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| about |
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| Truth Values: One Girl's Romp Through M.I.T.'s Male Math Maze
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Created as a response to former Harvard President Lawrence Summers' now infamous suggestion that women are less represented than men in the sciences because of innate gender differences, Truth Values: One Girl's Romp Through M.I.T.'s Male Math Maze is a true-life tale that offers a humorous, scathing, insightful and ultimately uplifting look at the challenges of being a professional woman in a male-dominated field. Performed barefoot on a bare stage with only a chair and small table, writer/performer and "recovering mathematician" Gioia De Cari brings to life more than 30 characters in a hilarious and deeply touching performance that has earned raves from critics and stirred audiences to standing ovations.
Truth Values is an ideal conversation starter about issues concerning women in math and science. An impressive collection of academic luminaries has been attracted to participate in talk-backs held thus far, including Michael Sipser, Department Chair, Mathematics, M.I.T.; Nancy Hopkins, Professor of Biology, M.I.T.; Melissa Franklin, Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics, Harvard; Margaret Geller, Senior Scientist, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory; Abigail Stewart, Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, and Virginia Valian, Professor of Psychology, Hunter College, and author of Why So Slow? The Advancement of Women.
Truth Values premiered in August 2009 at the New York International Fringe Festival, winning a FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award for Best Solo Show. Development of the play included extensive work both in the studio of the celebrated solo show director and acting coach Wynn Handman, and in Matt Hoverman's Create Your Own Solo Show Workshop. The show was then selected for workshop presentations in NYC at the Six Figures Theatre Company's Artists of Tomorrow Festival and the Emerging Artists One Woman Standing Festival, which led to the award of a Puffin Foundation Grant. Subsequently, Gioia won a spot in the Emerging Artist Residency Program of The Field, where she had the opportunity to culminate direction and development of the show for its premiere at FringeNYC with longtime collaborator director Miriam Eusebio of Lincoln Center Directors Lab.
Truth Values has continued to tour to enthusiastic and sold out crowds at more than 30 theaters, universities and performing arts centers throughout the United States, including the La Jolla Playhouse Potiker Theatre; The Lafayette Street Theatre in NYC, San Francisco's Zeum Theatre; Central Square Theatre in Cambridge, MA; The Barclay, and many others.
This solo show was developed in Matt Hoverman's solo show workshop, CreateYourOwnSoloShow.com
Photo by John Olson
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Gioia De Cari
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Photo by tanziephoto.com
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The passionately eclectic Gioia De Cari is an actress, playwright, classical singer and "recovering mathematician." She began her performance career in experimental opera while a teaching fellow in mathematical logic at Harvard. Since then, she has played numerous leading acting roles in theater, commercials and films, including the multi-award-winning film Lower East Side Stories, which screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Slamdance, and many festivals in the United States and internationally.
Gioia's first solo play, The 9th Envelope, which she wrote and performed, received a rave in OOBR: "De Cari commanded the stage with energy, poise and range." Her second solo, Truth Values: One Girl's Romp Through MIT's Male Math Maze, an autobiographical story of her past life as a mathematician, was awarded a Puffin Foundation grant. Truth Values premiered in the New York International Fringe Festival in August 2009, winning a FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award and enthusiastic reviews: "[FOUR STARS] . . . De Cari . . . inhabits no fewer than 30 roles with gusto" (TimeOut New York); "Funny and insightful . . . replete with hilarious characters . . . The story is riveting . . . go see this show!" (CurtainUp). Truth Values received its regional premiere in September 2009, on the mainstage of the Central Square Theater in Cambridge, MA.
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Gioia has studied acting with legendary teacher Wynn Handman, and playwriting with the late Milan Stitt of Carnegie Mellon. After graduating summa cum laude from UC Berkeley, she earned a master of science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. An accomplished singer as well, Gioia released her debut album, Quiet Songs, with her husband, classical guitarist John Olson, in 2006. They have toured throughout the United States. Gioia is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association, SAG-AFTRA and The Dramatists Guild of America.
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See clips of her film and commercial roles
Listen to samples of Quiet Songs
For further information about Gioia's music, visit olsondecariduo.com
Photo by tanziephoto.com
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| Unexpected Theatre
 The mission of Unexpected Theatre is to illuminate the lives and amplify the voices of women in fresh and unexpected ways, to offer a forum for women to share their stories and explore their collective history.
Unexpected Theatre is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions in behalf of Unexpected Theatre may be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Please consider a donation to help us produce this show and fulfill our mission. Your donation is profoundly appreciated and incredibly helpful.
To donate online, please click the icon below.
Unexpected Theatre is based in New York City.
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