DJ Corey Photography
2023 PROJECTS:
Leslie Swan Photography
New Years Eve Show!
PREPOSTEROUS! A Happenstance Circus
with Happenstance Theater 
Sunday, December 31, 2023 at 8pm
at the historic Avalon Theatre
Easton, Maryland, USA
PREPOSTEROUS video trailer.
Tickets: FREE! More info, HERE
Photo by Carlos Gonzalez-Fernandez
A Documentary Film Available Now!
People | Things Episode 17: Alex and Olmsted
by Carlos Gonzalez-Fernandez
Watch Carlos' film: HERE.

"People | Things" is a project by Carlos Gonzalez-Fernandez that profiles artists and their creative processes. 
Over the past 6 months, we've had the unique pleasure of getting to work with Carlos and our film shoots often waxed philosophical as we chipped away at the Why and How of making art. 
Glenn Ricci Photography
Off-Broadway Premiere!
ADRIFT: A Medieval Wayward Folly
by Happenstance Theater
November 29 - December 24, 2023
at 59E59 Theaters
59 E 59th St, New York, NY 10022
​ADRIFT video trailer.
Tickets: HERE
​​
Happenstance Theater is developing a new work inspired by medieval imagery and archetypes collected from the works of Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Bruegel, the Tarot, and reinterpretations of religious art. Drawing parallels between our current moment and the "dark ages," the ensemble will explore and exploit buffoonery, magic, notions of good, evil, and absurdity with angelic music, devised and existing text, puppetry and movement. Like a ship of fools, this pod of eccentrics will drift into the world to bring delight, share hopes and fears, find a way forward, and then parade away. 
Featuring Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Gwen Grastorf, Sarah Olmsted Thomas, and Alex Vernon. 
Leslie Swan Photography
CABARET MACABRE
with Happenstance Theater
at Baltimore Theatre Project
45 W Preston St, Baltimore, MD 21201​
October 26-November 12, 2023
CABARET MARACBRE video trailer.
Tickets: HERE
​
Inspired by the illustrations of Edward Gorey, Victorian nightmares, dangerous croquet, gothic romance, afternoon tea and perils of the deep, Cabaret Macabre features music played live with deadly flare and Happenstance Theater’s witty, visual theatrical collage. Cabaret Macabre was nominated for three Helen Hayes Awards in 2014 for Outstanding Costume Design, Resident Production (Sabrina Mandell), Outstanding Movement, Resident Play, and The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical. 
Featuring Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Gwen Grastorf, Sarah Olmsted Thomas, Alex Vernon, and guest musician Stephanie Baird.​
A&O and Milo portrait by Sean Dennie Photography
Milo the Magnificent® 
by Alex and Olmsted
at The National Theatre
1321 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004
Milo video trailer.
Saturday, October 21 2023
9:30am & 11:00am
Tickets are FREE: Sign up for a FREE ticket HERE!

Alex and Olmsted's Jim Henson Foundation grant awarded Milo the Magnificent®​ is a highly engaging puppet show about an aspiring magician. This wordless comedy, inspired by turn of the century vaudeville entertainers, is as highly physical as it is charming. Using stunningly innovative puppetry, Milo presents a variety of magic tricks which don’t always go as planned.
A&O Join Amal's Walk Across America
Little Amal at the Capitol
Tuesday Sept 19, 2023

The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics at Georgetown University welcomes Little Amal to the Nation’s Capitol. 
Tuesday, September 19, 2023
at 4:00pm
Starting Location: Freedom Plaza, Washington D.C. 20004
End Location: U.S. Capitol Grounds, 3rd St, SW, Washington D.C.
More Info: HERE

