The Modern Prometheans act out a scene in the world premiere play “Bly Manor,” based on “The Turn of The Screw” by Henry James. The production will be on their new stage through March 3.

With the tagline of “bringing fire to the people,” organizers around a new theater stage in Phoenix aim to provide atypical and cutting-edge theater to a wide range of audiences in the Rogue Valley.

The nonprofit theater opened to the public Feb. 22 with the premiere of “Bly Manor,” written and directed by The Modern Prometheans’ artistic director, Paul Cosca.

Working with a significantly lower budget than Southern Oregon’s long-standing theaters, the new venue’s objective isn’t to compete with other organizations in the region, but to present new, outside-the-box shows to audiences.

“Whether it’s new, local or experimental, we just always want to push to present things that are really engaging, so ‘bringing fire to the people,’” Cosca said, adding that The Modern Prometheans “have no interest in presenting stuff that you could very easily see elsewhere.”

The Modern Prometheans takes its name from Greek mythology and the titan Prometheus, who defied the gods by stealing fire and giving it to humanity to advance civilization.

Coinciding with the theater group’s novel appeal is the newly renovated venue located at 310 N. Main St. in Phoenix.

The theater seats a little less than 40, filled with an assortment of chairs surrounding a compact stage with a built-in staircase. What the venue lacks in scale it makes up for with its level of intimacy, giving the audience the chance to be mere feet away from performers.

“I think that in some ways it makes you emotionally connect a little more, because you can’t really check out,” Cosca said.

“We can engage with audiences in a very human way, which is so much at the heart of theater,” he added.

Cosca hopes to reach a new, younger audience with The Modern Prometheans.

“We also have, I think, a really untapped market of audience that is not really being served, and that’s all of these Southern Oregon University kids,” he said.

Cosca has worked and performed with numerous theater organizations in the Rogue Valley such as the Camelot Theatre in Talent, the Collaborative Theatre Project in Medford, the Oregon Cabaret Theatre in Ashland and others. Producing his first theater show at the age of 15, Cosca has been involved in performances and theater groups in Chicago and Portland, as well as Southern Oregon.

“I love putting together events, and specifically, theater events,” he said.

“Bly Manor,” the organization’s debut show, is written and directed by Cosca, who based the stage play off the 1898 novella “The Turn of the Screw” by Henry James.

“This was really a revolutionary story that influences all kinds of modern media,” Cosca said. “There were a lot of ghost stories in Gothic literature at the time, but this is one of the first that had a very unreliable narrator.”

Cosca’s female-centered story involves multiple twists and turns as it follows a woman hired to be a governess at a remote mansion in the English countryside.

“With a show like ‘Bly Manor,’ it’s only four people and it’s very intense; a lot of it is (delivered) to the audiences directly in monologues,” he said.

“It asks a lot of questions and doesn’t answer them all, which I’m a big fan of,” he added.

“Bly Manor” will be showing through March 3. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $30 for VIP tickets, which include drinks and artisanal chocolates.

To check show times and purchase tickets, visit modernprometheans.org/tickets/bly-manor.

Outside of bringing new shows to new audiences, Cosca also plans to provide education opportunities for kids in the valley with classes, camps and other programs on all things theater.

“As soon as we have clearance to open, we’ll be announcing our spring break camp,” he said.

The spring break camp will focus on kids and teens learning and performing an adaptation of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

The Modern Prometheans are fundraising to help with opening costs and paying performers with their program The 100 Club.

“The 100 Club is our way to get a lot of people in at a reasonable level, so we’re looking for 100 people to each donate $100,” Cosca said.

To learn more about The 100 Club and other aspects of The Modern Prometheans, visit modernprometheans.org.

Locals interested in being cast in future shows can reach out to the organization on Instagram and Facebook.