Then She Fell
“haunting, hallucinatory, and profoundly intimate” – VOGUE
An immersive theater experience combining a hospital ward, the writings of Lewis Carroll, and only 15 audience members pershow.
About Then She Fell
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York (2012-2020)
Then She Fell ran for 7 years with 4,444 performance in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and received multiple awards and critical acclaim, including a 2013 New York Dance and Performance (Bessie) Award for Outstanding Production, inclusion in Ben Brantley’s Top 10 of 2012 in The New York Times, inclusion in Vogue for Best in Theater in 2013, and featured as a Critic’s Pick in The New York Times, Time Out New York, Vogue, The Village Voice, and others. To-date, it has become Third Rail Projects’ most recognized work.
Then She Fell was a fully immersive, multisensory experience in which only 15 audience members per performance explored a dreamscape where every alcove, corner, and corridor had been transformed into a lushly designed world. Inspired by the life and writings of Lewis Carroll, it offered an Alice-like experience for audience members as they explored the rooms, often by themselves, in order to discover hidden scenes, encounter performers one-on-one, unearth clues that illuminated a shrouded history, use skeleton keys to gain access to guarded secrets, and imbibed custom elixirs.
"wildly imaginative… Wonderfully written, directed, and choreographed." – The New Yorker
Credits
Then She Fell by Third Rail Projects
Creative Team
(at the time of closing, March 2020)
Directed, Designed, Written and Choreographed by
Zach Morris, Tom Pearson, Jennine Willett
Created in Collaboration with
Elizabeth Carena, Alberto Denis, Stacie C. Tobar, Rebekah Morin, Marissa Nielsen-Pincus, Tara O’Con, Zoë Schieber, Debra Beardsley
The Company (All Casts)
Erika Boudreau-Barbee, Quentin Burley, Cameron Michael Burns, Kyle Castillo, Devika Chandnani, Serena Chang, Andy Chapman, Ross Daniel, Elisa Davis, Morgaine DeLeonardis, Alberto Denis, Lena Engelstein, Justin Faircloth, Julia Galanski, Gierre Godley, Jamie Graham, Carolyn Hall, Joseph Harris, Cody Hayman, Shiloh Hodges, Julia Jurgilewicz, Madison Krekel, Justin Lynch, Rebekah Morin, Tara O’Con, Jenna Purcell, Claudia-Lynn Rightmire, Kelsey Rondeau, Julie Seal, Taylor Semin, Jessy Smith, Niko Tsocanos, Charly Wenzel, Claire Westby, Lucy Wild
Swings
Andrew Broaddus, Kristen Carcone, Larry Daniels, Caitlin Dutton-Reaver, Lindsey Ferguson, Mary Madsen, Lauren Muraski, Marissa Nielsen-Pincus, Edward Rice, Kim Savarino, Alex Schell, Bre Short
Ward Staff
Stephanie Armitage, Kasey Blanco, Amy Castro, Brittany Crowell, Leyla DeMolina, Kristin Dwyer, Shelby Gilberto, Kyla Kantor, Caroline Labreche, Patrick St. John, Terra Warman
Production Staff
Original Music & Sound Design: Sean Hagerty
Costume Design: Karen Young and Third Rail Projects
Lighting Design: Kryssy Wright
Assistant Director: Marissa Nielsen-Pincus
Production Manager: Brittany Crowell
Originating Technical Director: Carlton Cyrus Ward
Stage Manager: Kristin Dwyer
Rehearsal Directors: Mary Madsen, Jenna Parcell, Julie Seal
Assistant Stage Managers: Kasey Blanco, Amy Castro
Stage Management Swings: Stephanie Armitage,
Leyla DeMolina, Caroline Labreche, Patrick St. John, Terra Warman
Production Assistants: Shelby Gilberto, Kyla Kantor
Wardrobe Supervisor: Kelsey Buerger
Maintenance Crew: Kasey Blanco, Rebekah Morin
Beverage Manager: Patrick St. John
Collaborating Musicians: Brian Olin and Isaiah Singer
Scenic Artists: Rachel Kenner, Zach Morris, Tom Pearson, Jennine Willett
Build Crew: Claire Bacon, Matt Gratz, Jimmy Norton, Bob Young
MUSICIANS
Isaiah Singer: electric bass, harmonica, air organ
Brian Olin: electric guitar
Tom Regouski: clarinet
Benjamin Magnuson: voice (Victrola), accordian, bass (Tea Table – gypsy music)
Sean Hagerty: violin, electric violin, mandolin, banjo, accordion, air organ, synths
Elizabeth Carena: vocals, vocal samples
Third Rail Projects Staff
Artistic Directors: Zach Morris, Tom Pearson, Jennine Willett
Associate Artistic Director: Marissa Nielsen-Pincus
Associate Managing Director: Edward Rice
Production Manager: Brittany Crowell
Manager of Marketing & Communications: Joshua Dutton-Reaver
Associate Manager of Communications: Joshua Gonzales
SPECIAL THANKS
Then She Fell is made possible, in part, with support from Arts@Renaissance and St. Nicks Alliance; the Brooklyn Community Foundation; New York City Council Member Diana Reyna; Official Wine Sponsor, Macari Wines; Materials for the Arts/New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and Department of Sanitation; T. Edward Wines; Groundworks Inc.; Beverage Consultant Sarah Sutel, Mixologist Kathy Hubler (Wong), Wong, Chefs Megan Johnson and Leigh Friend (Casellula); New York Costumes; the [QuA2D] Art Mill Residency in Jeffersonville, New York provided by Daniel Castellanos and John Wenk; NYC Dance Response Fund, a program of Dance/NYC established by the Mertz Gilmore Foundation; Third Rail Projects' fiscal sponsor Fractured Atlas; and by Third Rail Projects, with support from individual and institutional donors, and volunteers. Third Rail Projects also extends its sincerest gratitude to Arts Brookfield for its significant support throughout the development of Then She Fell.