Amal walks through a sea of emergency blankets. A river of shoes appears, carrying the stories of millions of children on the move, who seek safety within and across borders. Amal brings them to the feet of U.S. Representatives. Everyone is welcome to walk with Amal.
Alex U. Griffin Photography
An Evening with Alex and Olmsted feat. Milo the Magnificent® with Musical Guest Witchez Bite!
by Alex and Olmsted
at Black Cherry Puppet Theater
1115 Hollins St, Baltimore, MD 21223
Milo video trailer.
Friday September 15 @ 7pm
Saturday September 16 @ 7pm
Sunday September 17 @ 11am
Tickets: HERE

Internationally acclaimed puppet theater duo Alex and Olmsted are bringing their award winning show Milo The Magnificent® to Black Cherry Puppet Theater! Along with some variety acts and a short puppet films too! Musical Guest Witchez Bite (Zach Serlét, Tomáš Drgoň & Sami Arefin) will get us in the mood with an opening set of swinging tunes before the show! All ages welcome!
The Wonders of Bread (crankie)
by Alex and Olmsted
at the New Jersey Crankie Festival
in Historic Smithville Park, Eastampton, NJ, USA
Saturday, September 9, 2023
​Tickets: FREE! More info here.

The Wonders of Bread serves to edify, enlighten, and enrich your mind with this look into Bread’s pivotal roll in our history. Alldough the puns might be crumby, we hope these morsels of wisdom will make your life a little butter.
Heather Keating Photography

Happenstance Theater in Residence at the Staunton Music Festival, August 2023

"BAROCOCO" by Leslie Swan Photography
Happenstance Theater's BAROCOCO 
BAROCOCO dives into the late Baroque and flaunts 18th century finery, wigs, panniers, gestural styling, elaborate ornamentation, and the excesses of Rococo in this unique physical comedy. A charming and charismatic six-person ensemble exposes an indulgent aristocratic lifestyle precariously perched on the edge of its extinction. Happenstance Theater invites you to experience the charade — from parlor games to pantomime, from the exquisite to the revolting — in this delightful comedy of manners. 
​
Featuring Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Gwen Grastorf, Sarah Olmsted Thomas, and Alex Vernon with musician Caleb Jaster.
Satie | PARADE
Paris 1922: A Night at the Majestic
with pantomime by Happenstance Theater
Saturday, Aug 12, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Trinity Episcopal Church
214 W Beverley St, Staunton, Virginia
Tickets: HERE

BAROCOCO by Happenstance Theater
Monday, Aug 14 at 7:30 pm
at the Blackfriars Playhouse
10 South Market St, Staunton, Virginia
​Tickets: HERE

THE GREAT ELOPEMENT
Handel arr. by Sir Thomas Beecham
with pantomime by Happenstance Theater
Thursday, Aug 17, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Trinity Episcopal Church
214 W Beverley St, Staunton, Virginia​
Tickets: HERE

De Falla | MASTER PETER’S PUPPET SHOW
España
with pantomime by Happenstance Theater
Saturday, Aug 19, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Trinity Episcopal Church
214 W Beverley St, Staunton, Virginia
Tickets: HERE
Ryan Maxwell Photography
MAROONED! A Space Comedy
by Alex and Olmsted
at the 66th Puppeteers of America Festival
College Park, Maryland, USA
​MAROONED! video trailer.
July 19, 2023 at 9pm ET
Tickets: HERE
​
​Alex and Olmsted's Jim Henson Foundation grant awarded MAROONED! A Space Comedy is an innovative new puppet show, featuring music from the Voyager Golden Record, that takes place at the outer reaches of space. An astronaut crashes on an uncharted planet. Will she be able to survive strange creatures, anomalous atmosphere, and isolation in order to find her way home? See for yourself… in MAROONED!

