When the shutdown hit a year ago, the Neo-Futurists were one of the earliest to adapt to creating digital theater. Within days of the stay-at-home order, they were figuring out how to convert their signature late-night hit, The Infinite Wrench (itself born out of Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, the original “30 plays in 60 minutes” show that was reimagined after founder Greg Allen pulled the rights) into an ongoing offering on Patreon.
For managing director Jorge Silva, the challenge has been “having to transition from being a manager of a theater, to a manager of a digital media company, but that only reflects the adaptation that we’ve all had to endure this last year and a half of where we’ve all had to learn new skill sets.” The company has continued to produce new digital work, including last fall’s 45 Plays for America’s First Ladies, which was originally slated as a live show in the 2020 season to run in time for the presidential election. Instead, the Chicago Neo-Futurists collaborated remotely with their colleagues in the New York and San Francisco branches to create the portraits-in-digital-miniature of all the FLOTUSes (and FLOTUS-adjacent women) in American history.
As if adapting to working virtually weren’t challenging enough, the Neos also added four new ensemble members, who were selected by audition one week before the shutdown. They’ve yet to meet in person with their colleagues. But as Silva explains it, the company’s commitment to consensus, or what he calls the “horizontal construction” of leadership roles, means “everyone’s a stakeholder,” which makes the process of bringing new voices on board perhaps less daunting all around.
American Blues gets ready to sing Refugee Rhapsody
Wed 3/24, 7 PM CDT, twitch.tv/neofuturists, F
