UPCOMING

January

Photo by Leah Huete.
New Year, New Nonsense!
Clown Cabaret
Monday January 13, 2025 at 8pm
at The Writer’s Center
4508 Walsh St, Bethesda, MD 20815
​Tickets: HERE.

Come laugh with us! See a variety of... variety performers stretching to create better, stronger, funnier acts. We know how it works on paper and in the studio; the next step is getting it on stage. Come join us! You'll be astounded by our magic, sideshow, physical comedy, and more.

Featuring Happenstance Theater, Mark Phillips, Steve Has Friends, Hot Todd Lincoln, Ri Dickulous, Katie Rebich, Elle Joseph, Daniel Maseda, and Alex and Olmsted. Hijinks conducted by Christina Day and co-hosted by Jim McGrath.
Photo by Leah Huete.
Back by Popular Demand!
CABARET NOIR
with Happenstance Theater 
Saturday January 25, 2025 at 7pm
at Prince George's Publick Playhouse
5445 Landover Road Hyattsville, MD 20784
CABARET NOIR video trailer.
Tickets: HERE.

​Happenstance Theater’s CABARET NOIR is a Film Noir inspired theatrical montage. This series of dark, comic vignettes reveals Femmes Fatales and fedoras, trench coats and torch songs, physical comedy, object manipulation, and music played on multiple instruments.
​
Featuring Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Gwen Grastorf, Sarah Olmsted Thomas, Alex Vernon, and guest musician Stephanie Baird.

February

Photo by Leslie Swan Photography.
PREPOSTEROUS! A Happenstance Circus
with Happenstance Theater
Sunday Feb 9, 2025 at 2pm
at the Prince George's Publick Playhouse
5445 Landover Road Hyattsville, MD 20784
​​PREPOSTEROUS! video trailer.
Tickets: 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. 
Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography.
Virginia Premiere!
​Hubba Hubba
by Alex and Olmsted
Friday February 14 at 7pm
at the Pro-Art at the Goodloe Center
3441 Mountain Empire Rd, Big Stone Gap, VA 24219
​Hubba Hubba video trailer.
Tickets: HERE

Created and performed by the Jim Henson Foundation grant award-winning Alex and Olmsted (Milo the Magnificent®​ and MAROONED! A Space Comedy) Hubba Hubba is a new show about romantic love that is “...equal parts awkwardness and side-splitting laughter” (Broadway World). Using puppetry and physical comedy, from the sublime to the ridiculous, Alex and Olmsted present love and all its quirks. Suitable for all ages!

​Hubba Hubba was awarded a 2023 Creativity Grant from the Maryland State Arts Council.

This engagement of Hubba Hubba is made possible in part by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Photo by Leah Huete Photography
Happy Birthday, Mon Ami
by Alex and Olmsted
Saturday February 22 at 11am & 1pm
at the Gaithersburg Art Barn
311 Kent Square Rd, Gaithersburg, MD 20878
​Happy Birthday, Mon Ami video trailer. 
Tickets: HERE
​
Class, cultures, and expectations clash when Jacques’ American cousin Sam visits him in Paris for a birthday celebration. Winner of a 2024 Jim Henson Foundation grant award, Happy Birthday, Mon Ami combines glove puppetry, live music, and audience participation to create a delightful hour of fun for the whole family.

Happy Birthday, Mon Ami was awarded a 2024 Jim Henson Foundation grant.

This engagement of Happy Birthday, Mon Ami is made possible in part by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts.

March

Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography.
MAROONED! A Space Comedy
by Alex and Olmsted
Saturday March 1, 2025 at 1pm
at the Ware Center at Millersville University
42 N Prince St, Lancaster, PA 17603​
​MAROONED! video trailer.
​Tickets: HERE

An astronaut crashes on an uncharted planet. Will she survive strange creatures, an abnormal atmosphere, and isolation in order to find her way home? See for yourself… in MAROONED! Featuring music from the Voyager Golden Record, this innovative new puppet show takes place at the outer reaches of space. Internationally acclaimed puppet theater and filmmaking company Alex and Olmsted presents this Jim Henson Foundation grant-awarded production.
MAROONED! was awarded a 2020 Jim Henson Foundation grant and a 2024 UNIMA-USA Citation of Excellence.

