New York Neo-Futurists Name New Co-Artistic Directors And General Manager

The award-winning New York Neo-Futurists (NYNF), a collective of writer-director-designer-performers currently in their 21st season of creating non-fiction-based theatre, announce a major expansion of their leadership team, promoting ensemble members Amelia Bethel and Julia Melfi to Co-Artistic Directors and hiring Sean Tecson as General Manager. Founding ensemble member and outgoing Artistic Director Rob Neill will remain with the ensemble and serve in a consulting role during the transition.

"I am very proud of what the Neo-Futurists do and of the community and work we are creating. This is a great moment of forward motion for the NYNF," says outgoing Artistic Director Rob Neill. "I'm excited to phase down from leadership while staying involved artistically, as Julia, Amelia, and Sean lead us into our next Neo-Future. Our ongoing relationship with Second City remains an essential anchor, keeping the work fast, fearless, and grounded as the company evolves."

Speaking on behalf of the board, Co-Board President Gary Belsky adds, "These changes reflect meaningful growth for the New York Neo-Futurists. With Julia Melfi and Amelia Bethel stepping in as Co-Artistic Directors and Sean Tecson as General Manager, the company is well-positioned to reaffirm its values while moving boldly into its next chapter. Our board, including Co-President Margo Johnston and myself, is excited about today's leadership and the creative work ahead."

After eight years as a performing ensemble member, Julia Melfi shared her gratitude and enthusiasm for the transition, saying, "I'm thrilled to step into this new role alongside Amelia and Sean as the company continues its ever-changing work, and I'm forever grateful to call the New York Neo-Futurists my artistic home."

Amelia Bethel reflected on her tenure with the company, saying, "Being a NY Neo-Futurist has been one of the great joys of my artistic life. As Co-Artistic Director, I look forward to supporting the ensemble in creating imaginative, visceral, immediate art that responds to the world around us, and I hope you'll join us at The Infinite Wrench at Second City."

Sean Tecson shared his excitement about joining the organization, saying, "I've admired the Neo-Futurists since seeing my first show in the East Village, and I'm proud to now support the company in this new role. My career in arts administration has been guided by the belief that strong operations make ambitious theatre possible, and I'm proud to help sustain the infrastructure behind The Infinite Wrench and the ensemble that brings it to life every week."

The New York Neo-Futurists are a diverse collective of writer-director-performers. They create theater that is a fusion of storytelling, sport, poetry, and living-newspaper. Through this, they foster a spontaneous community embracing those unreached or unmoved by conventional theater and inspiring them to thought, feeling, and action. Most every week the New York Neo-Futurists create a show at The Second City New York in Williamsburg called The Infinite Wrench: the award-winning, energetic, always changing attempt to perform thirty original plays in about an hour. Since opening in 2004, the NY Neo-Futurists have premiered over 7700 new plays.

Aside from running a weekly late-night show, they have produced several award-winning main-stage productions including Steve: A Docu-Musical, The Human Symphony, The Complete and Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O'Neill: Vol. 1, and Locker #4173b. Collectively they have been nominated for three Drama Desk Awards and more than a dozen New York Innovative Theatre Awards, and in 2017 The Infinite Wrench won the NY IT Award for Outstanding Performance Art Production. NY Neo-Futurists have toured to the Edinburgh Fringe and all around the United States, most notably to the Alden Theater, Foothills Performing Arts Center, Wellesley College, Austin College, Grinnell, Sarah Lawrence, URI, University of Texas, NYU, and Out of Bounds Comedy Festival. They also have been featured in The New York Times, The New York Post, and Howl Around.