Project Support
Visit our Sponsors, Partners, and their Affiliates at:
Arts@Renaissance
Brooklyn Community Foundation
Groundworks
Macari Wines
Casellula
T. Edward Wines
Materials for the Arts
New York Costumes
Fractured Atlas | Artful.ly
And thanks to our many Benefit Performance Attendees and Kickstarter Backers for making this performance possible. See the full list of backers at: thenshefell.com/support. Additional thanks: Arts@Renaissance Advisory Committee, St. Nicks Alliance’s facilities staff, Chris Henderson, Pastor Jonathan Priest, Pastor Jason Taber, and the Lutheran Church of St John the Evangelist, Fractured Atlas/Artful.ly, Carmen DeVito, Alice Marcus Krieg, and Groundworks Inc, Sarah Sutel, Kathy Hubler, Megan Johnson, Leigh Friend, Casellula, T. Edward Wines, Le Métier de Beauté, The New York Dance and Performance (Bessie) Awards Committee, Noise Andrews, Kris Bauman, Liam Barber, Anika Basu, Debra Beardsley, Lainie Berman, Carly Berrett Plagianakos, Kate Black, Lia Bonfilio, David Boudreau, Carly Bradt, Caroline Conoly, Genee Coreno, Christopher Cummings, Karl Custer, Jae Day, John Cruz, Monika Deeran, Lindsey Dietz-Merchant, Jared Douglas, Zhauna Franks, Aly Fox, Dana Gal, Dani Garcia, Jesse & Kathleen Green, Brighid Greene, Carolyn Hall, Elijah Heath, Caroline Hendrix, Christine Jordan, Marissa Katz, Katie Kavett, Julia Kelly, Roxanne Kidd, Erin Kim, Allison Kline, Frances Koncan, Ethan Kramer, Madison Krekel, Andrea Lepcio, Johnathan Lee, Melody Loveless, Katie Lupke, Benjamin Magnuson, Ella Mandel, Josh Matthews, Aldora Neal, John Nehlich, Haylee Nichele, Amy Nieporent, Alexander Norelli, Emily Ohlrich, Emily Petry, Gwendolyn Petry, Spencer Pizzani, Aimee Plauche, Andrew Rasmussen, Kristina Radke, Joshua Reaver, Tom Regouski, Edward Rice, Miguel Rivas, Christina Robson, Crimson Roe, Richard Rosado, Sophia Schrank, Jessy Smith, Tori Sparks, Nathan Stark, Chris Swader, Justin Swader, Roland Triska, Niko Tsocanos, Rambod Vale, Kristina Vnook, Lisa Wicks, Lauren Wong, and Sarah Wong.
