3-Legged Dog to Present PLAY/DATE, Begin. 6/18

3-Legged Dog has announced the premiere of PLAY/DATE, an immersive theatrical experience that plays out on social media and in live performance, featuring one act plays by seventeen different playwrights including Greg Kotis (Urinetown), Clay Mcleod Chapman (The Pumpkin Pie Show), Chad Beckim (And Miles to Go). Conceived by Blake McCarty, directed by 3LD Creative Director Michael Counts, PLAY/DATE begins preview performances Wednesday, June 18 for a limited open-ended engagement. Opening Night is Wednesday, July 16 at 8:00 PM. The performance schedule is Sunday - Wednesday at 8 PM at Fat Baby (112 Rivington Street, between Essex and Ludlow Streets, on the Lower East Side). Tickets start at $30 for general admission; $50 for reserved table seating. Tickets are available by calling Ovationtix at 866-811-4111 or visiting www.3ld.org.

Love at first sight, blind dates, late night hook-ups, and ugly break-ups (among other dramas of dating life in NYC) unfold in this one-of-a-kind theatrical experience comprised of short plays about love and relationships set throughout Fat Baby's three levels. The production encourages audience members to interact with characters, grab drinks, and commiserate with other patrons as they choose what to watch and which stories to follow.

The PLAY/DATE experience begins the moment tickets are reserved. Audience members can log on to their social media accounts (from Facebook to Twitter to Instagram) to friend and follow the characters they will meet upon arriving at Fat Baby. The relationships of their new "friends" explode when they meet this motley crew of soul mates, missed connections, and everyone in between (including the bartenders and cocktail waitresses uniting them all). With a guest DJ providing a score, PLAY/DATE creates an electrifying mash-up of live performance, digital communication, and New York nightlife.

Directed by Michael Counts, whose large-scale immersive productions have been at the forefront of NYC's avant-garde for two decades, PLAY/DATE includes plays by Tony Award winner Greg Kotis (Urinetown) as well as Off-Broadway stalwarts Chad Beckim (And Miles to Go; Lights Rise on Grace; Outstanding Play, 2007 NYFringe), Matthew Cleaver (Gay Blues at Barrow Street), Ashlin Halfnight (God's Waiting Room; Best Play, 2005 NYFringe), Claire Kiechel (Wolf Play; Winner, 2012 Samuel French Play Festival), Clay Mcleod Chapman (The Pumpkin Pie Show), Isaac Oliver (Intimacy Idiot at Ars Nova), Joe Salvatore (III; Outstanding Play, 2008 NYFringe) and Emily Weiss (four-time EST/Alfred P. Sloan Grant recipient); as well as emerging writers Elle Anhorn, Kelly Claunch, Jennie Gruber, Emily Kaczmarek, Catherine Lacey, Blake McCarty, Jamie Roach, and Sara Jo Wyllie.

PLAY/DATE's 40-plus characters will be played by an ensemble featuring Samantha Amaral (Naked Holidays), Elle Anhorn, Matthew Cleaver (The Bonus Army, Gym at Judson), Jacqueline Guillen, Tim Haber (Sleep No More, McKittrick Hotel), Stevi Incremona (The Lobotomist, Ars Nova), Nick Lewis (Umbrella Houses, Dixon Place), Ben Maters, Penny Middleton (Chalk, The Brick Theater), Lee Anne Mitchell, Dara Swisher, and Tarion Taylor (When the Clouds Covered the Sun, St. Luke's Theater). Joining them will be actors from PLAY/DATE's workshop production, including Sharon Counts (Calloway's Salon at The McKittrick Hotel), Laura Delhauer, John Del Vecchio (Fearless, 2014 Fringe), Salvador Garcia, Ryan Rickenbach (Folk City), and Ilana Warner (Not About Eve, National Black Theater).

The creative team includes Ryan O'Gara (Lighting Designer, Broadway's Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill), Marcello Añez (Sound Design, four-time Grammy Award Winner), Phillip Gulley (Video Design), and Márion Talán (Costume Designer).

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