Where We Came From and Where We Are Going..........

Phoenix Theatre Ensemble is the creation of five long time collaborators, with a combined 80+ years of onstage and backstage experience who have dedicated our life’s work to creating theater through the ensemble process. One of the most unique aspects of the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble is that the primary decision-making power rests in the hands of the artists. We are committed to dedicating our resources to supporting the artistic process, the artists, and the art, first and foremost.

Like the Phoenix of mythology, the five of us, former long time members of a prestigious Off-Broadway theatre company, feeling it was time to re-create ourselves, set out in new, vital and exciting directions. We brought along with us our unique belief in the value of long-term working relationships, our commitment to the art over our own personal careers, and a great desire to create an environment in which each and every person involved in the artistic collaboration knows that they are a respected, honored, valued, and integral part of the creative process. Unafraid of risk, we create theatre that is wholehearted and passionate, ever striving to soar above the ordinary.

This season we are proud to bring five works to the stage that not only reflect our collective passion for rich, poetic texts, but which we feel are relevant and resonant for our time. Plays we hope you will find as entertaining, thought provoking, and transforming as we have.
Angela Madden’s funny, moving, powerful, and courageous original play C.E.O and Cinderella, stretches across the landscapes of stolen innocence and the politics of gender, class, and power. Our first of two works this season which attest to the healing and transformative power of art.
Glyn Maxwell's The Lifeblood, is a tale of the last days of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland. Imprisoned for nearly two decades and eventually executed, the government intrigues and plots which led to her persecution both political and religious, make Mr. Maxwell’s play as relevant as it is exquisitely written.

With our ambitious pairing of the Rwanda Project’s Photographic Exhibit: Through The Eyes of Children with  Sonja Linden’s beautiful, funny, human, moving play, I Have Before Me A Remarkable Document Given To Me By A Young Lady From Rwanda, we confirm our belief in art as a power for healing and transformation in the world. In partnership with The Rwanda Project and Saint Peters Church, we are taking our desire to be an engine for social justice and community outreach to the global stage. We hope you will join us for this beautiful and historical multi-media event at Off Broadway’s Theatre at Saint Peters. 

And finally, in May of 2008 at the Connelly Theatre, we are thrilled to be presenting Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People. This is a play that resonates for our time, the story of an individual who takes a stand for the health of the environment and of the people – an individual whose opponent is one of power, politics, and money. We know you will not want to miss this powerful and rarely produced classic.

Whether you are joining us for the first time, or you are a long time friend and member of the Phoenix family, we hope to see you often during this season of wonderful, meaningful, beautiful, and entertaining plays. We look forward to counting you among our friends and supporters and hope you will come along with us as we soar into the future and on to our next theatrical adventure.

Elise, Angela, Amy, Michael, and Craig