know that the one word a person can add to their profile to instantly increase their responses is “guacamole”?). Audience members are invited to download an app to create their own mini-profiles that you can swipe through, and the show sends messages through the app as some of the characters. They also occasionally select audience members to participate by telling their worst dating stories, or pretending they’re on a date. At one point, the actors improvise what would have been a first date between two audience members. 

All of this is facilitated by the excellent cast, led by Kaitlyn Black, who charmingly plays Robyn (the real Robyn performed the role in the LA and Chicago runs). The other five performers play a rotating variety of characters. Liz Wisan as Pioneerinabox, a butter-churning colonial reenactor, is a personal favorite. Aside from DoorSlamEric, Jonathan Gregg plays copy and paster ohskycake, the guy who sends the same message to everyone. MarryMeNowStat, played by Eric Lockley, is the overeager guy who is ready to settle down, like, now. Megan Sikora is pretty funny as Old4U76, a 30-something going on 80. MrNightLifeTron (Chris Alvarado) is that guy who’s always at ‘da club, and who didn’t get any responses…until Robyn made him gay.

#DateMe is a silly, fun show that’s great for anyone who’s been on a really bad date, or anyone who is generally flummoxed by dating sites. Most people can probably relate to the craziness that is online dating. You might even recognize some of these people as types you’ve encountered. Had I not had success on OKCupid, I’m sure I would have stumbled upon my share of DoorSlamErics or MrNightLifeTrons eventually.

#DateMe is playing at the Westside Theatre through September 8.