BRATTLEBORO — New England Youth Theatre proudly presents “Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind,” or TMLMTBGB (as it is affectionately known).
Written by the Neo-Futurists, and directed by NEYT fan favorite Jane Baker, TMLMTBGB became the longest running show in Chicago and the only open-run Off-Off-Broadway show in New York. Starting in 1988, the show ran 50 weekends of the year until 2016.
Curtain time for this show is 7 p.m. on Oct. 4, 5, 11, and 12, and 2 p.m. on Oct. 5 and 12 at 100 Flat St., in Brattleboro.
What is the “Neo-Futurist” experience? According to a news release, “It's an aesthetic that demands that everything that transpires in their theater be non-illusory, which is to say that they pretend nothing; actors only play themselves.”
“The show is extremely spontaneous. The kids are learning how to be prepared for almost anything, and it has been a really fun process to watch that progress,” Baker said in the release. “As an improv show, there is no fourth wall. You have to work with the audience, which most of these kids haven't experienced before. So the show depends equally on audience and actors.”
A large and vibrant cast of teens, ages 13-19, is an ensemble experiment, calling on the audience to participate in this interactive performance.
“30 Plays in 60 Minutes,” is the theme of the evening, and each play is wildly different, organizers say, touching on “all tones and genres; they may be political, satirical, personal, tragic, comic, poetic, abstract, surreal or musical.”