Theatrical collage collaboratively devised by the ensemble
Ensemble
Gwen Grastorf (Spilleth), Mark Jaster (The Collector), Sabrina Mandell (Rosabelle, the concierge), Sarah Olmsted Thomas (Étoile), Alex Vernon (Blue)
Directors Mark Jaster & Sabrina Mandell
Lighting Design Kris Thompson
Sound Design Madeline "Mo" Oslejsek
Stage Manager Darielle Shandler
Props & Set Mark Jaster & Sabrina Mandell & Alex Vernon
Puppet Design & Construction Alex & Olmsted & Happenstance Ensemble
Costume Design Sabrina Mandell
Show is approximately 75 minutes with no intermission
ARTISTIC CO-DIRECTOR'S NOTE | by Sabrina Mandell
In 2006 Happenstance Theater debuted their first piece at the Inaugural Capital Fringe Festival. It was called PRUFBOX and was inspired by the works of Joseph Cornell and T.S. Eliot’s "The Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock." It portrayed a woman from the sea who rides the cycle of existence and Eliot’s hesitant hero. Through collected images, text, music and gesture we created our first “theatrical collage.”
Its themes and style have stayed with us in various ways as the company has grown and flourished. The concept for JUXTAPOSE was to revisit the visual, poetic world of Joseph Cornell with the full ensemble quintet. We began its development in a two-week residency at Joe’s Movement Emporium in January 2020, toward the ultimate goal of creating a full, hour-long, live Theater piece. We took inspiration from shadow boxes, the films of Jean-Pierre Jeunet, nostalgia, ephemera, mass-extinction and the Anthropocene, discovery, creation, play, attachment and letting go. The finished work was to be co-produced by the Capital Fringe Festival and premiere as part of their 15th Annual Festival “Curated Series” in July 2020. The journey began and the residency was a huge success. We discovered our five characters and where they lived. JUXTAPOSE was on its way!
Then the Coronavirus pandemic locked things down, separated us and ended live performance for an indeterminate period of time. The Fringe was cancelled and funding for the project abruptly ended. After a couple of months of grieving, we began to reimagine the piece as a cinematic, online experience that we would create in isolation and assemble like a collage. Eventually we were able to do some filming collaboratively, outside, distanced, but together. Using simple video techniques, Georges Méliès inspired film magic, manipulation of objects, puppetry, physical theatre, theatrical clown, sound layering and vintage spectacle, we conjured portals to hope. This pivot led us to create the Interactive, theatri-virtual piece THE JUXTAPOSE TENEMENT.
Now, at last, we have realized the original concept and brought the show back to the stage.
JUXTAPOSE | A Theatrical Shadow Box has evolved with us over the past five years and grown into an assemblage of images and visual, poetic, theater inspired by the shadow boxes of Joseph Cornell, the films of Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie) and Jacques Tati (Mon Oncle), nostalgia, ephemera, mass-extinction and the Anthropocene, discovery, creation, play, attachment and letting go. Its aesthetic elements conjure nostalgia and nod to a time of looming instability. It could be now or between-the-wars, here or abroad. Our departure points for the characters, the aesthetic and the content were the surreal, magical shadow boxes and collages of Cornell. We hope your imagination is stimulated by our work and that it offers hope and a cosmic perspective.
Dramatis Personae
MARK JASTER | THE NATURALIST, A COLLECTOR
Joseph Cornell works: The “aviaries,” esp. The Caliph of Bagdad, c. 1954; and A Parrot for Juan Gris, Winter 1953-54; Observatory Corona Borealis, 1950; untitled, (Parrot & Butterfly Habitat,) c.1948; Untitled (Cockatoo with Watch Faces), ca. 1949; and Solomon Islands, 1940-42, esp. the specimens below the compass tray.
SABRINA SELMA MANDELL | ROSABELLE, THE CONCIERGE
Joseph Cornell works: Untitled (Teapot/Grand Hotel Couronne & Poste) c. 1965; La Physique, 1969; Untitled (Dovecote); The Sixth Dawn, 1964; Defense d'Afficher Object, 1939; Untitled Collage, 1931; Untitled, 1959; Untitled, 1966; Untitled (Beehive, Thimble Forest), 1948; Rose Hobart, 16mm film (color, silent with music track), 20 min, 1936.
