The Influencial Neo-Futurists

Playwright Adam Szymkowicz interviews Neo-futurist Kevin R. Free and Kevin gives us some insight into the workings of the Neo-Futurists and how it has helped to set him on his present path.

"Q: You worked with the New York Neo-Futurists. Tell me more about them?

A: I am still an ensemble member of the New York Neo-Futurists, FYI. I am taking a break for a while, but I could go back in 2011.

Everything I know about myself as a writer, I learned first as a Neo. We don’t play characters and we don’t ever pretend onstage. Because we acknowledge the audience as part of the show, the show is visceral and immediate and dangerous, when we get it right. The show to which I am referring is, of course, Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind (30 Plays in 60 Minutes). We write and perform all the plays and most of them are under 2 minutes. The plays are so in the moment that many people mistake the show as improv (but it aint). Anyway, I discovered when I started writing as a Neo-Futurist, I discovered that I had a lot to say – about myself – but I never really wanted to say it. A Raisin in the Salad: Black Plays For White People is actually an expanded, extrapolated piece that started as a series of plays in Too Much Light…"

Read the full interview here.

Thanks Kevin or “Kay-yuh-vee-yin” (as us southerns pronounce it like Kevin kindly tells us in his interview)! This is a fantastic reminder of the impact and innovative work that the neo-futurists are having on many actors'/playwrights' lives. Helping the world of theater to become a foundation for artistic self discovery. A step in the direction of a shift in theater!

The Neo-Futurists are one of the members of Fourth Arts Block and we are proud of their ability to foster such creative and unique voices. Thanks for all you do Neos! You sure know how to bring out the best!

Come be see other Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind with the Neo-Futurists by stopping by the East village this weekend and every weekend.

Thanks for keeping it fresh on a hot summer day!

~Matt Eliott