Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind at the Whatley Center
Theatre Northeast, the resident theatre company at Northeast Texas Community College, presents 'Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind,' Greg Allen's fast-paced 30 Plays in 60 Minutes production, at the Whatley Center in Mount Pleasant on April 23, 2027, ten minutes from the property.
Most theatre nights ask you to sit still and watch one story unfold. This one is different: thirty short plays performed in sixty minutes, with the audience shouting out which play to do next. 'Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind' was created by Greg Allen for Chicago's Neo-Futurists, and it has run for decades in cities across the country. Theatre Northeast brings the format to the Whatley Center on April 23, 2027, as part of the venue's 2026-27 season.
The show
Theatre Northeast presents 'Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind'
Whatley Center for the Performing Arts · NTCC Campus, Mount Pleasant, TX
Greg Allen's '30 Plays in 60 Minutes' format, created for Chicago's Neo-Futurists. Thirty short plays performed in sixty minutes, with the audience calling out which play to perform next. Tickets through the Whatley Center box office at 903-434-8181 or at whatleycenter.com.
What the show is
The premise is simple and the execution is anything but. The company has thirty short plays, some a few seconds long and some a few minutes, and the audience decides the order by shouting out play numbers from the program. The performers sprint through the set pieces and props scattered on the stage, the clock runs the whole time, and the result is a fast, funny, and often surprising evening that never plays the same twice. It is the opposite of a night of straight drama, and it brings an entirely different energy to the Whatley Center stage.
Theatre Northeast
Theatre Northeast is the resident theatre company of Northeast Texas Community College, and it performs regularly at the Whatley Center. Its productions range from classic dramas to original work, and earlier this season it staged '12 Angry Jurors' on the same stage. 'Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind' gives the company a chance to show its range, trading the restraint of a courtroom drama for the athletic pace of a comedy-driven, audience-participation show.
The venue
The Whatley Center on the NTCC campus is the cultural anchor of Mount Pleasant, hosting touring music, tribute shows, and live theatre through its 2026-27 season. A participatory comedy like this one works especially well in a theatre that size, where the audience can easily reach the stage and the cast can play to a room that feels immediate. For anyone evaluating the property, the Whatley Center is one more proof point of what is available ten minutes from the gate: a real performing arts calendar that runs year-round.
The drive from the property
The Whatley Center is a ten-minute drive from County Road 1070 on the NTCC campus in south Mount Pleasant, all paved county and city roads with no highway and no traffic. By late April the evenings are long and warm, and the drive through the Piney Woods is easy. You can spend the day on eight acres of pasture and still be sitting in a theatre seat for a one-of-a-kind comedy show before the night is over.
Event details subject to change
Confirm show time, age guidance, and ticket availability with the Whatley Center box office before heading out, since production details can change.
Plan a visit
Walk the land, then catch the show.
Tour the 8 acres in the afternoon, then drive ten minutes to the Whatley Center for an evening of theatre that plays by its own rules.
Schedule a visit