Every weekend since 1988, a group of performers in Andersonville, Chicago, step onto a small stage and race against the clock to perform 30 original plays in 60 minutes.

That show, called “The Infinite Wrench,” is the signature production of the Neo-Futurist Theater, one of Chicago’s longest-running and most influential experimental ensembles.

What sets the Neo-Futurists apart is their complete rejection of traditional theater illusion, leading to revolutionary performances from the actors who never play characters — only themselves.

DePaul professor and longtime Neo-Futurist performer Lisa Buscani has performed with the group on and off since 1989. She believes the show resonates now more than ever.

“Art does not take a cast of thousands or an investment of millions,” Buscani said. “It takes people who want to capture a fragment of the world in an interesting way. All you need is a compelling idea.”

The ensemble, a clever and close-knit community of creators, produces new material weekly based on their real experiences, beliefs, frustrations, memories and questions.

What results is an ever-changing, fast-paced show that blends humor, vulnerability, politics, and performance art into a single unpredictable hour.

The show originally premiered and ran under the title “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind” for nearly three decades before rebranding in 2016. The new title, “The Infinite Wrench,” preserves the same core format but reflects a fresh approach to the ensemble’s commitment to change, resistance and reinvention.

For many, the first encounter with “The Infinite Wrench” is disorienting due to the lack of linear storytelling .

Upon arrival, audience members receive a menu of play titles and shout out numbers during the show, switching the order of the 30 plays randomly in each performance, creating a unique lineup for every single audience.

The actors then rush to pull those numbered plays from a clothesline and perform them on the spot. Some are funny, others are deeply emotional or politically charged, and many last less than a minute or have only a single held pose.

DePaul student Sarah Hoerner, who first saw the show in fall 2023, was immediately struck by how collaborative the performance felt.

“I loved calling out numbers and how the performers would snatch the number off the line,” Hoerner said. “It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see something that is so community-based.”

Buscani describes the Neo-Futurist method as a direct response to the times we live in. In moments of national crisis or cultural exhaustion, the show offers immediacy and connection that is hard to find elsewhere.

“Everyone needs the Neos,” Buscani said. “Their work is a bracing dose of creative resistance.”

For junior marketing major Sammy Giordano, seeing the show has become a ritual. She attended with her partner and friends for the first time during her sophomore year at DePaul, and returned for a class assignment in her acting course.

“I’m the kind of theatergoer who likes to sink into my seat as the lights go down and fade into anonymity as the story unfolds,” Giordano said. “Don’t expect to get this kind of experience. The Neo-Futurists adapt with the audience. ‘The Infinite Wrench’ challenges you, but the reward is invigorating.”

That audience interaction is intentional, as the show treats trial and error as part of the art form.

“I can’t burden myself with the concept of a legacy; academics, audiences and critics focus on that. I’m only required to keep working and responding,” Buscani said. “Two minutes is a limitation but it’s also freeing when you use it as an organizing principle. You get a sense of what can be left in and kept out.”

The relentless pace of weekly writing, editing and performing often leads to self-discovery for the cast.

“As much as) I enjoyed working with the ensemble, I truly enjoyed going off by myself and creating solo,” Buscani said. “ I discovered the more introverted aspects of my nature.”

Audiences can expect the energy to shift throughout the evening, depending on the tone of each play and the way they are ordered. The experience changes every night, but the goal is always the same: to make people feel more connected to each other and to the present moment they live in.

Even after nearly 40 years, “The Infinite Wrench” continues to surprise. For those who have never seen “The Infinite Wrench,” Buscani offers a clear invitation:

“Don’t expect air-brushed perfection,” Buscani said. “The Neos embrace their flaws. You could very easily be one of them.”

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