GREG ALLEN

is the founder and Artistic Director of The Neo-Futurists and creator of Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious. We recently nailed Greg down long enough to interview him.

Q: Where did the idea for this show originate?

Greg: Periodically while performing "Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind," the audience would be laughing at things which were truly not funny in any sense of the word. I wanted to both understand this phenomenon and try to get back at the audience for being so mindless.

Q: How long did you spend researching and writing it? What were your source materials?

Greg: I spent a year collecting anything I could find on humor. In the end I primarily focused on Freud's book because it seemed the most well thought out, comprehensive, and inspiring. Ironically, after the show opened everyone said it was inspired by a new book on humor written by a University of Chicago professor. I have yet to read it and forget its name.

Q: Lay it on us: Is comedy just a form of expressing repressed desire? And are jokes really the truth?

Greg: Freud was a genius. He went a little overboard in a few areas, but I have to agree with his hypotheses in the humor department. The show reinforced his findings.

Q: Now that you know the inner-workings of comedy, do you consciously use them to your advantage? Do you find yourself second-guessing your own humor for fear of what you might reveal?

Greg: Comedy is only comedy if it's used unconsciously. I have occasionally realized that I am revealing a hidden desire with one of my jokes, but, beyond the cast, I usually trust that no one is aware of it.

Q: The cast feels perfect. Any particular reasons for choosing Andy and Heather?

Greg: I think the cast feels perfect because I chose them before I wrote the piece, and then wrote the piece in sections to see how it came out of their mouths. At one point I was even in Andy's role and then we reversed it. Heather and Andy were extremely helpful and intrinsic to the process, giving lots of feedback throughout its creation, so the whole show was really made for and with them.

Q: Any big surprises or revelations while performing the show?

Greg: The big revelation during the run of the show was that, once we had critical mass for the audience, nothing could make them stop laughing. We could explain and theorize as much as we wanted, and be manipulative and even mean to the audience, but they just kept laughing. I was also surprised that all the analysis in the world never ruined humor for me in any way. We will always have the immediate response of laughter before we can think about something to make it unfunny.

Q: You're known for your "unreproducable" theater. Naturally, videos are all about reproduction. How do you feel about immortalizing this show?

Greg: I'm thrilled to have one of my plays outlast its relatively short life on the stage. The actual stage experience is over (or at least will be after this summer in New York) but it's great for the show to live on in another form.

Q: Do you foresee more collaboration between The Neo-Futurists and StageDirect?

Greg: Our working relationship with StageDirect has been very professional and respectful of our theater work. I would love to continue our relationship with other productions immortalized on video.

Sigmund says: "Wookie, wookie, wookie"