...And What Alice Found There  was created for the 2019 Twin Cities Horror Festival (October 2019),
performed on the Southern Theater stage.
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...AND WHAT ALICE FOUND THERE
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FEATURING:
Heather Bunch
Megan Campbell Lagas
Kayla Dvorak Feld
Nissa Nordland
Kaitlen Osburn
Boo Segersin
and Kristina Fjellman as Lewis Carroll
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Direction and Design by Amber Bjork
Stage Management and Ensemble Contribution by Clara Costello
Music Composition and Arrangement by Amber Bjork,
Boo Segersin, and Kayla Dvorak Feld

       Photo by Amber Bjork.

Production photos ​by Dan Norman

critical praise

Ira Brooker of Minnesota Playlist calls ...And What Alice Found There "an engaging, energetic production with the guts to explore its subject's darkest corners," finding its world "unquestionably in the realm of the weird."
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"Creepy and fun!" says Minnesota Theater Love.
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"There's not much that's creepier than children chanting and moving in unison, and they make good use of that here, along with shadow puppetry, singing in dissonance, and physical theater elements to hauntingly tell this story behind the beloved children's story we think we know." -- Cherry and Spoon
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The Stages of MN calls the themes of ...And What Alice Found There "much more disturbing than...poppy outies."

DIRECTOR'S NOTES

If this is your first show with The Winding Sheet Outfit, welcome. We make ensemble-devised shows based on lives lived, synthesizing our research on a subject and interpreting it for the stage. 

This time our subject matter is Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, creator of Alice in Wonderland. While he was a brilliant mathematician, a champion for women's education, prolific photographer in the early days of its invention, as well as the celebrated author of one of the most enduring children's books of all time, the world still sees some of his relationships with children as problematic. 

...And What Alice Found There is our exploration of his friendship with Alice Pleasance Liddell, the namesake of his famous books; a young girl when he knew her. So many delicate rumors have been examined over the years, and while no scandals have actually been unearthed, scholars are constantly searching for more details on his private life. Mr. Dodgson's legacy is one of constant speculation.       
                                   
This is a play about the questions. It is about the cruelty of assumptions. It is about the feeling of frustration when theories cannot be verified even though all the flags seem to be waving in plain sight.
 
As history cannot seem to come to conclusions on the nature of his moral standing, neither shall we. We have no answers and try not to suppose--as always, we shall present a story based on the available research. We are only here to assure you that we feel...pretty creepy about the whole thing.

The Winding Sheet Outfit is thankful to Twin Cities Horror Festival for providing a platform for art which is dark and unsettling and that allows examination of the more ominous stories from our human experience.

Down the rabbit hole we go.

--Amber Bjork
Director and Founding Member
The Winding Sheet Outfit

THANK YOU:
Derek Lee Miller, Kristina Fjellman, Sandbox Theater.  And to our TCHF technicians, volunteers, staff, and to YOU!

bios

Pictured: Kristina Fjellman as Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll

AMBER BJORK (Director)
Amber is the founding member of The Winding Sheet Outfit and Twin Cities-based actor and director. She has worked with several companies in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. She has directed The Winding Sheet Outfit’s You Are Cordially Invited to the Life and Death of Edward Lear, Blood Nocturne, The Memory Box of the Sisters Fox  and  The Theatre of the Tiny Clandestines, as well as The Minotaur, The Knight of the Burning Pestle, Elephant's Graveyard  and  T Bone N Weasel for Theatre Pro Rata, 600 Years, Marie-Jeanne Valet Who Defeated La Bete du Gevaudan for Sandbox Theatre, and Iphigenia and Other Daughters for Theatre Unbound. Amber was a 2018 MN Theater Awards Honoree in Exceptional Performative Direction for The Winding Sheet Outfit's The Memory Box of the Sisters Fox. She’s so excited to return to Twin Cities Horror Festival, having performed with Transatlantic Love Affair in their 2012 production of Solitaire. Upcoming, you can find her onstage in Silent Sky this February with Theatre Pro Rata, performing inside the Bell Museum’s planetarium.

HEATHER BUNCH (Queen / Tweedle)
Heather is an actor and teaching artist in the Twin Cities. After graduating from Macalester, Heather moved to London, where she studied Lecoq-based Physical Theater at the London International School of Performing Arts. Since then she has performed all over the twin cities in all genres of theater. Credits include CITIZEN and THE VISIT with Frank Theater; Ashland, Emilie/Eurydice,  and  The Privateer with Transatlantic Love Affair; and queens at the Playwright’s Center, among many others. This is Heather’s first show with The Winding Sheet Outfit, and she is proud to create and perform with these women. Outside of the theater community, Heather is a practitioner of Shaolin Kung Fu and Qigong, learning to fight and move not with physical strength, but with internal force. 

MEGAN CAMPBELL LAGAS (Alice Pleasance Liddell)
Megan is the mother of two wonderful humans and a lot of cool pets. a theatre artist, and a teacher. Previous work with The Winding Sheet Outfit includes Arsgang: What You Follow Follows You (workshop showing), The Theatre of the Tiny Clandestines (2018, 2015, 2013), The Memory Box of the Sisters Fox, Birds of Passage, word/move, Five Fifths of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Megan is a company member with Sandbox Theatre, credits include aphasiatica:duet, Zelda: Wonderland, War with the Newts (2007 and 2015), Suitcase, This Is A World To Live in, Marie-Jeanne Valet Who Defeated La Bête du Gevaudan, Killer Inside (Project Lead), 600 Years (Music Director/Composer), In the Treetops (Project Lead) and Bone Mother. Megan earned her BA in Theatre and MA in Education at the College of St. Catherine. She teaches Adult ELL for Minneapolis Public Schools.   

