Romance Play – Cringe, Kitsch, and Big Feelings

What comes up for you when you hear the word romance? Eye rolls? Sighs? Butterflies?

In this workshop, we’ll explore what touches us about romance – and what feels awkward, embarrassing, or even problematic. Because romance isn’t just roses and candlelit dinners. It’s also a cultural construct full of contradictions: at times normative and even toxic, but also comforting, magical, and capable of adding color to our everyday lives. Sometimes vanilla, sometimes deliciously kinky.

We’ll ask ourselves:

• How can romance enrich our connections – beyond heteronormativity, exclusivity, and relationship expectations?

• What happens when we offer or receive romantic gestures without having to fully mean them?

• Can love be influenced – or is it more about a higher power: falling in love? And where exactly is the line between “pretending” and “real”?

Let’s play with romance. Experiment. Feel.
Sense the spark when reaching for popcorn at the same time. Get lost in someone’s eyes during an improvised mini-date. Say cheesy lines and laugh – or cry.

We take romance seriously enough to be silly with it – and invite you to check your coolness at the door for a little while.