GWEN GRASTORF | SPILLETH
Joseph Cornell works: "Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands. But like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them you will reach your destiny."--Carl Schurz, Address, Faneuil Hall, 1957-1958; Untitled (Blue Sand Fountain) series, 1953-1956; Andromeda: Grand Hotel de l’Observatoire, 1954; Constellation (Project for a Christmas Card), 1953; Celestial Navigation series, 1956-1958; Soap Bubble Set (Lunar Space Object) series, 1950-1959; Fountain of Youth, 1959, Cassiopeia 1 (Verso), 1960
SARAH OLMSTED THOMAS | ÉTOILE
Joseph Cornell works: Untitled (Hôtel de l’Etoile Series),1954; Untitled (Hotel De L’Etoile Series), 1952; Untitled (Tamara Toumanova), ca. 1940; Untitled (Celestial Fantasy with Tamara Toumanova), ca. 1940; Original Scrapbook for Tamara Toumanova, 1953; Untitled (Zizi Jeanmaire Lobster Ballet), c. 1949; Untitled (Pink Palace), c. 1950, Untitled (Harlequin), 1935/38; Homage to the Romantic Ballet, 1942.
ALEX VERNON | BLUE
Joseph Cornell works: Object (Soap Bubble Set), 1941; Untitled (Soap Bubble Set), 1936; Trade Winds, c. 1958, Planet Set, Tête Etoilée, Giuditta Pasta (dédicace) 1950.
Additional Cornell Inspiration Images
Observatory – Corona Borealis Casement, 1950
Toward the Blue Peninsula, 1952
Untitled (For Trista), c. 1969
Untitled (Window Facade), 1950
Untitled (Solar Set), 1958
Andromeda: Grand Hôtel de l’Observatoire, 1954
Setting for a Fairy Tale, 1942
Untitled (Hotel - Winter Night Sky), 1953
Untitled No. 3 (Soap Bubble Series), 1955
Music Selections
Park Avenue Fantasy (1934) by Frank Signorelli, Matt Malneck, recorded by Paul Whiteman and His Concert Orchestra
All Alone (1924) by Irving Berlin, recorded by Bob Grant and his Orchestra
Faithful Forever (1940) by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger, recorded by Victor Silvester and his Ballroom Orchestra
Poor Butterfly Fox Trot (1916) by Raymond Hubbell and John L. Golden, recorded by Jaudas' Society Orchestra
The Lady With the Big Umbrella (1955) by Danny Goodman & David Nelson, recorded by Dean Martin
BWV 971 Italian Concerto (1735) by J.S. Bach, recorded by Wanda Landowska (1935)
The Planets Op 32: VII. Neptune, the Mystic (1914-1916) by Gustav Holst, recorded by Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan (1981)
Stardust (1927) written and recorded by Hoagy Carmichael
Andromeda (2006) by Nancy Hascall, recorded by Bells of the Sound
Lunar Rhapsody (1947) by Harry Revel, recorded by Dr. Samuel J. Hoffman, Les Baxter (Music out of the Moon)
Tango Town (1926) by L. Noiret, recorded by Chansonnier & Rio Grande Tango Band
HWV 437 Sarabande from Suite in D Minor (1703-1706) George Frideric Handel, recorded by Richard Kapp, Philharmonia Virtuosi of New York (1977)
Tales of Hoffman: Barcarolle (1881) by Jacques Offenbach, recorded by Arthur Fieldler, Boston Pops Orchestra (1956)
Stairway to the Stars (1939) by Matty Malneck, Frank Signorelli with lyrics by Mitchell Parish. Kay Kyser and his Orchestra, vocals by Harry Babbitt (1939)
Excerpt from On Origin of Species by Charles Darwin (1859)
"As new species in the course of time are formed through natural selection, others will become rarer and rarer and finally extinct...A grain in the balance will determine which individual shall live and which shall die - which variety or species shall increase in number, and which shall decrease, or finally become extinct."