Press Coverage
CRITIC’S PICK: "This show occupies a dreamscape where the judgments and classifications of the waking mind are inoperative, and where the single self keeps splitting and blurring." – Ben Brantley, The New York Times
AWARDS
2013 NEW YORK DANCE AND PERFORMANCE (BESSIE) AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION
BEN BRANTLEY’S TOP 10 OF 2012 THE NEW YORK TIMES
BEST IN THEATER 2013 VOGUE
CRITIC’S PICK: The New York Times, Time Out New York, Vogue, The Village Voice
PRESS
BRIC TV | Video Feature | October 2, 2012
Then She Fell: Caught In The Act
American Theatre Wing | Video Feature | April 29, 2014
Working In The Theatre: Immersive Theatre
The New York Times | Feature Article | August 9, 2013
Adventures in a Sinister Wonderland
"… a lush, if fragmented story arrives by way of the exacting, exuberant choreography." – Siobhan Burke
Brooklyn Magazine | Feature Article | March 1, 2016
The 100 Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture
"... what better time to celebrate some of the many people who are shaping Brooklyn culture today, those people responsible for the words we want to read, the films we want to see, the music we want to hear, the art we want to experience, the spaces we want to inhabit... work that continues to make Brooklyn not just culturally relevant, but culturally vital." – Brooklyn Magazine
The New Yorker | Review | April 1, 2013
Goings On About Town
"wildly imaginative… an anxiety-provoking but exciting theatrical encounter… Wonderfully written, directed, and choreographed." – New Yorker Staff
The New York Times | Feature | December 16, 2012
Year in Theater: Ben Brantley’s Top 10 of 2012
"The immersive theater company Third Rail’s personal guided tour of Alice’s Wonderland, in a former outpatient hospital in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. A show that makes you understand — and takes you to, via a labyrinth of intricately arranged rooms — the place where Lewis Carroll was coming from.” – Ben Brantley
Vogue | Feature | April, 2013
Theater: People Are Talking About - Wonderland
BEST IN THEATER 2013:
"… haunting, hallucinatory, and profoundly intimate." – Adam Green
American Theatre Magazine | Feature | February 23, 2016
Dance or Theatre? Yes. By Kelundra Smith
The New York Times | Feature | January 7, 2016
Starring Me! A Surreal Dive into Immersive Theater
"... intimate and tightly choreographed… After a while, it felt as if we were dreaming, or mad, so febrile and charged was the atmosphere…You cannot feel more immersed than that." – Sarah Lyall
The New York Times | Review | December 1, 2012
Theater Review by Ben Brantley: “Lewis Carroll is in a Hospital”
CRITIC’S PICK: "This show occupies a dreamscape where the judgments and classifications of the waking mind are inoperative, and where the single self keeps splitting and blurring." – Ben Brantley
The Economist | Review | September 23, 2014
Return to Wonderland
"Then She Fell does what the best retellings set out to do: it offers a new framework through which to contemplate a familiar story." – D.S.K.
American Theatre Magazine | Feature | July, 2013
The Walls Come Tumbling Down
"It requires us to have an ease that we would have in everyday life, says co-creator Tom Pearson, who plays the White Rabbit, sans bunny suit. It’s very cinematic. When the screen is right there in front of your face, it picks up everything. It’s the same when you’re in a room with someone." – Diep Tran
Gothamist | Feature | March 15, 2013
Follow the Rabbithole To Williamsburg For The Best Show So Far This Year
"an enthralling theatrical spell is being woven… as unsettling as it is enchanting." – John Del Signore
Forbes | Feature | October 29, 2012
Feature Article - "Theater for the Video Game Generation"
"Secret rooms and passageways are the norm, as are sets that guests are encouraged to explore by sifting through drawers, pockets, and papers. Think of them as haunted houses that do more than just scare." – Seth Porges
The Wall Street Journal | Feature | October 4, 2012
Feature Article: “A Macabre Misadventure in Wonderland
"Then She Fell’ will offer a more deliberately crafted experience… to allow all of the guests to discover and accumulate bits of story until they leave with the satisfaction of having co-created, with the show itself, a narrative arc and resolution." – Lizzie Simon
Time Out New York | Review | October 8, 2012
Theater Review: “Alice gets a new Wonderland: an abandoned hospital in Greenpoint, Brooklyn”CRITIC’S PICK | 4 STARS: "Stunningly personal… When you peer into the looking glass, it stares right back at you." – Jenna Scherer
TIME Magazine | Feature | June 24, 2013
Total Immersion
"… this is extreme theater: fresh, fun, totally absorbing, a full contact sport with no rules and no boundaries." – Richard Zoglin
New York Daily News | Feature | July 17, 2012
Feature Article: “Go ask Alice: Theater group will turn old Greenpoint Hospital building into an interactive wonderland” by Lore Croghan
Broadway World | Review | November 30th, 2012
BWW Reviews: THEN SHE FELL: All Mad Here By Duncan Pflaster
Odyssey Works | Interview | April 12, 2016
TOM PEARSON ON DREAM LOGIC By Ana Freeman
Deep Media | Feature | June 10, 2013
Way-way-off-Broadway: How the immersive theater of 'Then She Fell' resonates with the digital world By Frank Rose
New Statesman | Interview | June 1, 2013
Feature & Interview with Zach Morris
"Third Rail has created something utterly strange, magnificently surreal: undoubtedly Wonderland." – Tara Isabella Burton
Imaginary Worlds | Podcast
Episode 42: Then She Fell By Eric Molinsky
Backstage | Review | March 18, 2013
“Topsy-Turvy ‘Then She Fell’ is Magical”"The lusciously and meticulously designed world, full of strange knickknacks and worn furniture, teases every nerve at the imagination’s disposal." – Jason Fitzgerald
TDF Stages | Review | March, 2013
“Your Private Trip Through Lewis Carroll’s Mind”
"… quite accessible and very visceral. It’s impossible to move through the scenes without becoming involved, emotionally and otherwise." – Raven Snook
Stage and Cinema | Review | March 26, 2013
“Review of Then She Fell”
"… the manipulation of perspective and the use of space is ever imaginative, and the intimate (and often one-on-one) scenes are wondrous.." – Sarah Taylor Ellis
NBC | Review | March 15, 2013
Review: “Then She Fell” at the Kingsland Ward in Williamsburg
"Attention to detail is mind-boggling… the experience is unlike anything I’ve had" – Robert Kahn