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| 'Deja Chicken','900 Gay Men' and 'Pushy Shovey?' |
by Martina Sheehan
Staff Writer |
Cries of "11! 21! 18!," can be heard over the general shouting of the Neo-Futurist's unruly audience. Thirty short plays will be performed tonight in a mere 60 minutes, and the audience members are fulfilling their duty by deciding which play will come next. They're choosing from the 30 play numbers written on sheets of paper, which are strung across the stage on a clothesline. Although each number corresponds to a title found on tonight's "menu," the titles can be as elusive as "FUY2K," "Deja Chicken," or "Pushy Shovey." And with the small Andersonville theater packed as usual, the animated demands begin to sound like the verge of a riot.
 This theatrical wonderland was created by Greg Allen 11 years ago. Although the six-man cast has changed a lot over the years, the level of talent has remained fairly consistent and the fan base grows weekly. The group has upheld their interactive approach to theater by assigning each audience member an alias which is written on a "hello, my name is…" sticker. The Neo-futurists also have audience members roll a die to decide how much they'll pay to get in by adding the number on the die to $4. Occasionally, someone from the audience may even be invited to briefly join the actors on stage.
New plays are added to the menu weekly, making each performance unique. Last week's performance included a comical skit titled, "Andy Blows Off Steam About His Ex-Friend Jamie." A catchy beat was played as actor Andy Bayiates wreaked revenge on a former friend who had not only stolen his girlfriend, but then proceeded to send out mass e-mailings about what a bad sport Andy had been. Andy vindicated himself by taking his two minutes to effectively shred Jamie to pieces for the 100+ audience. The piece was a powerful comeback, to be sure.
Another play titled "To the 900 Gay Men Aboard the Cruise Ship that Was Refused Permission to Dock by the Homophobic Government of the Cayman Islands," lasted less than 10 seconds. The Neo-Futurist's in-house gay rights advocate Dave Awl appeared on stage, recited the play's title and said, "Uh, hey. There's room at my place."
A longer but equally clever play, titled "The Top Three Games to Play with Daddy at 7 a.m. the Morning After a Show," was performed by main-man Greg Allen. He demonstrated a sequence of ways to keep his kids distracted while trying to get some sleep after a late night at the theater. One of the best games was "Shoot Daddy" where Allen had his kids pretend to shoot him so he could get some sleep by playing dead for the rest of the morning.
As "Andy Blows Off Steam," "900 Gay Men," and "Top Three Games" suggest, the production defies common definitions of small theater. If you're expecting actors in black tights and leotards to prance about the stage while delivering dry monologues about the state of humanity, forget about it. There's nothing pretentious or stuffy about “Too Much Light.” In fact, what the Simpsons have done for TV, the Neo-futurists have done for theater. They've found the perfect balance of slapstick humor, serious political commentary and hilarious social satire.
The production's success may stem from this unique ability to appeal to a wider audience. “Too Much Light” could compel even the most adamant "I-hate-theater" types to give stage a chance. Like TV's favorite cartoon family, the Neo-Futurists are guaranteed to make you laugh. And like Bill Cosby once said, "If you're not careful, you just might learn something."
The Neo-Futurarium is located at 5153 N. Ashland near Foster. The play runs Fridays and Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. with an early show on Sunday. |
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