We feel incredibly honored to perform at the 66th National Puppeteers of America Festival taking place at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Leslie Swan Photography
Happenstance Outdoors in the Parks!
PREPOSTEROUS!
with Happenstance Theater 
for the The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
of Montgomery County, Maryland, USA
PREPOSTEROUS! video trailer.
7400 Tuckerman Lane
Bethesda, Maryland, 20817
July 15th, 2023 at 10am
Tickets: FREE. More information HERE.
​
A sophisticated, family-friendly, pocket-sized theatrical clown circus! These charming vintage clowns play circus animals, sing as a human calliope, do the classic circus mirror routine, invent a number of ridiculous "entrées," perform live music, and execute a very satisfying slow motion number involving a PIE!
Featuring Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Gwen Grastorf, Sarah Olmsted Thomas, and Alex Vernon. ​
Leslie Swan Photography
A sophisticated, family-friendly, pocket-sized theatrical clown circus! These charming vintage clowns play circus animals, sing as a human calliope, do the classic circus mirror routine, invent a number of ridiculous "entrées," perform live music, and execute a very satisfying slow motion number involving a PIE!
Featuring Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Gwen Grastorf, Sarah Olmsted Thomas, and Alex Vernon. ​
Northeast Tour with Happenstance!
PREPOSTEROUS!
with Happenstance Theater
PREPOSTEROUS! video trailer.

July 6th at 6:30pm
at The Foundry
2 Harris Street, West Stockbridge Massachussetts 01266
Tickets for The Foundry HERE.

July 7th at 6:30pm
at the Highland Center for the Arts
2875 Hardwick St, Greensboro, Vermont 05841​
Tickets for the Highland Center HERE.

July 8th
at the Celebration Barn at 7:30pm
190 Stock Farm Rd, South Paris, Maine 04281
Tickets for the Celebration Barn HERE.

July 9th
the Waldo Theatre at 3pm
916 Main St, Waldoboro, Maine 04572, USA
Tickets for The Waldo HERE.​
Photo by Jen Ring
It's a Parade!
Takoma Park's 4th of July Parade
with Happenstance Theater
July 4, 2023 at 10am
in Downtown Takoma Park, Maryland, USA
Tickets: FREE! More info: HERE
​
Featuring Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Gwen Grastorf, Sarah Olmsted Thomas, and Alex Vernon. 
Ryan Maxwell Photography
Midwest Premiere!
​MAROONED! A Space Comedy
by Alex and Olmsted
at the Detroit Institute of Arts
​MAROONED! video trailer.
Detroit, Michigan, USA
Saturday, June 24, 2023 at 2pm ET
​Tickets: FREE with general admission to the museum. More info HERE.

​Alex and Olmsted's Jim Henson Foundation grant awarded MAROONED! A Space Comedy is an innovative new puppet show, featuring music from the Voyager Golden Record, that takes place at the outer reaches of space. An astronaut crashes on an uncharted planet. Will she be able to survive strange creatures, anomalous atmosphere, and isolation in order to find her way home? See for yourself… in MAROONED!
Alex U. Griffin Photography
Milo the Magnificent® 
by Alex and Olmsted
at Port Discovery
in Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Milo video trailer.
June 17 at 11am
Tickets: FREE with admission to the museum.

Alex and Olmsted's Jim Henson Foundation grant awarded Milo the Magnificent®​ is a highly engaging puppet show about an aspiring magician. This wordless comedy, inspired by turn of the century vaudeville entertainers, is as highly physical as it is charming. Using stunningly innovative puppetry, Milo presents a variety of magic tricks which don’t always go as planned.
Photo by Kintz
Milo in the Montgomery Parks!
Milo the Magnificent® 
by Alex and Olmsted
for the The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
of Montgomery County, Maryland, USA
Milo video trailer.

June 13 at 10am Germantown Center Urban Park
19840 Century Boulevard
Germantown, MD 20874
More info for Germantown Center show HERE.
Tickets: FREE!

June 14 at 10am Falls Road Local Park
12600 Falls Rd.
Potomac, MD 20854
More info for Falls Road show HERE.
Tickets: FREE!

June 15 at 10am ​Ellsworth Urban Park
621 Ellsworth Drive
Silver Spring, MD 20910
More info for Ellsworth show HERE.
Tickets: FREE!

