The Tenants of the Neo-Futurists

 

The Tenants of the Neo-Futurists

Below are the seven tenants of the Neo-Futurists. These tenants should inform the plays you are writing for our performance and the way in which you perform. Work to embody these.

1. Honesty: When you're up on stage performing, you're you. There are no characters*. At most, you're a heightened version of you, but that's it. You should be fully you and all of the things that make you you. Be authentic, be vulnerable, but most importantly – be you.
   
   
2. Truth on Stage: If you say you're making pasta in your play, you will actually be making pasta. When you perform, you are truthfully doing your tasks.
   
   
3. Brevity: Two minutes or less^.  
   
   
4. Liveness: There are a few ways that you should think about Liveness: (a) The show used to be a Living Newspaper. For that reason, you should work to be responsive to what is happening in the world. Always start with why must this play be theater. (b) You're living in the moment, so react to it. If something happens with the audience, respond. While we shouldn't break, if you start laughing then you laugh. (c) Your plays might change based on what happens during the performance. That's okay. In all of this – be present.
   
   
5. Transformation: Think about transformation in terms of space, audience, and self. Space. How do the stage change during the performance? Stuff gets left from plays. Things get written on the boards. The space changes. Audience. Literally and physically. Get them standing up. Have them watch from a different perspective. Maybe they wear something. They gain a new name by attending. Self. You should be different by the end. Maybe you're wearing something different. Also, running around, tires you out. That's a change. This is a transformative show. Welcome it.
   
   
6. Risk: Challenge yourself on stage and share something vulnerable or use an audience volunteer in your performance. Both are risky. Lean in.
   
   
7. Chance: Similar to risk, but chance shows up in different ways throughout the 'show.' No assigned seats. Don't always have to pay. The play is performed in a different order each time. We may not finish the show. All of these are ways chance shows up.

*They say there are no characters, and for the most part there are not. However, some rules are meant to be broken, which means in some plays you may be playing a character. That's okay as long as when you're playing you you are you.

^This is a rule that can be broken. Shorties and Anties are way less than two minutes, and a play might be longer than two minutes. That's okay because it's something we address when creating our menu, but try to keep it around two minutes.