The following information was for our September 2024 auditions. We’re keeping it here in case it’s useful to you, but bear in mind that not all of it will apply to future auditions.

Are you excited about joining a ragtag ensemble of hard-working performance artists dedicated to constant experimentation and pushing the boundaries of theatre? Join us in September 2024 for our next round of auditions for new ensemble members!

Read on for:
How to Sign Up
How to Prepare
FAQ: Auditions
FAQ: Being an SF Neo-Futurist

Auditions will take place in two rounds:

1. Round One
   10-minute slot in which you’ll perform a short original piece in the Neo-Futurist aesthetic. You can sign up for a slot on Saturday 9/14 at Shotgun Studios in Berkeley, or Sunday 9/15 at 447 Minna in San Francisco.

2. Callbacks
   Callbacks will take the form of a weekend-long workshop at 447 Minna in San Francisco on Saturday 9/28 + Sunday 9/29. You’ll be there for several hours on Saturday, and for one 30-minute slot on Sunday.

PLEASE NOTE: We ask all auditionees to be available for callbacks. You will need to be at 447 Minna for several hours on Saturday 9/28 and for one 30-minute slot on Sunday 9/29. You will also be asked to do some writing on Saturday evening to prepare for Sunday. If you are not available for callbacks, we unfortunately cannot consider you for the 2024 auditions.

To sign up for an audition, please do these two things:

ONE: Sign up for a slot on Calendly. Slots are first-come, first-serve.

• Sat 9/14 in Berkeley: https://calendly.com/sanfrancisconeofuturists/sfnf-auditions-berkeley

• Sun 9/15 in SF: https://calendly.com/sanfrancisconeofuturists/sfnf-auditions-sf

• If you can’t make either of these days, please email audition@sfneofuturists.com to request an alternative time slot on Thu 9/12 evening. We will also accept a video audition for Round 1 if necessary. (You will have to do callbacks in-person, though!)

TWO: Complete this Audition Questionnaire on Google Forms by Tuesday, September 10.

• The questionnaire will take you about 30-45 min to complete.

• If you want to draft answers in a doc before submitting the form, here is a Google Doc copy of the questions you can copy-paste.

• If you don’t have a Google account, please instead submit by email to audition@sfneofuturists.com. Copy the questions from this Google Doc to your own doc to write answers, and attach the doc + photo + writing samples.

For your Round 1 audition, please prepare:

• A two-minute (or less) original play in the Neo-Futurist aesthetic. The play should have a title, and it should be memorized. (See the FAQ for more information on the aesthetic.)

• We’ll run a tight ship, so arrive 10-15 minutes early.

• If you are physically impaired or have specific access requirements, please let us know so we can properly accommodate you. Both 447 Minna and Shotgun Studios are ADA-accessible and have gender-neutral bathrooms.

Optional (but encouraged):

• Attend our free Crash Course in Neo-Futurism
  If you haven’t had the opportunity yet to take one of our classes, we invite you to join us for a free Crash Course in Neo-Futurism. The Crash Course will cover the basics of writing and performing in the Neo-Futurist aesthetic. You can register for the Crash Course on September 8, 12–3 PM @ All Out Comedy Theater here.

• See the Show (if you haven’t already)
  We encourage everyone to see The Infinite Wrench before auditions! Seeing the show is the best way to understand the energy and aesthetic of what we do as a company. Tickets are available here. We’re offering free tickets to all auditionees—email audition@sfneofuturists.com to get your free ticket code.

What should I prepare for my audition piece?

Please prepare an original play, two minutes or less, in the Neo-Futurist aesthetic. The play should have a title, and it should be memorized.

The basics of the aesthetic are:

1. We are who we are (i.e. we do not play characters)

2. We are where we are (i.e. we do not pretend to be anywhere but the stage we’re on, or room we’re in)

3. We are doing what we are doing (i.e. all tasks are real, and we do not fake emotions)

4. The time is now (i.e. we speak to what is current in our lived experience)

For more information on the aesthetic, check out our Basics of the Neo-Futurist Aesthetic handout. We also strongly encourage attending one of our free Crash Courses! You can also see the show every Friday & Saturday (email us for a free ticket) or watch videos of plays on our website.

What are you looking for? Do I need performing experience?

We believe that great Neo-Futurists come from a wide variety of perspectives and backgrounds, and that experience matters less than a compelling point of view and a dedication to getting down in the muck of exploring, collaborating, and continually challenging your craft on a weekly basis. If you feel called to make non-illusory performance art, then you should audition!

Our current ensemble includes folks who were previously traditional theatre actors, poets, essayists, dancers, comedians, AND people who had absolutely ZERO experience prior to auditioning! Our work beyond artmaking includes activities as diverse as teaching, nursing, labor organizing, public health, tech, and laying trails for the National Parks Service! We treasure life experience outside the performing arts and believe they contribute to surprising work that reflects audiences’ lived experiences and evolves Neo-Futurism beyond what we could have imagined otherwise.

If you come to the show and find yourself thinking, “There’s no one quite like me on that stage,” we would especially love for you to come out and audition!

I auditioned before. Should I audition again?

Of course! Many current ensemble members auditioned multiple times before joining. Your status from previous auditions does not affect anything for the current auditions.

What are your COVID policies?

We are committed to the health and safety of our ensemble, audience members, and auditionees. All SF Neo-Futurist ensemble members take weekly tests prior to any in-person company activity (rehearsals, performances, and auditions).

Our COVID policies for 2024 auditions and callbacks are:

• Round 1

• Auditionees are not required to test.

• Neo-Futurists will take a rapid antigen test within 1 week of Saturday 9/14.

• Masking is optional for both auditionees and Neo-Futurists.

