“Most of these people are coming to see a show they’ve seen before. At the same time, most of them are coming to see a show they’ve never seen before. How is this paradox possible? All of them are on their way to see Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, the ever-mutating cornerstone
“Most of these people are coming to see a show they’ve seen before. At the same time, most of them are coming to see a show they’ve never seen before. How is this paradox possible? All of them are on their way to see Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, the ever-mutating cornerstone performance of an unruly 20-year-old company that calls itself the Neo-Futurists. This may be an ugly stay-at-home-with-slippers-and-bourbon night in Chicago, but the Neo-Futurists are eight people short of a sold-out house.
“Remarkably, something similar is going on this very night some 700 miles away in downtown Manhattan, where the skies are clearer and the line for an 11 p.m. Neo-Futurist show is wending down East 4th Street across from La MaMa E.T.C. If you’re heading out after a performance at that renowned venue and see the line across the street, you should consider getting in it. More important, if you ask the Neo-Futurists really nicely (or offer them enough cash), a line like that could form in your town, too.”
It’s your Uncle Jeff, a.k.a. the New York Neo-Futurists’ Board President. But don’t worry, this isn’t a request for money. It’s just a holiday letter! From our crazy family to yours.
Now I’ve never actually written a holiday letter before, so I asked the Internets for help. And
It’s your Uncle Jeff, a.k.a. the New York Neo-Futurists’ Board President. But don’t worry, this isn’t a request for money. It’s just a holiday letter! From our crazy family to yours.
Now I’ve never actually written a holiday letter before, so I asked the Internets for help. And they gave me five rules that are guaranteed to produce maximum holiday-letter goodness.
Rule No.1: Keep it short, focus on highlights.
Our main show, Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, is still running 50 weeks a year to ever-larger houses and ever-more notoriety. Yes, the kids are famous now!
They’re talented too! Last season’s primetime show, (Not) Just A Day Like Any Other, received a 2009 New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Ensemble. The gang was also crowned Best Performance Artists in the 2009 Village Voice annual readers poll, named among 2009’s People of the Year by nytheatre.com, and dubbed the year’s Best Arts Organization by Artists ForumMagazine.
Our 2009 primetime show, Laika Dog in Space, debuted in the Ontological-Hysteric’s Incubator series, garnering amazing reviews. Better yet, the show has been picked up for a six-week run in Chicago in 2011.
Oh, yeah—one more thing: we turned five this year, and our first major benefit raised over $15,000. We might just have to do the same thing again next year. Only completely different.
Rule No. 2: Don’t be too boastful.
Oh.
Rule No. 3: Don’t forget anyone. And identify everyone. (“Jane had a baby!” might be confusing; “My sister Jane had a baby girl!” isn’t.)
The Ensemble— Christopher Loar, Dan McCoy, Lauren Sharpe, Adam Smith, Lusia Strus, Alicia Harding, Jill Beckman, Desiree Burch, Eevin Hartsough, Joey Rizzolo, Rob Neill, Christopher Borg, Erica Livingston, Kevin R. Free, Ryan Good, Cara Francis, Jacquelyn Landgraf and Jeffrey Cranor— had a baby girl! I mean, they had a productive, creative and exciting year.
The NYNF Alumni and Guest Artists— Bill Coelius, Greg Allen, Lindsay Brandon Hunter, Regie Cabico, Claudia Alick, Heather Kelley, Lori Peeples, Sarah Levy, Chloë Johnson, Jenny Williams, Marta Rainer, Chris Dippel, Joe Basile, Mary Fons, Yolanda Kaye Wilkinson, Connor Kalista, John Pierson, Michael Cyril Creighton, Eliza Burmester, Katrina Toshiko, F Omar Telan, Sharon Greene, Justin Tolley and Molly Flynn—also had a productive and exciting year.
So did our Tech Crew Lauren Parrish, Chris Dierksen, Laura Schlachtmeyer, Meg Bashwiner, Marisa Blankier and Arthur Peters.
And so did my fellow Board of Directors members—Kyle Spencer, Cory Greenberg, Gary Belsky and Brad Rolston. We’re awfully proud to be a part of this dynamic organization that brings so much joy and profundity to so many New Yorkers.
Rule No. 4: Remember to think about others.
Happy Holidays, Everyone! Here’s to Having Had a Fabulous 2009 and May We All Be Blessed With a Miraculous, Stupendous, Joyful 2010.
Rule No. 5: Include a photo. Even folks who ignore your letter will appreciate seeing how the fam is looking these days.
With much sincere love and gratitude from the entire New York Neo-Futurist family,
Uncle Jeff
PS – If you did want to give us something—no pressure but, like, if you wanted to—just a little stocking stuffer—you could do so by going to http://www.nynf.org and clicking the big DONATE button.
WHAT: New York Neo-Futurists 5 Year Benefit–a cocktail party and silent auction
WHEN: Monday, November 9, 2009, 7:00pm-10:00pm, New York City
WHERE: Bennett Media Studio, 723 Washington Street (between Bank St & 11th St), NYC. This event will have all the things a typical 5-year-old’s birthday party would have: games, music, videos, a silent auction, alcohol. Plus lots of surprises and performances from your favorite downtown non-illusory theater company featuring the best of our 5 year oeuvre.
WHY: The New York Neo-Futurists’ long-running Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind runs 50 weekends a year (that’s 100 shows), and turned 5 this year. We’ve been having a hell of a terrific celebration what with the awards, press and launching a new show. As Board President I invite you now to attend our first-ever benefit party on November 9th, a major fundraising effort for us featuring performances, plenty to drink, and a silent auction featuring high quality products, services and artwork. These are no small potatoes, and this is going to be the hippest bash of the season, you have my word. All the cool people are going. Are you going? The award-winning New York Neo-Futurists, a 501c3 nonprofit arts organization, don’t just do art for art’s sake, they also offer classes, do free public performances, fundraise regularly for organizations such as the Ali Forney Center for runaway gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender teens in the West Village, and are a dynamic artistic presence in the rapidly commercializing East Village and NYU neighborhood. They are worthy of some hard-earned, tax-deductible dollars from your socializing or philanthropic budget to help cover props, marketing, crew, rehearsal space rentals, and the hard-working performers’ extremely modest salaries.
TAX-DEDUCTIBLE TICKETS:
$100, $250, $500 (with different swag at each level)
Tickets can be purchased here:
www.nyneofuturists.org/site/index.php?/site/benefit2009
Everyone who buys a ticket will be sent a letter after the benefit thanking you for your donation. The tax-deductible amount is the cost of your ticket minus $35. Individuals who purchase auction items or who make additional cash donations will also receive tax deduction letters.
“Most of these people are coming to see a show they’ve seen before. At the same time, most of them are coming to see a show they’ve never seen before. How is this paradox possible? All of them are on their way to see Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, the ever-mutating cornerstone performance of an unruly 20-year-old company that calls itself the Neo-Futurists. This may be an ugly stay-at-home-with-slippers-and-bourbon night in Chicago, but the Neo-Futurists are eight people short of a sold-out house.
