Nerd Night
Nerd Night is a series of events hosted by Rivers Cuomo where he invites fans to join him, either for movie screenings or live theatre (mostly works by William Shakespeare, with the exception of the first two) around Santa Monica/West Los Angeles. The first one was announced on the revamped riverscuomo.com; subsequent Nerd Night announcements have been tweeted out by Rivers via his Twitter account @riverscuomo, usually with a link to his website where one can request tickets. The Nerd Nights have included anywhere from 20-40 fans, where Rivers either rents out a movie theatre for private screenings, or pays for tickets for the entire group.
You can read a bit more about the Nerd Nights and Rivers' interest in Shakespeare in an interview by Alex Scordelis for Vulture here
Nerd Night I
The first Nerd Night, on June 26, 2011, featured a screening of The NeverEnding Story.
Announcement
"Come watch “The NeverEnding Story” with me at a theater in Santa Monica on Sunday, June 26. (It’s a private screening.) If you would like to attend, please send an email with your full name and contact information (email, phone number, city in which you reside), and we’ll send invitations with more details to 40 of you (plus 1 guest each)."
Nerd Night II
The second Nerd Night, on September 25, 2011 featured a screening of Time Bandits.
Dork Day I
Related to the Nerd Nights, Rivers made an announcement for a "Dork Day I", where he invited fans to bring their children for a family friendly production of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, put on by Theatre For a Small Space. Though he called it Dork Day I, there has only been one Dork Day to date.
Nerd Night XI
The eleventh Nerd Night, on June 15, 2015, was especially unique as Brian Bell showed up after the screening of Antony & Cleopatra to join Rivers in playing an acoustic version of "Cleopatra", the ninth track off of EWBAITE, for the fans. They even donned Roman-style helmets for the occasion. Also, since this Nerd Night was just after Rivers' birthday, fans celebrated by bringing him a cake and presents; and one fan even made Cleopatra-themed cupcakes.
Nerd Nights to Date
Date | Event | Production | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
May 26, 2011 | Nerd Night I | The NeverEnding Story (screening) | Aero Theatre, Santa Monica |
September 25, 2011 | Nerd Night II | Time Bandits (screening) | Santa Monica Screening Room |
October 22, 2013 | Nerd Night III | Romeo & Juliet - performed by the Colonials: An American Shakespeare Company | Miles Memorial Playhouse, Santa Monica |
November 9, 2013 | Nerd Night IV | Macbeth - performed by The City Shakespeare Company (CityShakes) | The Space, Santa Monica |
April 12, 2014 | Nerd Night V | Merchant of Venice - performed by The City Shakespeare Company (CityShakes) | The Space, Santa Monica |
July 13, 2014 | *Dork Day I | Midsummer Night's Dream - performed by Theatre For a Small Space | Miles Memorial Playhouse, Santa Monica |
July 18, 2014 | Nerd Night VI | Romeo & Juliet - performed by The City Shakespeare Company (CityShakes) | The Space, Santa Monica |
October 18, 2014 | Nerd Night VII | Julius Caesar - performed by the Colonials: An American Shakespeare Company | Miles Memorial Playhouse, Santa Monica |
November 17, 2014 | Nerd Night VIII | Macbeth (screening) | Laemmle Royal, West LA |
November 17, 2014 | Nerd Night IX | Midsummer Night's Dream (screening of the live performance at the Globe Theatre in London) | Laemmle Royal, West LA |
April 12, 2015 | Nerd Night X | King Lear - performed by the Colonials: An American Shakespeare Company | Miles Memorial Playhouse, Santa Monica |
June 15, 2015 | Nerd Night XI | Antony & Cleopatra (screening of the live performance at the Globe Theatre in London) | Laemmle Royal, West LA |
October 2, 2015 | Nerd Night XII | Macbeth - performed by the Colonials: An American Shakespeare Company | Miles Memorial Playhouse, Santa Monica |