Alex and Olmsted's Jim Henson Foundation grant awarded Milo the Magnificent®​ is a highly engaging puppet show about an aspiring magician. This wordless comedy, inspired by turn of the century vaudeville entertainers, is as highly physical as it is charming. Using stunningly innovative puppetry, Milo presents a variety of magic tricks which don’t always go as planned.
Photo by A&O
​Penguin Puppet Encounters with Alex and Olmsted
for World Oceans Day
at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Thursday, June 8, 2023 11am – 4pm
Location: Wandering throughout the Sant Ocean Hall
Tickets: Free! More info HERE.

​Venture into the Sant Ocean Hall to witness a march of penguin puppets and their handlers, award-winning performance duo Alex and Olmsted. Curious visitors will be engaged in up-close encounters with the puppets and their costumed performers as they waddle through the hall. Equipped with penguin facts galore, Alex, Olmsted, and their feathered friends will inspire a spirit of play and imagination in all ages.
Ryan Maxwell Photography
Tennessee Premiere!
​MAROONED! A Space Comedy
by Alex and Olmsted
at the Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts
​MAROONED! video trailer.
Murfreesboro, TN, USA
June 4, 2023 at 7:30pm ET
This is a closed performance for the students of the Governor's School.

​Alex and Olmsted's Jim Henson Foundation grant awarded MAROONED! A Space Comedy is an innovative new puppet show, featuring music from the Voyager Golden Record, that takes place at the outer reaches of space. An astronaut crashes on an uncharted planet. Will she be able to survive strange creatures, anomalous atmosphere, and isolation in order to find her way home? See for yourself… in MAROONED!
This Old Town: A Cabaret
with Geraldine the Band
at the Museum of Howard County History
Ellicott City, Maryland
Sunday, May 21 at 1pm ET
feat. our crankie The Wonders of Bread!

Come gather ‘round in This Old Town! Join us for a very special afternoon of storytelling and song as we celebrate the sights and sounds of our historic town. The soundtrack of the afternoon will be provided by some of the areas best local talent - music by The Honey Dewdrops, Charlie Cole, and Geraldine, crankies by Alex and Olmsted, storytelling by Joe Belknap Wall, puppetry by Danny Joe's Treehouse, and Master of Ceremonies by local surveyor of dreams, Edward Glawe, plus a few more surprises. It all goes down at the beautiful Howard County Historical Society Museum in the heart of this old town…Old Ellicott City. There will be a cash bar, food, and goods for sale from local artists. Tickets are $25. Doors at 12:00. Show at 1PM. Come early, browse the museum, and be a part of this unique event. Advance tickets recommended. (Banner modified from Scott Dennison poster)
© RTL / Stefan Gregorowius & Frank Hempel
Italian Premiere!
Milo the Magnificent® 
by Alex and Olmsted
at the IMMAGINA Festival Internazionale di Teatro di Figura di Roma
Milo video trailer.
Rome, Italy
Friday, May 12th at 6pm in Teatro del Lido di Ostia - Via delle Sirene 22
Saturday, May 13th at 6:30pm in Teatro Villa Pamphilj - Largo 3 Giugno
Sunday, May 14th at 11am in Museo delle Civiltà - Piazza Guglielmo Marconi, 14
Sunday, May 14th at 5pm in Teatro Biblioteca Quarticciolo - Via Ostuni, 8

Alex and Olmsted's Jim Henson Foundation grant awarded Milo the Magnificent®​ is a highly engaging puppet show about an aspiring magician. This wordless comedy, inspired by turn of the century vaudeville entertainers, is as highly physical as it is charming. Using stunningly innovative puppetry, Milo presents a variety of magic tricks which don’t always go as planned.
photo by Michael Kintzbranch
It's an A&O In-Person Workshop!
​How to Create a Puppet Slam Show (Level 1)
with Alex & Olmsted
for the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival
Chicago, Illinois, USA
April 30, 2023 10am – 2pm CST (4 hours)
Cost: $80
REGISTER: Here.

