Irvine Theater Company and Dr. Paul J. Zak (aka “Dr. Love” from “The Bachelor”) have teamed up to create a wholly unique theatrical experience this summer for lovers, those in search of love, and fans of all things cheesy (like Hallmark movies). Utilizing Zak’s cutting edge Tuesday App, attendees can test their compatibility with other theatergoers in attendance and find a real connection. Welcome to the world of My (unauthorized) Hallmark Movie Musical and “Dr. Love’s Rom-Com Experience”. 

Below is the interview with Dr. Paul J. Zak, David Ihrig, and Eloise Coopersmith.

Dr. Paul J. Zak

What need that wasn’t addressed motivated you to create the Tuesday App?
Most of my professional life has focused on developing knowledge and technologies so that people can live longer, happier, and healthier lives. Tuesday is the result of this 30 years of effort.

Your body of work includes different disciplines like neuroeconomics, neuromanagement, and neuromarketing. How can they all help an individual to achieve success and happiness?
Happiness depends on the choices we make. Tuesday identifies the choices and activities that provide the most value neurologically to people and thereby guides them to be happier. This is true for individuals, patients, customers, and employees and businesses that focus on creating extraordinary experiences are extraordinarily profitable.

What role do neurotransmitters dopamine and oxytocin play in reaching a state of immersion?
Immersion–the brain’s valuation network for social-emotional experiences–is primarily driven by the actions of dopamine and oxytocin. Dopamine binding to the brain’s prefrontal cortex keeps us present, while oxytocin captures the emotional resonance of an experience. Tuesday measures the electrical activity these neurochemicals induce in the nervous system second by second so people can see what truly creates value for them.

Technology was supposed to make it easier for humans to connect with each other.    Instead, we see an alarming increase of isolation due to excessive internet use. What failed? And how can we make it fun again to interact with other people?
This is the key question! With hybrid work, fear of infection, and smaller families we are losing the ability to get together, have fun and socialize. This is where entertainment, including plays and movies, comes in. Immersion is always higher when there are more people involved–we laugh more watching a movie in a theater with others than watching at home. My hope is that the Tuesday app will show users objectively how important it is to have enjoyable experiences with others, to form new connections and friends, and even to fall in love. Human thriving requires that we spend time with, and connect to, others.

David Ihrig

What did you find attractive about My (unauthorized) Hallmark Movie Musical?
Well, I was looking for a show that explored themes of love and relationships with the specific intent of using Paul Zak’s technology, and Eloise’s charming musical that deals with themes of love and empowerment was a perfect fit. I knew from experience that using Paul’s Tuesday app was great fun for people, because it often provides surprising personal insights–the brain never lies! We want to offer audiences a new expanded experience that goes beyond the curtain call. We are going to be using prompt stations around the light-hearted content of the show so people can observe their own unfiltered reactions in real time through the Tuesday app.

And what truly attracted me to Eloise’s play was an observation she shared from her previous performances. She noticed that people didn’t want to leave at the end of her show. People would sort of linger in the lobby. And I thought, well heck, this is exactly how we can give them what they want. “Dr. Love’s Rom-Com Experience” will spark conversations and enhance the sense of community that already exists from having just watched a show together.

Years ago, I learned from my neuroscience community about the pitfalls of self-reporting. I have since found Paul’s technology to be a great teaching tool because the brain never lies. For example, during scene study classes, I would ask my acting students why they had a certain reaction. And they would earnestly answer me, with what I now know were confabulations. In other words, they made up explanations in retrospect. The reality is that we have many, many brain processes working all the time that are outside of our awareness and we simply do not have the capability of consciously knowing why we behaved in one way or another. So, the more fruitful approach to self-discovery is to guide people through specific experiences while monitoring brain activity and read the brain’s response in relation to chosen prompts.

