Martha Enson — a revered and longtime member of Vashon’s vibrant arts scene — is currently creating a new full-length immersive theatrical and musical experience for all ages.
The show, “Venus and the Vixens: Games of Love,” will come complete with storytelling, songs, games, food, drinks and more.
“It’s a very hands-on show,” said Enson. “We’re creating something for the audience to participate in as much as to watch — it’s all about remembering how to play, and interacting in a new way.”
Audiences can get their first taste of the show at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 25 and 26, when “Venus and Vixen: The Songs,” will be performed at the Rabbit Box Theatre, in Seattle’s Pike Place Market.
In these two performances, Enson will debut the libretto for the show, along with collaborators Sari Breznau and Caela Bailey.
Breznau, the musical director and songwriter of “Venus and Vixen,” is a Seattle musician, a performer with the legendary Circus Contraption, a member of Up Up Up Circus, and the choir director at Plymouth Church.
Bailey, a Seattle performer most recently seen at the Triple Door, hosting “Land of the Sweets,” will play Venus in the show.
“The songs are working on multiple levels,” says Enson. “They have to work as stand-alone music, and Sari is writing this wild, Electropop disco sound that you just have to dance to. And, like any good piece of musical theater, the songs tell the story, so writing the songs, and getting them out there, feels like we’ve really established the spine of the show.”
Enson moved to Vashon in 1989, as a co-founder of UMO Ensemble, and co-created with the company for the next 15 years. She was the producer of the first Fringe Theater in the U.S., held in Seattle in 1991 and 1992, and was the first female director at Teatro Zinzanni (TZ), as well as an aerial performer and clown with TZ in Seattle and San Francisco.
In 2003, she co-founded her production company, EnJoy Productions, with her husband and partner Kevin Joyce. The company has created bespoke event experiences for private, non-profit and corporate clients, amounting to 60-70 events per year. These include EnJoy’s signature immersive theater experiences, with interactive characters, costumes, original songs and a world-class circus act.
The couple also works as hosts and auctioneers in the non-profit sector, and leads training sessions in communication, emotional intelligence and group dynamics.
At the core of all these endeavors by Enson — from UMO through EnJoy, and many other independent projects — has been the creation of original art.
“Venus and the Vixens: Games of Love,” is sure to fit right into the mix — but in a way that Enson feels is especially needed at the moment.
“I find it interesting, at this point in the recovery of a global pandemic, with social media as present as it is in our lives, how we re-learn to come together … and be brave with our feelings,” she said. “We’re hoping this show will help all of us remember how to flirt and play and have fun together.”
On Feb. 25 and 26, doors for “Venus and Vixen: The Songs,” will open at 7 p.m. The Rabbit Box Theatre has a full bar and dinner menu, so audience members are urged to come and make an evening of it. Tickets, $25, can be purchased at en-joyproductions/venus.
The full production of “Venus and the Vixens: Games of Love” is slated for the summer of 2024.
The next year will see the selection of the venue as well as more workshops of the show, likely to take place on Vashon, Enson said. She added that EnJoy will also offer opportunities for community members to “test out” the show’s games, and be part of other participatory elements.
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