SF Theater Troupe Faces Reality of City’s New Demographics
Even by the eccentric standards of Bay Area theatre, the San Francisco Neo-Futurists are a sight to behold. The local chapter of the Chicago experimental troupe has built a loyal following by taking the original troupe’s format – a weekly anthology show that attempts to stage 30 performance-art shorts in under 60 minutes – and injecting it with a uniquely Bay Area perspective.
That perspective was important when casting their two special-themed June editions of their weekly show The Infinite Wrench. While searching for actors to perform the Juneteenth-themed The Blackest Wrench and the LGBTQIA+ show Infinite Pride, the reality of the Bay Area’s new demographics were made manifest, and the company had to bring in cast members from outside chapters of the Neo-Futurists.
Because the New York and Chicago chapters have larger ensembles, “we don’t tend to go out there for their specialty shows,” says co-artistic director Jeb Lehrman. “Generally, though, San Francisco sees a few more visitors and transfers than the other companies.”
As with the regular weekly shows, Blackest Wrench and Infinite Pride will ask audiences to select from a menu of 30 short plays, with its writer-performers attempting to work their way through the entire list before the always-on-display clock buzzes at the end of an hour.
Topics run the gamut, from hilarious observances of life, painful confessions to the audience and even the cast holding still until an audience member interacts with a set piece. By the troupe’s own estimation, the San Francisco chapter has “premiered some 4,000 plays over the last 13 years.”
It also produces five or six special shows per year, with Infinite Pride (boasting an all-queer ensemble) having been staged annually since 2014. This year’s edition will be a two-night event, performed at legendary San Francisco queer bars El Rio and The Stud.
“I think it’s generally a little easier to sell a specialty show,” says Infinite Pride cast member Aster Light. “The regular show happens every weekend, so it’s less of an event, and because all my friends are queer, they tend to be drawn in to see an all-queer cast sharing our stories and our culture.”
Meanwhile, the second annual Blackest Wrench has been a tougher sell. The one-night show will be performed in Oakland, as if reflecting the mass migration of Black artists away from San Francisco. It’s also the show that required bringing in the most out-of-towners to fill an ensemble of just a half-dozen performers.
The parallels aren’t lost on Ray Ray Young, a San Francisco Neo-Futurist since 2023, and one whose Black and queer identities reflect the intersection between the two casts. (Of the two shows, Young is only in Blackest Wrench.)
“Honestly, this has been a multiyear effort in the making,” says Young, who’s led efforts to diversify the troupe, and has been instrumental in the production of Blackest Wrench.
“Even with all of that effort, we still unfortunately don’t quite have enough Black Neo-Futurists in the Bay Area to fill a show like this.”
With one member from Chicago and one from New York, “[It’s] been really exciting to work with them,” Young says. “And it strengthens our Neo-Futurist practice to get to collaborate with members of different ensembles.”
Though some cast members were facetious about what audiences could expect in the two shows (one Pride cast member celebrated “[feeling] so represented by gorilla masks and basketballs and arm-heavy choreography in this particular show”), all involved agree that their shows represent activism in the face of nationwide hatred against both Black and queer Americans.
When asked whom they’d like most to see their show, Light is direct and uncompromising: “I hope the ghost of Charlie Kirk is forced to watch it on repeat in hell.”
‘The Blackest Wrench’ takes place Friday, June 19, at BAM House (540 Broadway, Oakland). ‘Infinite Pride 2026’ runs Monday, June 22, at El Rio (3158 Mission St., San Francisco) and Tuesday, June 23, at The Stud (1123 Folsom St., San Francisco).
