Touted as a spinoff to the locally organized TEDx Talks, Friday night’s PHIL Talks flew past spinoff status into the land of comedic satire.
TEDx Talks are the independently organized version of the famous TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Talk presentations, which focus on topics that range from love to sustainability to technology. The events’ tagline is “ideas worth spreading.”
In contrast, PHIL is an acronym for “Phoenicians Have Ideas Live” and carries the tagline “stuff worth saying.”
In press releases leading up to the PHIL Talks, creator Ron Foligno said the event would forever change the way people think.
According to the press release, PHIL is “an interactive presentation series … (that) brings together some of Phoenix’s brightest minds for an informative, insightful and entertaining evening of awareness-raising, thoughtful head-nodding and world-changing conceptualizations.”
The sold-out show was held at Space 55 on Pierce and Seventh streets. Before the event, the audience expressed curiosity about the tone of the speeches.
“I’m not sure if this is a serious or tongue-in-cheek event,” Tempe resident Dorina Lange said.
After the audience moved from the lobby into the performance space, the tone of the event started to hint toward the madcap.
Facts about Cream of Wheat flashed on a projection screen. (Example fact: Cream of Wheat is the cardigan of breakfast foods.)
A TEDx Talk-style gray and red podium rested center stage, and a tower of televisions were stacked in the corner. A man dressed as a butler tended to the VIP guests and told them how attractive they were.
Host Tim Eigo, editor of Arizona Attorney magazine and chair of the Downtown Voices Coalition, played the deadpan foil to the night’s colorful collection of speakers. Highlights included:
- Rebecca Brosnan portrayed Dr. Beatrice Myne in a satire of relationship advice books like “He’s Just Not That Into You.” Brosnan counseled women on how to land men, using any means possible, and doled out dubious legal and ethical advice. “If it’s not Facebook official, it didn’t happen,” she said. “Those are words to live by.”
- Ashley Naftule, in bandages and using a wheelchair, gave a rousing call-to-arms on the dangers of banana peels.
- Self-help guru Phyllis Tschett, played by Toni Jordan, delivered a speech titled “You Can Do Anything” and repeated the phrase “you can do anything” while flipping through slides with “you can do anything” typed in different colors.
- An economist played by Robert Peters shocked the audience with his innovative idea for doubling the economy: Put “Buy 2” stickers on everything.
- Before a performance by Ernesto Moncada, waivers were passed out for the audience to sign, stage hands held up a tarp to protect the audience and Moncada stripped down to a Speedo and held a gas can. A VIP guest halted the act because he didn’t like Moncada’s accent. Everyone promptly left the stage.
- Leslie Barton dressed up in a blond wig, owl-eyed glasses and a Nancy Reagan red suit as Dr. A. U. Steph Maulon. The German doctor lectured on bias toward ocular stimulation but was frequently distracted by pictures of cute cats. The showrunners led her offstage with a laser toy.
The evening ended with the night’s 11 speakers returning to the stage and arguing about who was really the true expert of the PHIL Talks.
Eigo, decked out in a feather boa and smeared with pink lipstick by the presenters, said, “I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into when I agreed to this.”
Contact the reporter at Whitney.McCarthy@asu.edu
