ANALOG, 'TOO MUCH LIGHT' and More Headline The Neo-Futurists' 2012-2013 Season

The Neo-Futurists announce their 24th season to include 44 Plays for 44 Presidents, part of a nation-wide festival curated by Andy Bayiates, Analog by Kurt Chiang, and The Miss Neo-Futurist Pageant by Megan Mercier. Also on the books is another great year of the smash hit, Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind.

Prime-Time shows run Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. (please note new starting times for the 2012-2013 season) at The Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland (at Foster) in Andersonville. Tickets are $20, $10 for students/seniors with ID, or pay-what-you-can on all Thursdays. For tickets or information, visit www.neofuturists.org or call The Neo-Futurist Hotline at 773-275-5255.

44 Plays for 44 Presidents, Neo-Futurist Original, Curated by Andy Bayiates

Previews: October 4 & 5, 2012
Opening Night: Saturday, October 6, 2012
Performances continue through Saturday, November 10, 2012

44 Plays for 44 Presidents is a chronological, biographical survey of the lives and presidencies of each of the 44 men who have held the office so far. The 2012 production is a remount of one of the biggest prime-time blockbusters in Neo history, 43 Plays for 43 Presidents, originally produced in 2001. This year's incarnation comes with a shiny new cast under the direction of Halena Kays, Artistic Director of The Hypocrites. In 44 Plays... mistakes and successes of our presidents are celebrated by a company of actors who take turns donning a star-spangled coat that symbolizes the presidency. Beginning with George Washington's almost Eden-like perfection, the scenes shift frequently between the comic and the tragic, from Ben Franklin giving Thomas Jefferson a Borscht Belt-style roast, to a polarized America in both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama plays. 44 Plays for 44 Presidents not only gives a second chance to audiences who missed the first production, but it gives existing fans an opportunity to experience the show in a new way after the original traveled around the country and is now a part of the Plays for Presidents Festival 2012.

The Plays for Presidents Festival 2012 is a national collaboration of theatre and educational artists interested in elevating political discourse and highlighting the impact of history through the production of 44 Plays for 44 Presidents. No fewer than 44 theatres, colleges, and high schools are producing the play in conjunction with the 2012 Presidential Election. Each participating group selects a different presidential play to perform on video, with the Chicago Neo-Futurists taping the piece on President Barack Obama. The festival culminates in simultaneous election night events and an online composite video production of 44 Plays for 44 Presidents made up of contributions from all 44 Productions. More information, including a list of presidents that are currently unclaimed, can be found at www.playsforpresidents.com.

Analog, World Premiere, Created by Kurt Chiang

Previews: February 28, March 1 & 2, 2013
Opening Night: Monday, March 4, 2013
Performances continue through Saturday, April 6, 2013

With an ensemble of writer/performers, Neo-Futurist Kurt Chiang explores routine, ritual, and the concept of “FATE.” In this mentally dexterous piece, Chiang relives his self-prescribed task of transcribing by hand the entire 1954 novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding. The transcription was done in pen over the course of three years for no discernible purpose other than the fact that he could. Through Analog, Chiang extracts meaning from this task by creating a distinctive and visceral performance event. In thrusting the audience into Chiang’s brain both figuratively and physically, their identity and perspective as audience members is redefined as they relate their own everyday tasks into tangible items of fate. Analog is a theatrical collage of writing and performance, music and noise, and personal expression where Chiang and the ensemble commit to the Neo-tenets of immediacy and new work, revealing those parts of our daily lives that are actual, elusive, and weird. Featuring the work of Neo-Futurists Jessica Anne, Trevor Dawkins, Tim Reid, as well as Neo-friends Lizi Breit and Hank Vogler.