When has MATHOPOLY been played?

Here are all the places the play has been played so far. If you're interested in organizing a reading or performance, let us know and we'll add you to the list!

The story so far

June 27th, 2024 in Toronto, via zoom (more info)
August 1st, 2024 in Bangalore, live performance, theater mode (more info)
September 5th, 2024 in Banff, live performance, theater mode (more info)
December 11th, 2024 at ICMS in Edinburgh, live performance, theater mode (more info)
April 8th, 2025, in Columbus, at the MGSA seminar, Ohio State University (more info)
May 18th, 2025, in Madison, at the AWM Research Symposium (more info)
May 28th, 2025, in Columbus, at Mike Davis' birthday conference (more info)
May 31st, 2025, in Toronto, at the Ontario Graduate Mathematics Conference (more info)

Here is a brief selection from some previous performances!

Mathopoly-subtitles.mp4

June 27th, 2024, Toronto - End of semester play, first complete performance (zoom)

Thursday June 27th, 2024, by zoom with a bunch of awesome actoresses! We used these slides, then shared the screen with the slides and people read the scenes as they arrive, with the following:

Instructions to read by zoom:

Download the script, either on another device, or print, or leave open on your desktop, but you will have to read and follow while the zoom is open. The host should activate "close captions" and "active speaker only".
Start by renaming yourself with the name of your character (click on participant up right after you join the zoom, then on your name and you should have the option to rename yourself).
If you are one of the 3 heroes you choose an avatar of the color corresponding to the one in the cast -red, blue or yellow- (go to "more" then "background&effects" then "avatar" on the right of the window) and select "show avatar" (go to "more" then "show avatar").
If your character is a student you choose an animal filter (go to "more" then "background&effects" then "filters").
If your character is professor you choose a filter with glasses on your eyes.
Make sure your mic is open when it's your turn. Then, read the script, you can be creative but don't go too much off script, and have fun!

Notice that by zoom you don't hear the laughs so it makes the whole experience much less fun...

A few Academic Scenes members after our first performance in Toronto

August 1st, 2024, Bangalore - First live performance, theater mode

Thursday August 1st, 2024 during an awesome ICTP program of 2 weeks in Bangalore. The play was performed one evening in the lecture hall, with awesome actoresses, and a very enthusiastic audience (of over 40 people) that made the experience a lot of fun! The actors were given a couple of days notice, with the instruction to download the script on the largest device they could take to the set. They read their parts while someone else projected the slide show.

September 5th, 2024, Banff - Second live performance, theater mode

Thursday, September 5th, 2024, during an awesome conference in Banff. The play was performed similarly as the first time. It took place at one evening in the lecture hall, with awesome actoresses sitting infront of the blackboard and a very nice audience of about 15 people. The feedback was very positive, and it was a lot of fun. It worked very well even though the performance took place very spontaneously. The actors were given the instructions and role only one evening before. We do think that it is better to give the players more time in advance but it is nice to see that a spontaneous play is also possible and a lot of fun. As in the first performance, the players read their part, while someone else projected the slide show and ring a bell after each scene.

Thank you everyone who participated!

December 11th, 2024 at ICMS in Edinburgh - live performance, theater mode

Mathopoly spreads across the pond! A group of PhD students from Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh, coordinated by Oli Jones and Giorgio Mangioni, played Mathopoly at ICMS in Edinburgh. We're happy to see the project spreading: this was the first performance that was independently produced, based on the script but without any of the original organizers present. Cheers!

April 8th, 2025, MGSA (Mathematics Graduate Student Association) seminar at the Ohio State University

A vibrant mix of postdocs and graduate students gathered for a Mathopoly reading—accompanied with pizza and a lively, informal atmosphere. This time, we pre‑assigned most of the roles, then distributed the books shortly before we began. We experimented with using a real bell instead of music, but soon realized the bell dampened the mood—it brought the audience to silence after each scene rather than prompting laughter. However, the performance still resonated strongly with everyone; afterwards, many shared moving feedback, expressing how deeply they related to numerous scenes in the play.

Link: https://math.osu.edu/graduate/mgsa

May 18th, 2025, Roundtable event at the AWM Research Symposium 2025

We read the first third of Mathopoly together, followed by a lively, informal discussion on the play. This time, instead of assigning roles beforehand, we handed out the roles spontaneously when people entered the room—just giving each person a copy of the book along with a brief description of their part. Most participants were students, and they did an amazing job! The discussion afterwards was very engaging.

Link: https://awm-math.org/abstract/roundtable-reading-of-mathopoly-a-play-on-academic-dystopia/

May 28th, 2025, Mike Davis' 75th birthday conference, Ohio State University

At Mike Davis' 75th birthday conference, we surprised him—and the audience—with a special reading of Mathopoly. We adapted the play to feature Davis as the legendary mathematician we all know and admire. The cast was a lively mix of postdocs, grad students, and fellow conference participants :-)

Link to the conference: https://sites.google.com/view/gtpc2025/home?authuser=0

May 31st, 2025, Ontario Graduate Mathematics Conference

We did a reading of the Mathopoly play on May 31st during the Ontario Graduate Mathematics Conference. Before that, we also practiced once on Zoom. We also did the cardboard nametags the same day beforehand. There was a lot of discussion about the play later in the day and during the evening social events as well! We had a large audience, so the only downside was that we didn’t think of getting microphones beforehand. It was a lot of fun! Thank you to everyone who participated, both the actors and the audience!

Link: https://sites.google.com/view/2025ogmc/schedule-location