BY LUCIA MAURO
Forget
about merely breaking the fourth wall. The Neo-Futurists deconstruct it
brick by brick, then encourage audiences to psychologically invade the
performers’ space. During a recent group interview at their expansive
home-like space, ensemble members stressed how they "do not aim to
suspend the audience’s disbelief, but to create a world where the
stage is a continuation of daily life."
The irreverently intellectual company, whose Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind illuminated its place on the city’s theatrical grid 12 years ago, continues to draw crowds willing to toss a die to determine the price of admission to 30 familiar but convention-toppling plays in 60 minutes. Ensemble member Stephanie Shaw calls it a "no-fail formula–like channel surfing."
Artistic director Greg Allen conceived the show from a variety of influences that form the basis of the Neo-Futurists’ artistic philosophy: The Italian Futurists’ love of speed, brevity and compression; the Dadaists’ and Surrealists’ "joy of randomness and the thrill of the unconscious;" and the audience participatory nature of 1960’s experimental theatre.
Since 1988, when Too Much Light premiered at Stage Left, the Neo-Futurists moved up Clark Street to Live Bait Theater before settling into their own space (initially transformed into a performing venue by Theater Oobleck) at 5153 N. Ashland in 1992. The group also has toured the world and will travel to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August. To help defray costs, they are presenting "30 on Thursday: Edinburgh Benefit Performances of Plays from the Archives of Too Much Light..." through July 27. They will bring The Lost Works of Beckett to the New York Fringe Festival, too.
Allen, who heads "the world domination committee," shares the company’s goal to endlessly promote its international reputation for original work based on the performers’ real lives. Their material is challenging, unpredictable, ever-changing, forthright, abstract and highly democratic (read affordable).
"We remove the artifice," says Allen. "It’s wild to empower audiences." Adds Shaw, who is coordinating the Neo Mondo Solo series, "You’re essentially playing the scene with the audience."
Too Much Light has reached people in New York City, Seattle, San Francisco, at the first HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, and at an international theatre festival in Romania. Even as they edge toward world domination, the Neo-Futurists subtly take a self-mocking approach to mortality. Their theatre (the Neo-Futurarium) is, after all, located above a funeral home.
"Before I became a Neo-Futurist," says Shaw, "I felt coming here was like walking into someone’s apartment–only a lot of people happened to live here."
Besides the 159-seat theatre, the quirkily configured space features a huge cabaret-style lobby, the boldly twisted "Hall of Presidents" art gallery, a kitchen and several "funky" storage rooms.
Allen cites their move into a permanent facility as a key turning point. It allowed them to establish an identity and offer a full-season of prime-time shows in addition to their ongoing late-night cult favorite. Other successful interactive productions have included Jeffrey Jones’ 70 Scenes of Halloween; Allen’s K, based on Franz Kafka’s The Trial; Sean Benjamin’s Devolution; Allen’s and Connor Kalista’s Boxing Joseph Cornell; Allen’s and Kalista’s Crime & Punishment: A (mis) Guided Environmental Tour with Literary Pretensions (based on creepy obedience tests); and Lear’s Shadow, devised by Allen, Jeffrey Essmann and Karen Christopher.
Allen says they do not fixate on faithful adaptations. They tend to use art and literature as a jumping off point, then "Neo-Futurize" it–which he describes as "very Brechtian," with performers commenting on a character or event. All of these works engage the audience. "People like to be acknowledged, and they don’t want to be bored," said Shaw.
Ensemble member Diana Slickman pipes in, "We value an audience’s contribution, and we love it when they get mad at us. We know we’ve challenged them."
The company has found numerous outlets for its boundary-shoving shows, including the Arts Club of Chicago, Theater on the Lake and the new downtown Storefront Theatre.
Since 1996, the Neo-Futurists have celebrated solo performance with Neo Mondo Solo, highlighting groundbreaking artists like David Kodeski and Anita Loomis. This summer’s series, Duo Neurotica, runs July 10-Aug. 19 and features Shaw and newcomer Andy Bayiates.
"Andy’s piece, Sublimania," explains Shaw, "is about his struggle to take a tragic event in his life and self-consciously make it stage worthy. In my piece, Duct (as in air vent), I’m taking a mundane life and trying to make it stage worthy. Both of us are attempting to work it out on stage, knowing that you can’t work things out on stage."
At Neo-Futurists, expect to see shows in which, as Slickman says, "everything that happens in our lives is grist for the mill."
Allen expounds, "We’re not bound by any specific structure. We just have to be honest with ourselves."
The Neo-Futurists continue to expand. They now have three full-time staff positions, including managing director Daniel Cress and resource development director Jeanne Newman. Both are busy coordinating creative subscription and fundraising drives, from the "30 Bands in 60 Minutes" benefit to the selection of the Lesbian Community Cancer Project for the troupe’s "LGBT Pride Award" to a summer art show called "Squirrels on Parole"–this year’s answer to "Cows on Parade." Buy a stuffed squirrel, decorate it and return it by July 30. Judges award prizes during the Aug. 26 benefit. The troupe has successfully involved area businesses in this satiric promotion.