Flying V Presents: The New York Neo-Futurists' "The Infinite Wrench"

The Neo-Futurists are a multi-city institution of modern theater – with companies in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and London, they’ve been bringing their particular brand of devised creation, inspired by the Italian Futurist movement of the 20th Century, to stages across the country since 1988, when they began with the much-acclaimed Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind. This production was a groundbreaking work that helped to establish the tenets of Neo-Futurism: there is no suspension of disbelief from the audience or performers – they are all in a room together, in the present, experiencing the creation of stories in tandem. The topics of TMLMTBGB varied: comedy, satire, politics, surrealism, poetry, drama. And all stories existed in 2 minutes or less, filling a total hour of time.

The Neo-Futurist’s founder, Greg Allen, revoked the rights of the companies to produce TMLMTBGB in 2016, expressing the hope that he, long separated from the Neos, might exclusively use it to combat the political upheaval of the 2016 election. To replace this flagship production, the Neos have created, as is their style, something new: The Infinite Wrench.

“The Infinite Wrench is a barrage of 30 short plays the cast attempts to perform within a single hour. Each play offers something different, be it funny, profound, elegant, disgusting, topical, irrelevant, terrifying, or a song. All are truthful and tackle the here-and-now, inspired by the lived experiences of the performers. With new plays every week, The Infinite Wrench is the Neo-Futurists’ ongoing and ever-changing attempt to shift the conventions of live performance and speak to audiences including those unreached or unmoved by traditional theater.” – The NY Neo-Futurist’s Website The piece, currently running weekly in all four cities with Neos in residence, exemplifies the first of the Neo’s statement of purpose: “We believe in creating art under four tenets: we are who we are, we are where we are, we are doing what we are doing, and the time is now.”

Based out of the Kraine Theater,  the New York branch of the Neos has been infusing the Manhattan arts scene with performances that press the boundaries of what audiences expect since 2004. They are 2012 & 2014 Drama Desk Nominees, and winners of the NY Innovative Theater Award for Outstanding Performance Art five times since their inception in New York. Additionally, in 2018, the NY Neos received the Fresh Fruit Festival Honeyberry Award for Unrecognized Service to the LGBT Community.