HAPPENSTANCE THEATER

UPCOMING SHOWS…

LOW TIDE HOTEL/FARFAR OASIS Double Bill

performed by Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, and Scott Sedar

Kogod Theatre at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, University of Maryland, College Park
March 10, 11, 12 @ 8pm
Tickets available HERE or by calling 301-405-ARTS
LOW TIDE HOTEL is a whimsical voyage on a surreal steamship to the Coney Island of the Imagination, a little dream of the sea coming ashore. It was inspired by the sea and the coast, ships, sailors, mermaids, messages in bottles, antique luggage labels, and the idea of being lost at sea. This show was voted best comedy of the 2007 Capital Fringe Festival.
FARFAR OASIS is a playful romp through the cultural phenomenon of “Orientalism” inspired in part by the scholarly masterpiece of that name by Edward Said. We’ve collected cultural material spread in the wake of the checkered European and American fascination with the regions to their East, which they have long called “The Orient:” a relationship ranging from romantic to racist, from quaint to shameful, from curiosity to conquest. Almost all the words are taken directly from historical sources, like Napoleon’s edicts from his conquest of Egypt, diaries of Victorian Explorers, promotional prose from The Chicago Colombian Expo of 1893, the silent films of the 1920’s, and the Tin Pan Alley songs making fun of those films. We’ve also included a few choice appropriations of “Oriental” images from Mozart to a TV commercial, and in counterpoint some genuine poetic and musical voices from the region.

The Seven Ages of Mime
performed by Mark Jaster and Sabrina Mandell
Montgomery College Performing Arts Center, Theatre 2, Silver Spring MD
April 16 – May 2 – Fridays and Saturdays @ 7:30pm Sundays @ 2pm
Tickets not yet on sale.
The Washington Post called THE SEVEN AGES OF MIME “A Gentle Nod to The Greats”. It is an entertaining survey of the history of the Art of Gesture from ancient pantomime to Commedia, from circus to silent film. The last time this show ran it sold out it’s 2 week run, was extended and sold that out too. Don’t miss it this time ’round.

Prufbox
performed by Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, and Gwen Grastorf
Round House Theatre Silver Spring, MD
June 18 and 19 @ 8pm June 20 @ 2pm
Tickets available HERE or by calling 240-644-1100
PRUFBOX is an original production loosely based on T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Drawing inspiration from Dada assemblages and the box constructions of Joseph Cornell, the hit show’s spare aesthetic conjures the 1920s and ‘30s eras. Two characters animate the stage collage: a woman from the sea who rides a cycle of existence, and a man who hesitates. Their poetic world balances between whimsy and angst over tea in a life-size shadow box with dancing puppets.

IN THE WORKS…

Handbook for Hosts
Happenstance Theater and banished?Productions
Capital Fringe Festival, DC
We are collaborating on a new show for the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival with banished?Productions who brought you last year’s Fringe hit A Tactile Dinner. This year we are developing a Film Noir genre piece that will be sure to puzzle and seduce. It is called HANDBOOK FOR HOSTS and all are invited to discover the ultimate recipes for the consummate host, from a time when men were men, dames wore gloves, and cold gin tippled often. Be prepared to follow instructions.

Storm Cycle
Happenstance Theater and In-Flight Theatre
This is a very exciting project in the early development stage. Sabrina Mandell of Happenstance Theatre is collaborating with Mara Niemanis of In-Flight Theatre and the aerial sculptor Tim Scofield and the incredibly talented musician and composer Karen Hansen, to create a whirlwind of a piece loosely inspired by the book “The Nature of Violent Storms” and various poetic weather service reports about people and places ravaged by nature, and the parallels between weather and human temperament.