Meghan Whelan and Lucky DeLuxe are bringing “Casual Encounters” to the Fishtank this weekend

Multiple analysts have somehow determined that Kansas City is the worst city in America for dating. Well, yeah. But instead of wallowing in that truth, Meghan Whelan is fighting back. Her weapon: humor. This weekend, Whelan’s two-night storytelling event, Dear Diary: Casual Encounters, reminds us that misery loves company.

The Pitch: How did the idea for Casual Encounters come to you?

Whelan: One night I was standing in the kitchen with my best friend, Ashlee, and she was reading me the messages she had been getting on OkCupid. We were laughing hysterically at the absurdity and audacity of these potential suitors. I realized there was something there: As ubiquitous as online dating has become, there is probably a trove of stories about meeting people online. Ashlee and I have worked together on Dear Diary, a live reading of diary entries that I’ve produced off and on since 2010, and we thought we could combine that concept with the online-dating material.

Tell me a little bit about the structure of the event.

It will be hosted by the incomparable Lucky DeLuxe [Susanna Lee], a comedian and burlesque performer who left Kansas City for Los Angeles three years ago. She was the original host of Dear Diary when it began, and I couldn’t imagine anyone else hosting this show, so I’m bringing her home.

The show will be part comedy, part game show – we’re doing a version of The Dating Game, where the “bachelors” will read their answers from actual messages and profiles from dating sites – and the rest will be storytelling by various readers: male and female, gay and straight.

What’s your all-time-worst dating story?

Probably the time I showed up drunk and sweaty to a dinner date with a guy I met online. I’d never met him in person before and got to his house about four whiskeys deep, at 6 p.m., wearing clothes I’d been working out in earlier. There was not a second date. It’s a long story, but let’s just say I’d much rather end a date that way then start it off on that note.

Dear Diary: Casual Encounters, hosted by Lucky DeLuxe, 7 p.m. Saturday, November 16, and Sunday, November 17, at the Fishtank Performance Studio. Info here.