No apologies. no concessions.

anything can happen.

Something must happen.

Since its founding in 2016, Vernal & Sere Theatre has gained local and national recognition for its daring work which challenges traditional American Theatre. Vernal & Sere is an ensemble-based company driven by the desire to create imaginative, difficult theatre which addresses current issues and traditional modes of interpretation through performance experimenting with language and movement while reaching for the sublime, the profane, and the outright ambiguous. The company asks audiences to plunge headfirst into the void between such polarities and then reorient themselves to the wonderful and difficult reality of being. It is their belief that such an act expands thought, deepens empathy, and reinvigorates one to life.

Meet the people behind the work

  • Sawyer Estes is a theatre director and playwright based in Atlanta. He co-founded the ensemble-based Vernal & Sere Theatre in 2016. Since then, Estes has served as the lead artistic vision for the company which has established itself as the foundational experimental theatre in the city with its ten productions in a span of eight years. Estes is unique in that he both writes and directs many of his original productions and adaptations. He is a conceptual director prone to abstraction, stylized movement, and imagery; however, he is also a playwright with a firm foundation in dramatic structure and dramaturgy. His work is distinguished by a particular blend of high style and grounded, naturalistic performance. This is best exemplified in his original adaptations of Anne Carson’s poem The Glass Essay, Luis Buñuel’s film The Exterminating Angel, and Alfred Jarry’s absurdist classic Ubu Roi. His original play, Hurricane Season, which he both wrote and directed, will receive its off-Broadway premiere this summer at Theatre Row. Sawyer holds a BFA in playwriting and dramaturgy from the University of Houston where he was mentored by Edward Albee.

  • Erin Boswell is a movement specialist, teaching artist, actor, and theatre-maker originally from Cleveland, Ohio. After completing the Meisner Studio program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, she moved to Atlanta where she co-founded Vernal & Sere Theatre. Since then, Erin has collaborated on all of the company's productions, contributing her skills as a movement director to building the physical dramaturgy and stylization of the productions — hallmarks of the company’s work. In addition to her work as a movement specialist and acting coach, Erin is the Head of Education for Vernal & Sere's training program, where she develops curriculum to bring numerous movement and devising methods to artists and practitioners in the southeast. You can learn more about Erin's work at erinboswellmovement.com

  • Kathrine Barnes is an actor, former dancer, producer, and VST co-founder who specializes in movement & physicality both onstage and onscreen. A native of Rhode Island, she is best known for her unhinged stage performances with VST (only 3 of which have been human) and various episodic recurring guest roles (more, but not all, humans). TV: “Average Joe”; “Queer as Folk”; “Candy.” Recent film: Faceless After Dark; Walden; Adult Swim Yule Log; Moonshot; The Glorias. Kathrine is obsessed with cannoli and her dog Elton, and hopes to die onstage at age 125.

  • Erin O’Connor is a producer, director & teaching artist with Vernal & Sere Theatre. After graduating from Fort Lewis College in Colorado, she knew she wanted to move to Atlanta to find the most innovative theatre-makers —and she did. She began her physical theatre training alongside Felicia Lansbury Meyer studying the Michael Lugering Method and with Kary Margolis in the Margolis Brown Method. For the past 8 years, she has been learning and growing with her fellow company members as they push themselves to make sharper work year after year. 

  • Lindsey Sharpless is a Georgia native who graduated with a BA in Theatre with a focus in Stage Management and Lighting Design. After graduating, Linsey worked professionally as a stage manager until 2016 when she co-founded Vernal & Sere Theatre, where she is now a producer, lighting designer, and performer. Lindsey's designs are known for their dynamic ability to convey a story with truth, depth, and clarity.

  • Kate Schnabel-Jones is originally from the mountains of North Carolina and joined Vernal & Sere as a producer in 2020. Playing a vital role in VST’s transition from fiscal sponsorship to non-profit status, Kate is dedicated to the art of making theater happen. Now serving as the General Manager at PlayMakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill, NC, Kate seamlessly integrates her passion for organizational sustainability with her commitment to providing artists with platforms to thrive. Despite being located outside of Atlanta, Kate maintains strong ties to the art community, facilitating collaboration from a distance.