Gwen
Grastorf
Devised by Happenstance Theater
Under the Co-Direction of Mark Jaster and Sabrina Mandell
With Gwen Grastorf, Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Sarah Olmsted Thomas, and Alex Vernon
A ship of fools adrift at sea.
They ask, “What do we do now?”
After an apocalypse, the search begins.
Characters from the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch and archetypes from the tarot are brought to life in this ingeniously staged production of theatrical alchemy using live music, physical comedy, puppetry, and so much more. This pod of eccentrics will drift into the world to bring delight, share hopes and fears, and find a way forward.
A dynamic medieval tapestry of pure theater…and it wouldn’t be the Middle Ages without a hellmouth, demons, and angels.
Happenstance Theater, founded in 2006, is a professional company committed to devising, producing and touring original, performer-created visual, poetic Theatre. Our ensemble has been developing work together since 2012. We are multi-talented performers who craft all aspects of our pieces from concept to realization. Under the Artistic co-Direction of Mark Jaster and Sabrina Mandell, we harvest imagery from the past and re-contextualize it in performances that address eternal themes of life, death, and the ephemeral. With the simplest means - movement, silence, theatrical clown, music, text, physical comedy and beauty - we seek to elevate the moment when the performers and audience meet, to lift the encounter beyond the daily and pedestrian into the realms of dreams, poetry, and art. Meaning is often discovered by happenstance.
Read more at: www.happenstancetheater.com
"Transcendent and provocative"
"Happenstance provides immeasurable entertainment with its comedy, music, and artistry"
"A characteristically compelling, intelligent, and thought-provoking hour of unique, outstanding, must-see theater." – DC Theater Arts
"ADRIFT is full of wonders!"
"Part Samuel Beckett, part Monty Python, part Lewis Carroll, part opium dream, and part Hieronymus Bosch."
"Highly entertaining... you will find much to delight if you are prepared to hum along on cue, pose a question to the diviners, and toss your troubles out to the kindly crone, who will show you how easy it is to discard them." – Talkin' Broadway
"Charming and beautifully crafted"
"Its multiskilled ensemble, both as performers and craftspeople, raise the bar and transform a sketch comedy act into something far stranger and more beautiful."
"Skillfully performed and stylistically integrated, this eclectic pastiche of medieval symbols are a splendid homage to the source materials." – The Observer
"Effortlessly and ardently performed"
"An impeccable cast deeply invested in the material. Their characters may be stuck in low spirits, but the performances are high-spirited." – OffOffOnline