Reviewed by Amalisha HuEck
Aegis Theatre Company presents Phoenix, a dramatic comedy
by Scott Organ, which explores modern relationships and what a one-night stand between two people can create. Every action that made moment to moment leads to consequences. Being with someone for just one time can get someone pregnant or lead to all kinds of different outcomes.
Director Michael Yavnieli has a background in both acting and directing and from those experiences he created a structured play, a combination in expression of visual backdrop of the environment projected on the back wall, music which accompanies scenes and actors' relationship on the stage. The Broadwater Blackbox Theatre is the perfect place for intimate scenes between two people, where full attention falls entirely on actors since there are minimal props being used. There is a challenge in every directorial job to stir actors towards their vision, but also give them the freedom to express themselves. Yavnieli said, 'I have to be careful not to tell the actor how the performance should be, because it can go in many different ways. As a director, I can't tell the actors how I see it, but I need to listen and watch what they do, and then create something based on that, otherwise it's not theirs and the performance won't be what it can be.'
In life we come to the crossroads when we need to choose which way to go. Sue (Emanuela Boisbouvier) and Bruce (Gus Schlanbusch) met, spent the night together, and from there the story takes off. Sometimes we are attracted to someone, yet our vision for our future relationship is different and we have a hard time accepting the current situation. But, if our future is supposed to be with a certain individual, whatever we do, like it or not (in my experience), that will happen. Sue tries to pull away from Bruce and moves to Phoenix, Arizona, but Bruce's persuasion is stimulated by Sue's charm, and he follows so to be close to her. Both susceptible to the same influence of attraction eventually coming to one conclusion. Phoenix is a play about relationships, a play about two people who are trying to find something in one another and 'find a resurrection or a rebirth - it's called Phoenix for a reason - they're trying to build something new out of something that's burned down.'
The Producing Sponsors for Phoenix are Victoria and Fernando Boisbouvier Yllanes and Anita Aita. The Executive producers are Mary E. Puls and Lew Schlanbusch, Eliot Ryan Berge. Producers are Emanuela Boisbouvier and Gus Schlanbusch. The rest of the creative team are Nich Howard (Technical Design), Caitlin Grace and Tay McCormick (Stage Managers) and Graphic Design is created by Molly Sazer-Hopf.
'Aegis Theatre Company was founded in Chicago in 2018 by Alexandra Shields and Gus Schlanbusch when they decided they didn't want to wait for other people to provide them with opportunities and that they'd rather go out and make opportunities for other people instead, focusing on new play development and artist-forward productions of exciting existing works.'
Phoenix at Broadwater Black Box, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, Hollywood, CA 90038 runs on Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 7pm, from October 4th to October 20th, 2024. Tickets are $25. The Broadwater Blackbox is located at 6322 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90038.
