In the comedy “30 Rock,” Tina Fey’s character, Liz Lemon, hates Valentine’s day and substitutes it with Anna Howard Shaw Day — a fictional holiday celebrating the real Feb. 14 birthday of the women’s civil rights leader. Another unusual spin on Valentine’s Day takes the form of a comedy show in Atlanta at Venkman’s on Feb. 19. “Tinder Live!” with Lane Moore is a totally improvised presentation where Moore swipes through the best of the worst Tinder profiles onstage before she decides who to swipe right on. She joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes via Zoom to explain her improv rollercoaster ride into the weird world of internet dating.
Moore came up with her idea in 2014 when she first began swiping on Tinder and discovered the murky multitudes contained within. “The first time I went on it, I was like, ‘Wow. A lot of these profiles are absolutely bonkers. This would be so good for live comedy.’ They’re just so surreal,” said Moore.
She stressed that the “Tinder Live” experience isn’t mean-spirited; in fact, it invites the audience to join Moore in sparing nice, normal-seeming people and hunting for the real comedy gold. “There was one that I saw that was a totally naked man, standing next to a dead deer. We swiped right on that guy,” said Moore. “It’s really good-natured. It’s just going for the weirdest, like, ‘Wait, what is this?’ And swiping right, and then you can chat with this strange dead deer man.”
With profiles projected on a screen behind Moore, she and the audience join forces in virtually putting themselves out there. “If a guy seems like he’s just really nice and normal, we swipe left. You know, if the profile is, he’s dressed as a wizard and maybe actually really thinks he is a wizard, everybody gets really excited to talk to the wizard.” Bizarrely, more than once, Moore has swiped to a profile of an actual present audience member with hilarious results.
When she’s not engaged in collaborative swiping, Moore’s a prolific writer and thinker on the subjects of social dynamics, feminism, relationships and being relationship-less. Her bestselling 2018 book “How to Be Alone” explores her personal history of self-dependence, having grown up mainly in charge of her own care and without many cheerleaders throughout her youth. It’s a vulnerable study in courage, connection and emotional availability and seems to lead naturally to her upcoming book, “You Will Find Your People,” expected in 2023.
