Video by Edward James Hernandez | Multimedia Reporter
As the attendees of the inaugural Phoenicians Have Ideas Live Talks milled around the lounge area of Space 55 in downtown Phoenix on Friday night, waiting for it to begin, it was obvious from the fervent conversation and interested questioning that not one of them had a clear idea what they were about to see.
Once all had filed into the tiny theater and found their seats, this curiosity was furthered during the opening monologue of moderator Tim Eigo when he stated that even he was yet to see any of the performances of the night and had no idea what to expect of the evening.
The program started off with a talk from self-proclaimed non-expert Joseph Verage, a persona portrayed by BJ Garrett. Verage’s hilarious talk about the questionable worth of traditional “expertise” set the tone for what was to be an unusual night filled with plenty of people not qualified under the traditional definition of credibility, and this actually turned out to be one of the better segments of the night as his recurring presence on stage (and continued insistence on referring to the moderator as “Uncle Tim”) added a common thread of hilarity that kept the audience expecting more.
The talk directly following Verage’s by “Dr.” Beatrice Myne, a supposed relationship expert, turned out to be the highlight of the night. As Myne, fantastically portrayed by Rebecca Brosnan, navigated her steps to stalking your way into wedded bliss with the man of her dreams, she kept the audience engaged and laughing through her over-the-top antics and relatable, yet outlandish reactions to the personal rejections she was passive-aggressively discussing.
Robert Peters performs “A Simple Idea to Double the Economy”, touches upon the benefits of doubling our economy such as twice the happiness, and wallets that are twice as large. Space 55 in downtown Phoenix hosted the first PHIL Talk, Phoenix Has Ideas LIVE, a parody of TED Talks. (Photo by Mario Mendez)It was, unfortunately, all downhill from here.
The program continued to be funny, but the talks began to rely more on over-the-top behavior rather than actual comedy. By the last six talks, the punch line of the performance was the speaker getting somehow pulled off stage because the only string of hilarity that held the performance together was what a train wreck it was turning out to be.
The evening overall was full of extremely funny and creative performances that highlighted some impressive Phoenician comedic talent, but the reliance on this type of comedy in the second half left the laughs stale and tired after a few speakers had been forcibly removed from the stage.
The one constant source of laughs throughout the night was the dry humor of Eigo and the night's other authority figures. With their expressions of shock and disgust as they looked on at the performances being put on, they provided an understated but nonetheless important source of comedy throughout a performance which may have otherwise lost its buoyancy.
Host Tim Eigo, introduces actors and comedians satirically performing informational speeches. Space 55 in downtown Phoenix hosts the first PHIL Talk, Phoenix Has Ideas LIVE, a comical parody of TED Talks. (Photo by Mario Mendez)Eigo’s expert moderation, as well as the general ridiculousness of the night, culminated in the final performance of the night, in which the “keynote speaker” went horribly wrong. This led to all of the night’s performers entering the stage and beginning a battle of the voices and egos which culminated in a flustered Eigo emerging from behind the curtain, clad in hot pink lipstick and a matching feather boa and mourning the lost hope of reputability and professionalism that the night had brought.
While there were definitely a few bumps along the way, the value was best stated by Eigo when he said in his opening monologue: “PHIL Talks try – and that’s what matters.”
Reach the reporter at ezentner@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @emilymzentner
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