Proofs can be tedious, so a story is simpler…

A cabaret of catchy pop songs, 52! tells the story of Lotus, a statistician whose mathematical journey spans from birth to their fifty-second birthday. The audience grows with Lotus, as we see four iterations of her across the years supported by a revolving cast of characters: their parents— Martin and Gale—and their best friends—Alice, Bob and Carl. By telling the funny, frustrating, and heartwarming story of Lotus, we hope to prove that statistics is an art.

An excerpt from my writer/director’s note:

“I must first confess that I’m a fake stat person (gasp!)—CS does have my heart (cough cough definitely can’t tell from the script cough cough). However, as someone who took Stat 110 and was (is? it’s complicated) very much a math person, I felt the need to take this opportunity to give voice to the seldom-represented female/female-adjacent identifying experience in math-y fields; everything written reflects my own experiences and ambitions—past, current, and future—to some degree. While I’ll also be grooving to the cabaret’s catchy, nostalgic tunes and lmao-ing at the so-awful-it’s-good stat puns, I hope that this show encourages us all to reflect on our role in fostering inclusive and welcoming STEM spaces that embrace and empower everyone as they deserve.

At the same time, while we do joke about it in the show, I think there is something more complex to the #girlboss narratives that we see (and feel obligated to reproduce)—is capitalism truly the solution for sexism? Yet, is there really any other way to elevate oneself in a capitalistic society? Should we even be policing the ways that people respond to gendered trauma in these hierarchical, “meritocratic” fields? While Lotus doesn’t explicitly grapple with these questions in the show, I do hope that you reflect on your personal relation and stake in these issues.”

More to come!