Nerd Nite
Nerd Nite DC presents an irreverent, Halloween-themed evening of lectures, performance, audience games, costumes, and general nerdy chaos. The program features three expert talks covering burlesque’s cultural influence, the history and mechanics of jump scares, and the ways incentives cause complex systems and institutions to fail.
The evening also includes burlesque by Aquarius Moon, three original monster-themed songs by Prudence Blowhole, a costume contest with a nerdy prize, dance playlists, and Halloween-themed tricks and treats. Diva Darling hosts the event, with Aquarius Moon, Mike Bock, and Alex Hillman presenting the featured talks.
When: Saturday, October 17
Showtimes: Doors open at 6:00 p.m.; the show begins at 6:30 p.m.
Venue: DC9
Ages: 21 and older.
Tickets: Advance tickets are $20, plus a $5.75 fee. Day-of-event tickets are $25, plus a $6.93 fee.
Featured talk: “The Revolution Will Be Teased: Understanding Burlesque as a Cultural Force,” presented by award-winning burlesque artist, cultural curator, and movement educator Aquarius Moon. The talk examines how burlesque, striptease, ballroom culture, and queer nightlife have influenced social movements, representation, gender dynamics, Hollywood, political culture, and commercial entertainment. It also considers costume, character creation, sensual storytelling, and glamour as forms of cultural and political expression. Aquarius Moon has been recognized by 21st Century Burlesque as a “Top 50 to Watch” artist and was crowned the Queen of Sin City Burlesque.
Featured talk: “AHHH!: A History of the Jump Scare,” presented by DC comedian and science communicator Mike Bock. His presentation traces the jump scare from early twentieth-century movie theaters through contemporary internet culture and includes a live demonstration of how to make a jump scare in PowerPoint. Bock has written, produced, and taught sketch comedy for more than a decade and has performed at festivals including the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival, SketchFest Seattle, and DC Sketchfest. He also works for the Smithsonian Institution.
Featured talk: “Drift, Incentives, and Control: How the Systems Around Us Fail,” presented by Alex Hillman. The talk explores how flawed incentives, rather than simply individual bad intentions, can cause complex systems and major institutions to break down, and it discusses ways to prevent those failures. Hillman is a DARPA program manager working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and complexity management, as well as an Air Force lieutenant colonel with experience as a data scientist and aerospace engineer. He holds master’s degrees in operations research, systems engineering, and flight test engineering and earned a Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Performers: Aquarius Moon provides burlesque, and Prudence Blowhole performs three original songs from the album “S*x Monster,” focused on monsters and their lore.
Host: Diva Darling hosts the show.
Activities: Audience games, a costume contest during a break, dancing, and Halloween-themed entertainment are included.
Costume contest: Guests are encouraged to attend in costume and may win a nerdy prize.
Run time: Not specified.