This engagement of MAROONED! A Space Comedy is made possible in part by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography.
Georgia Premiere! 
MAROONED! A Space Comedy
by Alex and Olmsted
March 6 - 16, 2025
Thurs, March 6 at 7:30pm
Fri, March 7 at 8pm
Sat, March 8 at 8pm
Sun, March 9 at 5pm
Thurs, March 13 at 7:30pm
Fri, March 14 at 8pm
Sat, March 15 at 8pm
Sun, March 16 at 5pm​
at the Center for Puppetry Arts
1404 Spring St NW, Atlanta, GA 30309
​MAROONED! video trailer.
​Tickets: HERE

Join an intrepid astronaut as she crash-lands on an uncharted planet, facing the ultimate challenge of survival amidst bizarre creatures, enigmatic atmospheres, and the gripping embrace of isolation. Will she conquer the odds and navigate her way back home? Set against the cosmic backdrop of the outer reaches of space, this comedic masterpiece seamlessly blends innovative puppetry with the timeless melodies from the Voyager Golden Record. Prepare for a one-of-a-kind experience, where laughter meets the cosmos in an out-of-this-world spectacle! A recipient of The Jim Henson Foundation, this performance ensures an extraordinary journey filled with whimsy, wonder, and puppetry magic.
​MAROONED! was awarded a 2020 Jim Henson Foundation grant and a 2024 UNIMA-USA Citation of Excellence.

This engagement of MAROONED! A Space Comedy is sponsored by the Jim Henson Foundation.
Photo by Alex U. Griffin Photography.
Milo the Magnificent®​
by Alex and Olmsted
March 19 - 30, 2025
March 19 at 10am
March 20 at 10am & 11:30am
March 21 at 11:30am
March 22 at 11am & 1pm & 3pm
March 23 at 1pm & 3pm
March 26 at 10am & 11:30am
March 27 at 10am & 11:30am
March 28 at 10am & 11:30am
March 29 at 11am & 1pm & 3pm
March 30 at 1pm & 3pm​
at the Center for Puppetry Arts
1404 Spring St NW, Atlanta, GA 30309
Milo video trailer
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.​

Milo the Magnificent® ​was awarded a 2017 Jim Henson Foundation grant.
Prototyping Flat Mechs: A Workshop
March 25-26 | 6:30-9:30 PM
at the Center for Puppetry Arts
1404 Spring St NW, Atlanta, GA 30309
Target Audience: Intermediate/advanced

Explore the world of mechanisms and their use in puppetry. From shadow puppets to automata, moving components can bring a whole new level of expression to your character. Mechs can seem daunting, but in this workshop we’ll be creating quick mockups using flat materials to test concepts.

​Sign up: HERE

April

Photo by Leslie Swan Photography.
PREPOSTEROUS! A Happenstance Circus
with Happenstance Theater
Saturday April 5, 2025 at 11am
& Sunday April 6, 2025 at 2pm
at the InterAct Story Theatre
Highland Elementary School - 3100 Medway Street, Wheaton, MD 20902 
​​PREPOSTEROUS! video trailer.
Tickets: FREE! No tickets or registration needed.​

​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. 
Photo by Guy Thompson.
MAROONED! A Space Comedy
by Alex and Olmsted
Thursday April 10, 2025 at 6:30pm
at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts
17 Algonquin Dr, Lake Placid, NY 12946
​MAROONED! video trailer.
​Tickets: HERE

​An astronaut crashes on an uncharted planet. Will she survive strange creatures, an abnormal atmosphere, and isolation in order to find her way home? See for yourself… in MAROONED! Featuring music from the Voyager Golden Record, this innovative new puppet show takes place at the outer reaches of space. Internationally acclaimed puppet theater and filmmaking company Alex and Olmsted presents this Jim Henson Foundation grant-awarded production.
​​
MAROONED! was awarded a 2020 Jim Henson Foundation grant and a 2024 UNIMA-USA Citation of Excellence.

This engagement of MAROONED! A Space Comedy is made possible in part by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts.
A puppet-making workshop!
Maryland Day at the Clarice
Saturday April 26th 2025 from 10am-1pm
at the Clarice Center for the Performing Arts
8270 Alumni Dr, College Park, MD 20742
Tickets: FREE! More info SOON.

