The Neo-Futurists Set Halloween Offerings

The Neo-Futurists creep into fall with a chilling Halloween performance of Too Much Fright Makes The Baby Go Blind and the first spin of Saturn Returns.

Saturn Returns Fall Workshop/Open House

Created by Tif Harrison

Directed by Elisabeth Barnick

Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.

FREE admission, Donations accepted

Light refreshments provided by Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine

Presented through The Neo-Lab workshop program

The Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland

For tickets or information, visit www.neofuturists.org or call 773-275-5255.

When we're afraid of being alone, why do we look up?

Saturn Returns is a two-year Neo-Futuristic exploration that asks larger existential questions about time, patience, and the vast expanse of an unknowable universe. Not content simply with looking inward, Tif Harrison and ensemble look upward and outward, offering observations on the silence and solitude of space, on the uncrossable distances between celestial bodies and the intimacy of standing next to somebody you love. Saturn Returns examines both the astronomical and astrological implications.

Neo-Lab is an original works residency that annually commissions one new play anchored by innovative approaches to creation. Offering public presentations and opportunities for audience interaction throughout the season, Neo-Lab supports artist retreats and stipends, public readings and presentations, and a full production the following season. During the 2015-16 season, Neo-Lab's inaugural workshop is Ensemble Member Tif Harrison's Saturn Returns. In addition to this event, Saturn Returns also has a winter workshop presentation/open house scheduled for Monday, February 29, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine is happy to be the evening's Opening Night Partner, providing their signature artisan cheeses and bread, and the event will include libations as well. Information about Pastoral can be found at www.pastoralartisan.com.

Creator Tif Harrison states, "Every 29 years, the planet Saturn completes an orbit around the sun and occupies the same point as it did almost three decades back. For every person, shortly after their 29th birthday, the planet returns to this point in the sky. Various forms of astrology tell us that as we pass this threshold, our lives are marked with extreme transitions, creating a 'Saturn return'. Using this as a touchstone, Saturn Returns examines conflicts, relationships, fears and isolation particularly in times of unrest.

I'm excited by the opportunity to work on our feet, devise as a group, and share our creative process with audiences. While the point-of-view behind the show is mine, each person involved has had a strong influence on my artistic and personal life. They all have a quality to them that makes me lean in when they speak."

Tif Harrison (Creator) has been an Ensemble Member of The Neo-Futurists since 2011. In addition to writing and performing regularly in Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, Tif was a writer and performed in The Miss Neo Pageant, directed Analog, and served as an editor for the company's most recent book, The Neo-Futurists: Body. She has performed at live lit events like The Paper Machete and Drinking & Writing's Annual Beerfly Alleyfight. When not on stage, Tif runs a micro-press called Sunday Home Press publishing zines and mini-comics.

Elisabeth Barnick (Director) has worked as a Dramaturg, Assistant Director, and Director in Chicago, New York, and California. This will be her first time working with The Neo-Futurists.

The cast of Saturn Returns includes: Kurt Chiang who is Co-Artistic Director of The Neo-Futurists where his credits include Analog (Creator/Writer) and Haymaker (Director), Tif Harrison, Lily Mooney who is a Neo-Futurist ensemble member and whose work has been produced in Boston and New York, Kirsten Riiber who is a Neo-Futurist ensemble member, and Andrew Tham who designs sound and composes for short films and the musical duo Kai-Ye.

Too Much Fright Makes The Baby Go Blind

Curated by Trevor Dawkins

Saturday, October 31

Doors open at 7:00 p.m., Show begins at 7:30 p.m.

ADVANCE RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED ($25)

Costumes encouraged!

The Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland

For tickets and information visit www.neofuturists.org or call 773-275-5255

The Neo-Futurists brutalize your senses with Too Much Fright Makes the Baby Go Blind, a special Halloween horde of 30 plays performed in 60 merciless minutes that explore the macabre, the strange, the unknowable terrors of the back of your mind. Expect dark humor, heavy metal, and existential dread. Also, expect candy.

Ensemble member Trevor Dawkins says, "It's Too Much Light but about a billion times scarier. We're still playing ourselves, we're still doing 30 plays in 60 minutes, but we're also going to give you a crazy case of the heeby-jeebies. It's like a haunted house but everything we do and say is true which is way scarier. Oh, and we've got a real ghost. Did you hear about the ghost? Yeah, we have one. Who wouldn't want to kick off their Halloween with a spooky night of performance art?"

The cast for Too Much Fright includes Ensemble members Ida Cuttler, Bilal Dardai, Trevor Dawkins, Tif Harrison, Nick Hart, Jeewon Kim, Kirsten Riiber, Leah Urzendowski, and Malic White.