Edge of the Universe Theater Presents
Happenstance Theater’s
Death and the Fool
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Ensemble/Performers
Gwen Grastorf, Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Sarah Olmsted Thomas & Alex Vernon
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Puppets
Alex Vernon
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Prop Design/Construction
Sabrina Mandell, Mark Jaster & Alex Vernon
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Music Direction
Gwen Grastorf & Mark Jaster
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Costume Design and Construction
Sabrina Mandell​
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Show is approximately 50 minutes with no intermission​
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Note from the Directors
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Death and the Fool was originally adapted from Happenstance Theater’s ADRIFT | A Medieval Wayward Folly for the Maryland Renaissance Festival in 2024. Happenstance has now further adapted and expanded that version. As in our original production, we have taken inspiration from the imagery of Heironymous Bosch (1450-1516) and iconic characters from the Tarot card deck, which originated in Italy in the15th Century, to directly address issues of mortality. It is playful and serious, employing medieval imagery, music and instruments of the source material’s period, and invites your engagement in examining the great mystery of life and death.
- Mark Jaster & Sabrina Mandell
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Visual Inspirations ​
Paintings of Hieronymous Bosch
Paintings of Pieter Bruegel the Elder​
Das Narrenschiff by Sebastian Brant, published 1494
Tacunium Sanitatis - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacuinum_Sanitatis
Splendor Solis - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Splendor_Solis
Rider-Waite Tarot
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Music
Spiritus Sanctus Vivificans | by Hildegard Von Bingen from The Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum, 12th Century
Douce Dame Jolie | by Guillaume de Machaut, 14th Century
Saltarello| Italian, 15th Century​
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Other Inspirations​
Crone - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crone
​Medieval Women Mystics - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_women%27s_mysticism
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About Happenstance Theater
Happenstance Theater, winner of 5 Helen Hayes Awards has been called “DC’s leading peddler of whimsy” by the Washington Post. Under the artistic co-direction of Sabrina Mandell and Mark Jaster the Happenstance Ensemble Our ensemble of multi-talented performers craft all aspects of our work from concept to realization. We harvest imagery from the past and re-contextualize it in works that address universal themes of ephemera and mortality. With the simplest means - humor, whimsy, music, silence, text, physical comedy, object manipulation, vulnerability and generosity - 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 found by happenstance.
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About Edge of the Universe
We hope that cultural influences, including theatre, can change some part of the human family—or even one person—toward a more bearable, insightful, hopeful, or self-determining state. We’re a non-profit, tax-exempt organization, and donations can be made via edgeuniversetheater.org. Many thanks for attending and for any donation.
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