Tell us more about the Irvine Theater Company and its immersive theatrical experiences.
Irvine Theater Company was primarily founded as a hub to practice a brain-based approach to the dramatic arts. We believe that our new attention-based methods will do for ITC in Irvine what Stanislavski’s system did for the Moscow Art Theater. Stanislavski’s productions became popular because his methods created a new style of live performance, which was prompted by advances in the technology of his day. For him, it was advances in lighting that allowed for smaller indoor performances which arguably led to the shift to realism in theater. I see an evolving genre of live performance in response to today’s evolving technology. This evolution has already begun, and the industry is currently taking baby steps. But in my opinion, the industry can’t fully embrace the potential of today’s technology in storytelling until they embrace new mental models. ITC’s attention-based models put us in the position to be leaders in creating tomorrow’s entertainment. Our goal is to build the Theater of Tomorrow at the Great Park in Irvine and use our methodologies and today’s advanced technology to develop productions that will enhance the audience’s experience.

What kind of classes and workshops are provided at Irvine Theater?
As you might imagine, we teach a brain-based approach to the dramatic arts. The models we use were developed in collaboration with a team of neuroscientists at UCI. These new ideas are quite simple, but they turn the conventional wisdom surrounding acting on its head, and look at a practical approach for today’s actors based on contemporary knowledge from the cognitive sciences. My new book is The Actor’s Algorithm–Seven Brain-Based Steps to Embody Character. And we will offer classes this Fall to teach our system of character embodiment.

Something really exciting is the 10-minute Play Festival. Who can submit their work and what are the dates of the festival?
I love your excitement. Irvine is home to 330,000 residents. We have a highly educated population that appreciates culture. We have prolific theater departments in our high schools and colleges and our graduates have no professional outlets in which to ply their crafts.

ITC’s 10-minute play festival seeks to provide an outlet for local dramatic artists. The plan is to hold the first festival in the summer of 2025.

Of course, ITC will put our own spin on the standard festival model. One of the benefits of our brain-based methodology is it provides an efficient method for writers. The plan is to gather all participating artists together four weeks prior to the performance, teach a workshop in brain-based story development, and then see what these brain-based teams come up with afterwards. Perhaps we should also have a traditional category and then compare the two creative processes?

Eloise Coopersmith

What is so special about romantic movies?
Last year, 80 million viewers watched a Hallmark Christmas movie, according to Forbes.com. I can’t be alone in saying these movies make you feel happy, safe, and hopeful that the world is a better place. What’s not to love?

How did you develop the idea for My (unauthorized) Hallmark Movie Musical?
During COVID I worked my other job as Residential Real Estate Appraiser- I was inspecting many houses and homeowners would ask me, “ Why aren’t you dead?” I took their trauma home with me. One day. I turned on the television. Truthfully, until then I had never seen a Hallmark movie. I became obsessed (these movies are positive and predictable and make you feel good) so I started to write my own Hallmark movie about an essential worker reigniting her romantic flame while crafting her own Hallmark Movie. She’s an inveterate Hallmark Channel viewer, battling pandemic burnout with dark chocolate, red wine, and a craving for uplifting escapism. Writing this show got me through some dark times. My mission is to spread positivity and make others feel good. My production company rented Chance Theater, cast actors, rehearsed over Zoom and shot for 6 days. We opened in Los Angeles in December 2021 to rave reviews, took the show to Edinburgh the next year (where everyone LOVED the rom-com magic), and spent last year touring in upstate New York and Virginia, finishing with 6 weeks in San Francisco (The city by the Bay said, “Hurray”!).

How did you connect with Dr. Zak?
The producer of the event, David Ihrig at the Irvine Theater Company is the brainchild for this collaboration. My show is a one-woman show with 8 actors through the magic of multimedia and David’s theater loves technology. When I read the description of Paul Zak’s Tuesday App – “Track and compare what you love so you can do more of those things and less of the stuff that brings you down” – I was excited to connect!

Is it easier to find love using technology?
That is what we will find out. Per David Ihrig- the brain doesn’t lie. So, we will all come face to face with others and with our true selves. I like to think we are re-inventing the meet-cute! (“Meet-cute” = two characters in a film or television show have an amusing or charming first encounter that leads to the development of a romantic relationship.) We will see….

Romance and music, that sounds like a winning combination, How much fun will the audience have when they come to the show?
How much fun? More fun than a bodega cat on a tuna truck! More fun than belting ‘Singing in the Rain’ during a downpour! More fun … so much fun you will want to come back and play again and again. It’s a magical journey, and who can’t use more magic in their life.