CLARA COSTELLO (Stage Manager)
Clara is delighted to be back at the Horror Fest, and working with The Winding Sheet Outfit for the first time. Clara is an artistic associate with Theatre Pro Rata, and a company member with Little Lifebooats. She stage managed LandmandLand’s Dream County at TCHF VII, and has also managed shows for Mike’s Brass, Tedious Brief Productions, and Chameleon Theatre Circle, and worked as a venue technician at the Minnesota Fringe Festival. She’ll be calling cues at Theatre Pro Rata’s next two shows- Ever and After in December, and Silent Sky in February.

KAYLA DVORAK FELD (Mouse / Musician) 
Kayla is an actor and teaching artist in the Twin Cities.  She was previously seen in TCHF IV with Oncoming Production’s The Deep Dark.  She is pleased as a peach to be back performing at TCHF with The Winding Sheet Outfit. Other shows with the company include You are Cordially Invited to the Life and Death of Edward Lear, Blood Nocturne, The Memory Box of the Sisters Fox, and Theatre of the Tiny Clandestines. Kayla has also worked with companies including Daleko Arts, Theatre Pro Rata, Theatre Unbound, Theatre in the Round, Yellow Tree Theatre, Hero Now Theatre, Walking Shadow Theatre Company, Umbrella Collective, and others.  You can see Kayla next in Into the Darkness with Collective Unconscious this November. 

KRISTINA FJELLMAN (Charles Dodgson aka Lewis Carroll)
Kristina is a visual artist and performer and is drawn to creative projects that will combine both of these passions. She has exhibited her sculpture in venues around the Midwest and Twin Cities and was a recipient of a Jerome Fiber Art Project Grant for 2010-2011 at the MN Textile Center. Her performance work includes:  You are Cordially Invited to the Life and Death of Edward Lear, The Memory Box of the Sisters Fox, The Theater of the Tiny Clandestines (2013, 2015, and 2017), word/move, Birds of Passage and Five Fifths of the Sorcerer's Stone with The Winding Sheet Outfit; Works In Progress My Life Is All But Over with Red Eye Theatre; and with Sandbox Theatre: In The Treetops, 600 Years, War with the Newts, The Horse, Bird, Monkey, and the Dancer, Suitcase, This Is a World To Live In, and Killer Inside as a performer, and recently as Project Lead for The Golden Record Project. Kristina is graduate of the College of St. Catherine with a MAED in Art and Theater Education, is the co-founding member of The Winding Sheet Outfit, and an ensemble member of Sandbox Theatre. Most recent projects include: ...And What Alice Found There (ensemble) with The Winding Sheet Outfit at The Southern Theater as part of the 2019 Twin Cities Horror Festival and an upcoming art exhibition at Artistry's Inez Greenberg Gallery in Spring 2020.

NISSA NORDLAND (Cheshire / Dreamchild)
Nissa is an actor, writer and musician in the Twin Cities. This is her first show with The Winding Sheet Outfit, and what an honor it is to create with such a talented group of artists! Nissa is a company member of Theatre Pro Rata and the Umbrella Collective, produces original new work as Special When Lit, and was recently a mainstage cast member of the Brave New Workshop. She's also had the pleasure of working with nimbus theatre, Four Humors, Wayward Theatre Company, Theatre Unbound, HUGE Improv Theatre, Classical Actors Ensemble, Fortune's Fool Theatre, Artistry, Theatre in the Round, and more. This is Nissa’s fourth year involved with TCHF, previously she worked with Ghoulish Delights, Dangerous Productions and produced her original work The Fae (Special When Lit). For TCHF VIII, Nissa wrote and produced Incarnate, which she hopes you will attend. Nissa is also excited to join the cast of the award winning web series Theater People for Season 5. She enjoys playing pinball, cross stitching and anything about dinosaurs.

KAITLEN OSBURN  (Rabbit / Tweedle)
Kaitlen is a director, performer, and playwright from Nashville, Tennessee. She runs the Drama Program at Roseville Area High School, works as the Audience & Volunteer Services Director at Minnesota Fringe, and serves as the Board Co-chair of Sumunar Indonesian Music and Dance. Kaitlen is a 2011 alumnus of Director's Lab Chicago, a 2014 Princess Grace Award Winner, and a 2016 grant recipient of the Puffin Foundation. She has an MFA in Ensemble-Based Physical Theatre from Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theater and is currently training to be an Alexander Technique Teacher. Up next, she is directing Thomasina Sawyer at Rosetown Playhouse, a musical she wrote with Benjamin Emory Larson. Visit her online at www.ohkaitlen.com.

BOO SEGERSIN (Pig / Musician)
Boo is excited to perform at the Twin Cities Horror Fest for her first time. Previous productions with The Winding Sheet Outfit include You Are Cordially Invited to the LIfe and Death of Edward Lear, Blood Nocturne,  and  The Memory Box of the Sisters Fox.  She has worked with many wonderful companies including Nimbus Theater, Stages Theatre Company, Theatre Unbound, Fearless Comedy Productions, Impossible Salt, Really Spicy Opera, Swandive Theatre, SteppingStone Theatre, Six Elements Theatre, Ghoulish Delights, Sod House Theater, Silver Slipper Productions, Cross Community Players, Lyric Arts, Children's Theatre Company, History Theatre and the Minnesota Opera. She studied at Augsburg University where she got her BA in Theatrical Performance. Upcoming: Into the Darkness with Collective Unconscious, Nov 15-24, directed by David Hanzal.