• If you would like to request that the Neo-Futurists mask during your 10-minute slot, please inform us just prior to entering the room, and we’ll be happy to do so.

• Callbacks

• Callback auditionees and Neo-Futurists will take rapid antigen tests at the door on the morning of Saturday 9/28. (We will provide these tests for free.)

• Masking is optional for both auditionees and Neo-Futurists.

• Because of the nature of callback activities, we will not be able to honor requests for Neo-Futurists to mask throughout the weekend.

We won’t check proof of vaccination to audition or to be part of the SF Neo-Futurists.

We may change these policies depending on public health circumstances and guidance. If so, we will inform you by email prior to the audition. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to email audition@sfneofuturists.com.

What does being an SF Neo-Futurist entail?

You’ll be part of a tight-knit ensemble of hard-working artists dedicated to creating non-illusory performance that challenges audiences and pushes the boundaries of theatre! As part of the ensemble, you will:

• Write and perform for The Infinite Wrench for 25+ weeks during your first year.

• Each week that you’re in the show, you will meet on Tuesday night to pitch and rehearse new plays, and on Friday and Saturday nights to rehearse and perform.

• You’ll typically perform for 4–6 weeks at a time, then take a break for a few weeks before diving back in.

• You can also opt into performing gigs or teaching classes as opportunities arise.

• Take on administrative roles to support the company.

• We meet once a month as a company to discuss artistic and administrative matters.

• Each ensemble member also joins two committees of their choice, and contributes several hours of work each month. Example committees: Marketing, Development, Documentation, Operations, Education, Social, Diversity & Outreach.

• We are a non-hierarchical collective who govern all aspects of our company administration, unlike other companies that separate artist and administrator. Major decisions that affect the company are made by consensus.

We pay stipends for artistic and administrative work. As of 2024, our rates are:

• $225 per performance week in The Infinite Wrench. (Gigs are compensated similarly.)

• $50/hour for teaching

• $20/hour for administrative work, up to 84 hours/person/year

Each year’s budget and pay rates are approved by the ensemble through consensus.

Wow, that’s a lot of commitment! Why do all that?

It’s true—it’s no joke writing and performing new plays every Friday and Saturday, 50 weeks a year, for 10 years and counting! But it’s precisely this dedication to prolific creation with an ensemble that makes Neo-Futurism and The Infinite Wrench so fulfilling and rewarding. Being part of a tight-knit group of artists with shared values all working hard to challenge each other and uplift each other’s work is a unique experience—and one that we find makes us better artists, collaborators, and humans. And it’s not just us: as part of the SF Neo-Futurists, you’ll also be part of a tri-company of Neo-Futurists in Chicago and New York, a tradition of weekly, non-illusory performance that spans over 30 years!

Some thoughts on what it means to be a San Francisco Neo-Futurist, straight from the mouths of our current ensemble:

Joe: “For me, being a Neo-Futurist is a creative endeavor unlike any other. It’s fast-paced, it’s vulnerable, it’s incredibly fun, it’s communal, it’s explosive. I could be doing the mundane, or worse, I could be doing nothing. I could be creating, or even better, I could be doing Neo-Futurism.”

Amy: “If you have even the smallest inkling of curiosity about auditioning, you should do it. I signed up eleven years ago on a whim, and it’s changed my life for the better a million times over. I mean, just look at this ensemble! What a bunch of absolute beautiful stars!”

Ray Ray: “I was a sad artist that didn’t make very much art and now I’m making weird art all the time that people come to see and it makes me happy.”

Geulah: “The hardest part about being creative is STARTING and FINISHING and also SHARING. With the Neos, I get to play and experiment with people who match my freak!”

Eli: “Collaboration/individuality, meaning/playing, structure/chaos—I've never been part of anything that balances and embraces all of those like the Neos do.”

Wallace: “As a long-time theatre artist, I've grown pretty stale of how I feel about most theatre. In contrast, being a part of the Neo-Futurists and watching my collective’s work has continually surprised and delighted me. It has really become my best place to express and experiment in theatre.”

Hannah: “There is something so powerful about bringing my strangest, silliest, and most delicate little ideas to this group of artists I admire so much, and seeing them commit themselves wholeheartedly to sharing those ideas with an audience—and we do it all the time.”

Jordan: “I like to describe my first year being in this ensemble as baptism by fire. What I love about being a Neo is that I am a part of an ensemble and experience that is an expansive exercise in being human. I have grown as a performer, writer, director, advocate, and overall collaborator.”

Sam: “Being a Neo is dope as hell. You get to make a fun show with cool people for even more cool people. You should do it!“

Topher: “My favorite part of being a Neo is the experience of ensembleship. I can’t emphasize enough how wonderful it is to get weekly feedback from fellow artists who get what I’m trying to do and whom I trust to be supportive and critically rigorous at the same time. And when I’m having a down week, I am newly inspired all over again by the work that other Neos bring in!”

jeb: “Being a Neo-Futurist is one of the few things that keeps me enjoying this corporeal form: its damp, squishy softness flouncing around in the dark, yearning and grasping for tethers to the Human Hive Mind. And the homies are pretty good too!”

Will I have time outside of Neo-Futurism to pursue other artistic endeavors?

We want to be and stay a group of working artists who do other projects, learn things, and bring those experiences back to enrich the ensemble and enrich our work. While your first year with the company is generally intense, long-time active Neos here and in cities across the country have varied careers in theater, writing, music, film, TV, and some even travel internationally to perform at festivals and other gigs, and many have full-time jobs.

Is this improv?

No, no it’s not. Unless it’s this.

Questions? Send us an email and we’ll be happy to get back to you.

audition@sfneofuturists.com