“Isn’t nerd the new jock?” says no one who’s ever been stuffed into lockers, picked last or left out at prom.
Kim Kardashian has more likes than Neil deGrasse Tyson, Tina Fey or Rachel Maddow. Astrophysics, golden wit and a Rhodes scholarship can’t compete with having junk in your trunk.
Would the world be a better place if nerds ran it? Well. Maybe. If the world were 72% nerdier, no one would go outside for days except to see an eclipse. People would tell jokes where the punchline is 3.14159. And Klingon outfits would be worn daily rather than just for weddings.
"Nerd Nation", presented by a generous grant from the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center is written & performed entirely by Dhaya Lakshminarayanan (and directed by Kathryn Wood) and follows the evolution (not creation, because nerds believe in science) of Dhaya’s nerd identity. Dhaya, once ashamed of her nerdiness, concealed her 2 degrees from MIT, downplayed her intelligence to seem cool, and failed at hella sports. She is now an out & proud nerd. The show also presents heartbreaking and hilarious stories of REAL humans interviewed specifically for this project (identities are concealed like superheroes)!
Dhaya is stand-up comedian, storyteller, & TV host. She was voted "Best Comedian 2013" by the Bay Guardian's "Best of the Bay Readers' Poll" and has won Comedy Central Asia's "Ultimate Comedy Challenge." Dhaya has appeared on NPR’s Snap Judgment and The Risk podcast Live in Austin. She is currently the host of San Francisco’s monthly Moth StorySLAM after winning a Moth StorySLAM and competing in the GrandSLAM at the Castro Theater. She has opened/featured for or worked with the following: Janeane Garofalo, Greg Behrendt, Jello Biafra, Dick Gregory, Maz Jobrani, and Greg Proops. Dhaya is also an on-camera host. The premiere year of the PBS series, High School Quiz Show, which she hosted won an Emmy. She has been selected for honors/awards/programs by Movement Generation and The Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center of San Francisco. The Boston Globe, The Bay Guardian, and The San Jose Mercury News have all run profiles about her. She is the daughter of a physicist and a librarian-turned software engineer. She is glamorous & kick-ass.
Please visit her at www.dhayacomedy.com
Note: Nerd Nation is a work in progress, this will be exciting for an audience interested in new work