The Neo-Futurists are seeking new board members to support our mission, champion our work, and ensure The Neo-Futurist legacy stretches far into the future.

WHO WE ARE

Since 1988, The Neo-Futurist Theater has continuously offered our flagship late night show The Infinite Wrench three nights a week, 50 weeks a year, making the ever-changing set of “30 original plays performed in 60 minutes” the longest-running show in Chicago. Over 3 decades, 80 Neo-Futurist ensemble members and alumni have written and performed more than 12,600 plays. Following its premiere in 2020, our digital show The Infinite Wrench Goes Viral was lauded by the Chicago Tribune as “the most successful online shows of the pandemic” and continues to reach audience members from across the globe.

 

OUR MISSION 

The Neo-Futurists are a collective of wildly prolific writer/director/performers who create:

  • Theater that is a fusion of sport, poetry and living-newspaper.
  • Non-illusory, interactive performance that conveys our experiences and ideas as directly and honestly as possible.
  • Immediate, unreproducible events at affordable prices.
  • Performance and educational programming that embraces those unreached or unmoved by conventional theater – inspiring them to thought, feeling and action.

We practice consensus-driven decision-making and radical honesty in our pursuit of accessibility, racial equity and queer liberation.

 

HOW CAN YOU HELP? 

First and foremost, we are seeking folx who are passionate about The Neo-Futurists’ mission and programming – active participation and engagement go a long way. Where do we need help? The technical stuff – the stuff that complements artistic creation as a part of nonprofit management. So, we are hoping to bring together any and all skill levels that includes:

  • Events and Engagement – As a connective tissue of our theater company to new partnerships, we are looking for prospective members with connections to local Chicago/Andersonville businesses with a knack for strategic outreach and responding to unmet means through contacts within our community! Any experience collaborating with a theater/performing arts non profit or coordinating events is welcome. 
  • Financial Management – Experience with financial planning, investment management, and fiduciary oversight are ideal for arts organizations like The Neo-Futurists. However, we value a willingness to collaborate and seek creative solutions; this is vital to supporting the General Manager with budget innovation, HR strategies, DEI and Anti-Racism practices, and major organizational decisions. 
  • Public Relations And Communications – Help to create opportunities for storytelling through brand exposure with press, entertainment industry organizations, unions, professional organizations. We welcome expertise that provide insight into effectively leveraging these stories and accomplishments for the purpose of audience development. Prospective members who have experience in social impact fields are also crucial to conveying the ethos and mission of the organization to our adjoining communities. 

 

WHAT MEMBERSHIP LOOKS LIKE: 

The Board’s Primary Functions
  • Attend and actively participate in all Board meetings (You may attend in person or virtually, so geographic proximity is not a requirement.)
  • Help raise adequate funds to support the work of the organization, determine strategies to assure the long-term financial viability of the organization, and to help implement those strategies;
  • Serve as an ambassador for The Neo-Futurists by promoting the company whenever possible, particularly by identifying and hosting potential new audience members, subscribers, donors, and board members .
  • Attend special events and to promote these events and work to increase attendance to your highest capacity.
  • Consult on hiring new staff members
  • Advise on problems and opportunities facing the organization, and identify and resolve issues that affect company operations.
What you can expect:
  • The right to call yourself an insider – if you join the ranks of our Board, you become a valued member of The Neo-Futurists’ team and an agent of the company’s success!
  • The chance to be the first to see all the mind-bendingly, jaw-droppingly original work that we create. 
  • The knowledge that you are building upon over three decades of exhilarating success and ensuring a legacy that stretches far into the future.
  • The opportunity to collaborate with a bunch of smart, cool, interesting people.
  • The certainty that you are making a contribution – to The Neo-Futurists, to the cultural landscape of the Andersonville neighborhood, and the vibrancy and variety of the artistic life of Chicago 
  • The chance to help us reach a wider audience, here at our theater and at schools and venues around the nation and abroad.
  • The acquisition of new skills, new contacts, and a deeper pool of experience upon which to draw in your professional life.

ESSENTIALS:

  1. Commit to four (4) quarterly standing Board meetings per year (1.5 hours each) on Wednesdays from 6-7:30 CST
  2. Support through annual Board dues ($500) and/or other in-kind contributions
  3. Respond to additional meetings as scheduled for time-sensitive Quorum votes.
  4. Attend our annual Board Fundraiser in person during the final quarter of each fiscal year (usually the end of July or early August.)

 

GET INVOLVED!

Does this excite you?! We hope so! Fill out the form and we will be selecting candidates by the end of April.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPLICATION FORM