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• "There is a kind of exquisite artistry to a mathematical proof. It’s a thought sculpture built from the poetry of pattern." — Gioia De Cari (from Truth Values)

faq

Truth Values: One Girl’s Romp Through M.I.T.’s Male Math Maze
by Gioia De Cari

Math? I thought you were an actress!
I’m an actress/writer/singer and recovering mathematician.

Why did you write this show?
A few years ago, when Lawrence Summers, then president of Harvard, suggested that women are inherently less able than men to do math and science, and that discrimination doesn’t play a part, I knew I had to write this show.

What kind of show is it?
A 75-minute solo show that traces my adventures as a neo-flower child from Berkeley turned Ph.D. student in math at MIT, math researcher and teaching fellow at Harvard.

The piece makes the most of the comic absurdity of being pawed by nerds, being asked to serve cookies at a seminar, and fighting back with fashion. But it is also a serious exploration of the world of elite mathematics and the role of women in science.

“Truth Values”? Is that like “family values”?
“Truth values” is a technical math term for the notion of true vs. false. My math research examined the consequences of adding other values between true and false, hence formalizing what we experience in life as more nuanced choices. This idea of the inescapability of nuanced choices both in math and in life is the central metaphor of my play.

How did you create the piece?
My first solo show, The 9th Envelope, also full-length, was an Alice-in-Wonderland–like fantasy with some snippets of math stories. The Off-Off Broadway Review raved: “Dazzling performance . . . De Cari commanded the stage with energy, poise and range.” Audiences were especially enthralled with the math stories, so I began to think about creating a show all about the math.

With this idea in mind, I originated work on Truth Values in class with the celebrated Wynn Handman. It happened by accident. One night my scene partner had to cancel at the last minute. The only other thing I had ready was a few minutes of this solo. I thought Wynn would hate it, because at that time he seemed to dislike every solo that people brought in, and especially because he was always saying, “I don’t want to know anything about YOU. I want to know the character.” And also, I was profoundly intimidated by the fact that Wynn had worked with some of the most stellar monologists, such as John Leguizamo and Eric Bogosian. In spite of this, I did my piece, scared out of my mind. I finished, the class seemed to enjoy it, applauded. Wynn, however, just said, “So this is autobiographical?” I nodded, and there were comments from the students like, “But you’re such a good actress!” Then he said, “Well, I know I always say I don’t want to know about you, but in this case I do. I want to talk to you after class.” And it turned out that he liked it. And after that, he worked with me on it at length. This was at once an exhilarating and humbling experience, since, as we worked on the many colorful character portraits I was using in the show, he shared ideas from how he worked with John Leguizamo, one of my favorite monologists.

I came to a point where I needed to set the piece aside for a time, because I wondered very genuinely if the issues I was raising in the piece about women in the scientific workplace had become passé. Then, as mentioned above, Lawrence Summers ignited the issue anew, and I became determined to finish it.

When I took the piece up again, I decided to work with solo show expert Matt Hoverman, whose play In Transit won the 2006 FringeNYC Best Playwriting Award, and who midwifed Cynthia Silver’s Bridezilla Strikes Back! (winner of the 2005 FringeNYC Best Solo Show Award).

Early in 2008 I felt the play was at a stage that would benefit from workshopping at festivals, and right away it was selected for both Six Figures Theatre Company’s Artists of Tomorrow Festival at NYC’s West End Theatre, and Emerging Artists Theatre’s One Woman Standing Festival in Midtown. I performed the show in both festivals in May of 2008, got great audience turnout and positive response.

2009 has brought an avalanche of success for the show. In the spring, I won an emerging artists residency at The Field in New York, which allowed for a luxurious opportunity to complete development work with my longtime collaborator and colleague, director Miriam Eusebio. Shortly thereafter, the piece was awarded a Puffin Foundation grant, and was selected for the 2009 New York International Fringe Festival, where it won 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).

In September, the show received its regional premiere on the mainstage of the Central Square Theater in Cambridge, MA, where it was a smash hit, selling out a three-week run and earning raves from the Boston press.

So what’s next for the show?
It may be coming to a theater near you! Touring opportunities are pouring in! For more news, click here, orsign up for our mailing list. For booking, click here.