All You'll Need Is Love (New York)
2007, ISE Foundation and L'Orange Bleu Restaurant

All You Need Is Love is a real-time dating game inspired by the original Dating Game television show, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, and Marcel Duchamp. Each performance of AYNIL uniquely explores the dating customs and mores of its host city.

Taking place simultaneously in two spaces (one a gallery and the other a restaurant) connected by a video feed and Instant-messaging, the event is structured over the course of a dinner. Four local contestants are selected to play the parts of one Romeo and three Juliets.

The event incorporates improvised theatre, modern dance, music, and poetry, where the audience, serving as diners in the restaurant, are invited to to be active in the "reality show" as much as they please. Intentionally communicating in many modes, artists and audience work to uncross the stars, and ultimately, help Romeo make a love connectio with one Juliet.

Like a hopeless romantic, we ask ourselves how difficult and dramatic can we possibly make things in order to still come out on top?


Notes:
In the performance, all artists and performers dress in costume as some reference to Marcel Duchamp. Guests in the three productions have included artists Marci MacGuffie and jason Irwin, and musicians Fred Thomas and Athesia.

Links:
Press Reviews

Dance Gang
Jeremy Linzee
Fred Thomas