How to Create a Puppet Slam Show (IN PERSON) is a workshop for those who would like to learn to create a short form puppet show. This workshop covers idea generation, overcoming writer’s block, refining the idea into a clear story, and then finding how puppetry best serves that story. This workshop includes writing in addition to hands-on exercises. We encourage participants to bring a puppet of their own or an object they may wish to explore within the context of a slam piece.
© RTL / Stefan Gregorowius & Frank Hempel
Chicago Premiere!
Milo the Magnificent® 
by Alex and Olmsted
for the Spring Living Room Tour
of the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival
Milo video trailer.
Chicago, Illinois, USA
April 27, 28, & 29 at 6:30pm  
Tickets: HERE

Alex and Olmsted's Jim Henson Foundation grant awarded Milo the Magnificent®​ is a highly engaging puppet show about an aspiring magician. This wordless comedy, inspired by turn of the century vaudeville entertainers, is as highly physical as it is charming. Using stunningly innovative puppetry, Milo presents a variety of magic tricks which don’t always go as planned.
Blonnie Brooks of WAGS Media
POCKET MOXIE! A Happenstance Vaudeville
with Happenstance Theater
at Riderwood Village
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
POCKET MOXIE video trailer.
April 21, 2023
Tickets: SOON

Happenstance Theater brings old Vaudeville back with POCKET MOXIE!, an homage to the style and spirit of the Great Age of Vaudeville with slapstick comedy, tight harmonies, and celestial charades. Five versatile players breathe new life into classic old routines. From a ventriloquist’s dummy to a magic act that goes awry, from novelty songs and a musical saw to waiters juggling meatballs, all acts are accompanied by live music and “foley” sound effects.
Featuring Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Gwen Grastorf, Sarah Olmsted Thomas, and Alex Vernon. ​
Poster by Jordan Kamp of Kamp Ground Design
Southwest Premiere!
HUBBA HUBBA
by Alex and Olmsted
at the Santa Fe Playhouse
Santa Fe New Mexico, USA
Hubba Hubba video trailer.
April 6 - 15, 2023
Tickets: HERE

April 6 at 7:30pm
April 7 at 7:30pm
April 8 at 2pm & 7:30pm
April 13 at 7:30pm
April 14 at 11am & 7:30pm
April 15 at 2pm & 7:30pm

Created and performed by the Jim Henson Foundation grant award winning Alex and Olmsted (Milo the Magnificent®​ and MAROONED! A Space Comedy) comes the world premiere of HUBBA HUBBA, a collection of vignettes that explores the different aspects of romantic love using puppetry and physical comedy. From the dawn of life to modern romance and everything in between, HUBBA HUBBA is a comedy that incorporates handmade puppets, dynamic masks, and innovative storytelling to investigate the many qualities of love’s triumphs and obstacles. Suitable for all ages!
Original poster design by David Plunkert
WORLD PREMIERE!
HUBBA HUBBA
by Alex and Olmsted
at Baltimore Theatre Project
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Hubba Hubba video trailer.
March 23 – April 2, 2023
​General Admission: $20
Student/Senior/Artist/Military: $15
Tickets: HERE

March 23 at 8pm (Pay-What-You-Can)
March 24 at 8pm
March 25 at 3pm & 8pm
March 26 at 3pm (ASL Interpreted)
March 30 at 8pm
March 31 at 8pm
April 1 at 3pm & 8pm
April 2 at 3pm

