For Lane Moore, Tinder is a Platform for Improv
Photo Credit: Mindy Tucker
Lane Moore is a singer/songwriter, comedienne, writer, and actress. Her improv show about live Tinder dating, Tinder LIVE, will be at The Bell House on June 4th. I spent some time with the host to discuss the show, her songwriting, and her thoughts about the current dating culture.
What was the inception of Tinder LIVE? I created the show the second I got on the app. My roommates were using Tinder in the living room, so I felt like, “OK, fuck it. I’m in.” As soon as I signed up, I asked my roommates if I could film us all going on Tinder live together and I edited into a YouTube video. I was immediately interested in the different ways people were awful/sweet/awkward/angry/confusing. I got the idea for the show as soon as I got on the app and pitched it to comedy venues.
Has anyone on Tinder lashed out at you when they realize what was going on? Not at all. It’d be nice if that were the case. I have to say, almost all the guys I talk to laugh and seem to really enjoy the ride because there’s nothing elitist about the show at all. But I’ve never ended up befriending these people because I’m playing a character on Tinder. Anyone who would get along with her would be completely lost with me.
Has doing the show influenced any of your songwriting? Oh absolutely. A lot of the songs I write for my band It Was Romance are about being a cynical romantic and a very passionate person in a world that wants you to not have feelings. Part of our culture right now really encourages people to be apathetic and it’s so tough on people who don’t know how to do that. You can’t just pretend you don’t have feelings or don’t care about people or don’t want to fall in love if you really, really do. I have a song I wrote called ‘Everyone Else Is Settling So Why Can’t We?‘, it’s about being sick of people telling me how great I was and how they’d probably end up with me one day. But instead, they’d rather stay in relationships with people they didn’t like because it felt safer. People don’t want to be scared or risk anything or try hard with love. And love requires all three of those things. It’s pretty depressing. I’ve been lucky that I’ve dated a lot of people who have really swept me off my feet, but unfortunately not for a while now. I have been writing a ton of songs I really love as a result of that, so I guess that’s something.
It Was Romance
You pride yourself on the observational humor and it works well. Are there times where you think you go too far in judging Tinder profiles? Almost never. I’m very proud of how careful I am with this show. It doesn’t veer off into meanness and I never tire of hearing people comment on how they’ve noticed that I’m very careful on stage. This show could easily be mean. I’m so glad mine isn’t.
What were your influences in creating Tinder Live? I’m getting a ‘The Chris Gethard Show‘ vibe (it can get very interactive with the audience). I didn’t have any shows I modeled it after as I just wanted to create my own dream live show, so I went from there. I knew it was going to be improvised as Improv is one of my first great loves, and there aren’t a lot of showcases where I can show how quick on my feet I am. The segments, the format, and everything else made immediate sense to me, and I worked nonstop until it was perfect. I just wanted everyone to feel like they were all in this together. More than most, I know how lonely and tough dating can be in this city so I want to help people feel less alone. After every show there are at least 5-10 people who tell me that’s why they love the show and come back the following month. It makes me so happy.
What is your view of Tinder itself? Some people call the app and others like it, ‘the end of dating culture’. I think people want to pin the downfall of modern dating somewhere and dating apps are an easy target. I have friends who have met their partners on Tinder and they’re super happy. As cynical as I am, I think Tinder is just about luck.
Where can we hit you up? Twitter/IG: @hellolanemoore, the Tinder LIVE FB Page, the It Was Romance FB Page and I got this blog too: Male Feminists of Tinder!
