Have a once-in-a-lifetime experience on our theatrical dating show, Bet on Love!

The bachelorette of the hour: Aella

What is this?

A casting call for contestants in a one-night-only, surreal, musical dating show, to be staged live in San Francisco on Saturday, February 10, 2024.

You can check out the event page for the show here: https://lu.ma/betonlove

Who are you?

We are the Classics Department, an arts collective devoted to creating one-of-a-kind immersive events. Our team is headed by Morgane Ciot and Alice Maynwaring, with contributions from Tom Low, Duncan Horst, Tim Blais, and Bashu.

The show is sponsored by Manifold Markets, a prediction market startup based in San Francisco, and will incorporate live prediction markets allowing the audience to bet on and influence the outcome of the show.

Wait, is this a real dating show?

YES. This is a real dating show. With a real bachelorette, a real date, and real fame on the line.

Five to seven lucky contestants will vie for the hand of Aella**,** the glamorous, polyamorous sex worker, data wizard, and Twitter microcelebrity. She's on the hunt for a true and lasting love. Could it be you?

You can learn more about Aella at her dating profile or her personal website.

So how's this work?

Think of this as a dating show in the same way Twin Peaks is a soap opera. We begin with the format and tropes of a conventional dating show, but gradually morph into something very different. The show will drive engagement with Manifold Markets, it will end with someone winning a date with Aella, and it will also stand alone as a piece of surreal chaos theater in San Francisco history. We’ll have an enigmatic, freestyling MC (with his own character arc); original live music; audience interactivity through live prediction markets; and a psychedelic, gear-shifting third act.

As for the challenges: some will be intellectual, some will be physical, and some will be emotional. As a contestant, you should be ready to be both wildly silly and deeply serious on a stage in front of 350 people, plus a livestream audience in the thousands. If this excites you, we would love to give you the stage you’ve been looking for!