Created and performed by the Jim Henson Foundation grant award winning Alex and Olmsted (Milo the Magnificent®​ and MAROONED! A Space Comedy) comes the world premiere of HUBBA HUBBA, a collection of vignettes that explores the different aspects of romantic love using puppetry and physical comedy. From the dawn of life to modern romance and everything in between, HUBBA HUBBA is a comedy that incorporates handmade puppets, dynamic masks, and innovative storytelling to investigate the many qualities of love’s triumphs and obstacles. Suitable for all ages!
DJ Corey Photography
FRESH OFF THE PRESS!
Alex & Olmsted: two people at play with the infinite possibilities of puppets.
by Lisa Traiger
in DC Metro Arts
published February 15, 2023
Read: HERE

In a series called 'The Companies We Keep,' DC Theater Arts spotlights the good work done by theater companies in the DC region. This month we focus on two artists who use objects to make theater to express their hearts’ feelings.

​We are feeling so grateful to Lisa Traiger and the fine folks at DC Theater Arts for this wonderful feature of our company.
Hieronymus Bosch's Ship of Fools, c. 1491-1500
WORLD PREMIERE!
ADRIFT: A Medieval Wayward Folly
by Happenstance Theater
January 26 - February 5, 2023
at Joe's Movement Emporium
3309 Bunker Hill Rd. |  Mt. Rainier MD
Mt. Rainier Maryland, USA
​Tickets  $25 General Admission |  $15  Senior/Student​​​
Tickets: HERE

Happenstance Theater is developing a new work inspired by medieval imagery and archetypes collected from the works of Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Bruegel, the Tarot, and reinterpretations of religious art. Drawing parallels between our current moment and the "dark ages," the ensemble will explore and exploit buffoonery, magic, notions of good, evil, and absurdity with angelic music, devised and existing text, puppetry and movement. Like a ship of fools, this pod of eccentrics will drift into the world to bring delight, share hopes and fears, find a way forward, and then parade away. 

Featuring Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Gwen Grastorf, Sarah Olmsted Thomas, and Alex Vernon. ​
WORLD PREMIERE!
The Wonders of Bread (crankie)
for the Baltimore Crankie Festival 2023
at Creative Alliance
FRI JAN 6 at 8pm
SAT JAN 7 at 4pm & 8pm
SUN JAN 8 at 2pm
Tickets: HERE​

Watch the world’s greatest stories unroll before your eyes! Baltimore’s beloved festival of scrolled panoramas, known as “crankies,” returns for its 9th year of fireside wonder!

The festival, the largest of its kind in the country, works with artists to showcase crankies from Baltimore and beyond! A crankie is basic in concept: it is a scroll that provides the visual narration to a story or song. Versions of the crankie have been around for hundreds of years, if not longer; their most recent iteration is directly linked to moving panoramas popular in the 19th Century. In recent years, artists have begun to embrace the intimacy of the format, creating multi-layered, immersive experiences for audiences.

4 shows only!
DJ Corey Photography
Under the Puppet Podcast!
EPISODE 79
feat. Alex and Olmsted
Released January 1, 2023
Listen: HERE

Under the Puppet, hosted by Grant Baciocco, is a podcast that is preserving puppetry through the personal stories of professional puppeteers. Available wherever podcasts are found.

Alex & Olmsted is an internationally acclaimed puppet theater and filmmaking company than has been the recipient of two Jim Henson Foundation Grants. They create puppet magic in many different mediums and will be performing live at the 2023 National Puppetry Festival. I talk to Alex & Olmsted about their path to puppetry, their wonderful shows including Milo the Magnificent and much more on this episode of Under The Puppet.
THE JUXTAPOSE TENEMENT
with Happenstance Theater!
ONGOING: NOW PLAYING ONLINE
​Join us HERE for this unique online experience.

Happenstance has launched an interactive website called THE JUXTAPOSE TENEMENT. This virtual shadow-box tenement building, inspired by the works of Joseph Cornell, features portals through which visitors glean poetic glimpses of characters, environments, and fantasias.
Juxtaposer Tenement video trailer HERE.
We are incredibly grateful to the organizations below for their support.
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