Neo-Futurists
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The Neo-Futurists are an experimental theater troupe founded by Greg Allen in 1988. Neo-Futurism, inspired by the Italian Futurist movement from the early 20th century, is based on an aesthetics of honesty, speed and brevity.
Aesthetic
The Neo-Futurist aesthetic demands that everything that transpires in their theater be non-illusory, which is to say that they pretend nothing; actors only play themselves. All plays take place on a stage, specifically, the stage on which they are performed, in the present. If one of the performers reports that something has happened, you can bet that it really happened. Much of their work contains the possibility of failure, a unique theatrical component that keeps them and the audience honest. Their plays are wildly eclectic, touching on all genres and tones; plays may be political, satirical, personal, tragic, comic, abstract, musical, surreal, poetic, and so on.
The bottom line is that Neo-Futurism does not buy into the "suspension of disbelief" -- it does not attempt to take the audience anywhere else at any other time with any other people. The idea is to deal with what is going on right here and now.
Art
The Neo-Futurists began with the show Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: 30 Plays in 60 Minutes, often abbreviated as TMLMTBGB (though many refer to it simply as TML). For the first few years, the Neo-Futurist movement consisted entirely of TMLMTBGB, but then expanded to include "prime time productions." These productions began late evening, as opposed to TMLMTBGB's late-night starting time (11:30 in Chicago, 10:30 in New York).
The Neo-Futurists have published three books of plays from TMLMTBGB - two books of regular plays, and one of plays that use only one actor. They've also released one CD recording of plays from Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, one video, and a recording of Jokes and their Relation to the Unconscious a play described as an attempt to destroy comedy by analyzing it to death.
In 2008 the New York Neo-Futurists put on (Not) Just a Day Like Any Other, four autobiographical stories woven together with accompanying Bollywood music videos, relationships charted via PowerPoint, and margaritas for all.[1]
In 2011, the New York Neo-Futurists produced an original piece, "Locker 4173b," wherein Neo-Futurists Joey Rizzolo and Christopher Borg purchased a foreclosed storage locker and, as amateur archaeologists, excavated, catalogued, and chronicled their findings. [2] The show received critical acclaim and received a New York Innovative Theater Award for Outstanding Performance Art Production in 2011. [3]
The New York Neo-Futurists were also (New York Innovative Theatre Awards recipients for 'Best Performance Art Production' in 2006, 'Outstanding Ensemble' in 2009, and Caffe Cino Award 2010) have ventured into producing short films under the umbrella of the Neo-Futurist aesthetic. Also in 2009 the New York company won the Village Voice Readers’ Choice poll for Best Performance Art and was named one of the nytheatre.com People of the Year.
In Animation
Academy Award winner Chris Landreth has made an animated short of Greg Kotis's "Disregard this Play" entitled "Bingo." In the short, a man sits in the middle of a circus ring where he is accosted by carnival music and clown-like, disturbing characters. Each character greets the man as Bingo. At first he resists the name, arguing that he, in fact, is not Bingo. By the end of the five minute animation, the man believes he is Bingo/Bingo the Clown/Bingo the Clown-o. The animation's ending of, "Thank you. Next." from a voice over a loud speaker and the subsequent pause in darkness gives almost the same feel as the "Curtain!" the Neo-Futurists yell at the end of each play.
Members
Since 1988, the ranks of the Neo-Futurists have included the following individuals (listed alphabetically):
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- Stephen Colbert (now famous for his television persona in The Colbert Report) auditioned for the Neo-Futurists, and was cast as part of the ensemble, but never got an opportunity to perform with them.[4]
Locations
- Chicago: 5153 N. Ashland Avenue (The Neo-Futurarium)
- New York: 85 E. 4th St., near 2nd Ave. (The Kraine)
References
- ^ Sobieski, Sonia (2008). "Looking to the Neo-Future: (Not) Just Another Day Like Any Other". The Brooklyn Rail.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ "New York Times article, 'Finding the Drama in What Life Has Left Behind' by Corey Kilgannon" New York Times.com, accessed August 6, 2012
- ^ "New York Innovative Theater Awards Listing, '2011 Recipients'" nyitawards.com, accessed August 6, 2012
- ^ Awl, Dave. "Stephen Colbert: Behind the Maniac, " Ocelopotamus (May 23rd, 2007 ).
External links
- The Chicago Neo-Futurists - Chicago Neo-Futurists Official homepage.
- The NY Neo-Futurists — New York Neo-Futurists Official homepage.
- Dean Evans — Dean Evans' Website.
- Performers at Cusp Conference 2009