May

Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography.
MAROONED! A Space Comedy
by Alex and Olmsted
Sat. May 3, 2025 at 11am
Sat. May 3, 2025 at 1:30pm
Sun. May 4, 2025 at 1:30pm (Sensory Friendly Show)
Sun. May 4, 2025 at 4pm
at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
2700 F St NW, Washington, DC 20566
​MAROONED! video trailer.
​Tickets: HERE

​An astronaut crashes on an uncharted planet. Will she survive strange creatures, an abnormal atmosphere, and isolation in order to find her way home? See for yourself… in MAROONED! Featuring music from the Voyager Golden Record, this innovative new puppet show takes place at the outer reaches of space. Internationally acclaimed puppet theater and filmmaking company Alex and Olmsted presents this Jim Henson Foundation grant-awarded production.
​​
MAROONED! was awarded a 2020 Jim Henson Foundation grant and a 2024 UNIMA-USA Citation of Excellence.
Photo by Alex U. Griffin.
Milo the Magnificent®​
by Alex and Olmsted
Saturday May 10, 2025 at 11AM & 1PM
at the Clarice Center for the Performing Arts
8270 Alumni Dr, College Park, MD 20742
Milo video trailer
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.​

Milo the Magnificent® ​was awarded a 2017 Jim Henson Foundation grant.

This engagement of Milo the Magnificent® is made possible in part by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography.
JUXTAPOSE | A Theatrical Shadow Box
with Happenstance Theater
May 15-25, 2025
at the Joe's Movement Emporium
3309 Bunker Hill Rd, Mt Rainier, MD 20712
Tickets: HERE.​

​JUXTAPOSE is a theatrical assemblage set in a magical-realist tenement building. Five eccentric characters are trying to co-exist during the sixth mass extinction. The show is inspired in part by the shadow boxes of Joseph Cornell, in which isolated objects are brought together within a frame to create poetic possibilities. As humanity teeters on the edge of the frame, JUXTAPOSE offers audiences a reminder that our shared mortality, our common humanity, the ability to laugh at fear, and the limitless hope of imagination might save us from the despair of ending.​

Featuring Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Gwen Grastorf, Sarah Olmsted Thomas, and Alex Vernon. 

June

Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography.
MAROONED! A Space Comedy
by Alex and Olmsted
Sunday June 8, 2025 at 7pm
at the Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
​MAROONED! video trailer.
​​This is a closed performance for the students of the Governor's School.

​An astronaut crashes on an uncharted planet. Will she survive strange creatures, an abnormal atmosphere, and isolation in order to find her way home? See for yourself… in MAROONED! Featuring music from the Voyager Golden Record, this innovative new puppet show takes place at the outer reaches of space. Internationally acclaimed puppet theater and filmmaking company Alex and Olmsted presents this Jim Henson Foundation grant-awarded production.
​​
MAROONED! was awarded a 2020 Jim Henson Foundation grant and a 2024 UNIMA-USA Citation of Excellence.
Photo by Leah Huete Photography
Happy Birthday, Mon Ami
by Alex and Olmsted
Saturday June 14, 2025 at 10am
at the Cherry Arts
102 Cherry St, Ithaca, NY 14850
​Happy Birthday, Mon Ami video trailer. 
Tickets: HERE
​
Class, cultures, and expectations clash when Jacques’ American cousin Sam visits him in Paris for a birthday celebration. Winner of a 2024 Jim Henson Foundation grant award, Happy Birthday, Mon Ami combines glove puppetry, live music, and audience participation to create a delightful hour of fun for the whole family.

Happy Birthday, Mon Ami was awarded a 2024 Jim Henson Foundation grant.

This engagement of Happy Birthday, Mon Ami is made possible in part by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Northeast Tour with Happenstance Theater
Stay tuned for more details!
Photo by Blonnie Brooks of WAGS Media.
Pocket Moxie: A Happenstance Vaudeville
with Happenstance Theater
June 19-29, 2025
Stay tuned for more details!
​POCKET MOXIE video trailer HERE.

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. 
We are incredibly grateful to the organizations below for their support.
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