MARK JASTER | A COLLECTOR
Mark Jaster has appeared in, co-created and co-directed all Happenstance Theater productions since its founding in 2006, winning the Helen Hayes/Robert Prosky Award for his performance in IMPOSSIBLE! A Happenstance Circus. He studied mime with Étienne Decroux and served as teaching assistant to Marcel Marceau. Teaching and consultation credits for mime, movement, and physical comedy include the Maryland Opera Studio at the University of Maryland, The Shakespeare Theatre, Catholic University, Round House Theatre, Center Stage, Theater J, and Olney Theatre. For 20 years he performed with the Big Apple Circus’ Clown Care program at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C as ‘Dr. Baldy.’ His long performance career also includes many appearances with the Washington and the Cambridge Revels, and 40 seasons at the Maryland Renaissance Festival as A Fool named ‘O’. www.MarkJaster.com
SABRINA MANDELL | ROSABELLE, THE CONCIERGE
Sabrina Mandell is the founder, Artistic Co-Director, Executive Director, and “Visionary Tornado” of Happenstance Theater. Sabrina has written, produced and performed prolifically since founding the company in 2006. She was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Actress in 2017 and has won two Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Costume Design. Sabrina performed for 10 years with the Big Apple Circus’ Clown Care Program in DC and Baltimore and has taught Theatrical Clown and Physical Comedy at the Shakespeare Theatre DC, Everyman Theatre in Baltimore, Round House Theatre, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She is also a poet, visual artist, graphic designer and vintage clothing enthusiast. She is overjoyed to be back at 59E59 Theaters. www.SabrinaSelmaMandell.com
GWEN GRASTORF | SPILLETH
Gwen Grastorf is a performer and actor based in the DC metro area. She has been a company member with Happenstance since 2012, as well as the Social Media Maven. Gwen has worked in the DC area with Constellation Theatre, Taffety Punk, We Happy Few, Rorschach Theatre, Faction of Fools, the Tarot Reading, Washington Revels, and others. Raised in Maryland, Gwen has a strong background in dance and music and loves working on physical, ensemble-based shows. She holds a B.A. in Theatre Performance from the University of Maryland, College Park.
SARAH OLMSTED THOMAS | ÉTOILE
Sarah Olmsted Thomas is a fifth generation performing artist. She is half of Alex and Olmsted, an internationally acclaimed puppet theater and filmmaking company based in Baltimore, Maryland. A&O has toured original shows in France, Italy, South Korea, Germany, Denmark, and Canada and numerous theaters within the United States including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Symphony Space and HERE Arts in New York City, the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, The Detroit Institute of Arts, and many stages in their beloved city of Baltimore, Maryland. They were awarded the 2020 Independent Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council, the highest honor for performing artists in the State of Maryland; their works have been supported by the Jim Henson Foundation, recognized by the New York Times, and named an official selection of the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Paris Film Art, and others. Sarah is a company member with the award-winning Happenstance Theater with whom she devised 12 full-length productions. With Happenstance, Sarah was nominated twice for Outstanding Lead Actress at the Helen Hayes Awards. Sarah trained with Bread and Puppet Theater in Vermont, the Pig Iron Theatre Company in Philadelphia, and Le Samovar, École de Clowns, in Paris. B.A., Sarah Lawrence College. www.AlexAndOlmsted.com
ALEX VERNON | BLUE
Alex Vernon has been a Happenstance company member since 2012. He is a DC based actor and puppeteer whose previous work has been seen with Constellation Theatre, Pointless Theatre, Imagination Stage, Adventure Theatre, WSC Avant Bard, and Washington Revels. He is also the other half of Alex and Olmsted, with which he creates original puppet works that have toured internationally. www.AlexAndOlmsted.com
Special Thanks
The Share Fund, The Morgan Fund at Seattle Foundation, The Nora Roberts Foundation, The Maryland State Arts Council, and those who have donated to Happenstance through Fractured Atlas. April & Gerry Blum, Nancy Rodriguez, Michael Cumella (Phonograph DJ and restoration), Alex & Olmsted, Julianne Brienza and Capital Fringe, Sharon Crissinger (Videography), Leah Huete (Photography), Joe's Movement Emporium, Baltimore Theatre Project, Matthew Pauli, Marianne Ross
