Its previous location was at 749 N. Park Ave. in downtown Indianapolis near Massachusetts Avenue, the Phoenix operated a 130-seat proscenium style Mainstage and 75-seat downstairs cabaret.
It was founded by Bryan D. Fonseca in 1983, initially to perform the three-part (three evening) science fiction play, Warp!.
Both venues are housed along with administrative offices in a renovated 1907 church where Jim Jones once preached, a fact that was brought into their production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
The Phoenix is committed to hiring local artists, and almost all of their talent pool of designers and actors comes from Indianapolis or nearby cities.
Prior to the Phoenix, Bryan served as the artistic director for the Broad Ripple Playhouse and developed a short-lived alternative stage at the Indianapolis Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre – Studio C. Bryan has received an Achievement and Service award from the Indiana Theatre Association, two Artist Fellowship awards from the Indiana State Arts Commission and two Creative Renewal Fellowships from the Arts Council of Indianapolis/Lilly Endowment.
In 1995, the Phoenix founded the original craft beer festival in Indianapolis, Brew-Ha-Ha, as a non-traditional fundraiser for the theatre.