Wakka Wakka Productions

Guest Artist

Since 2001, Gwendolyn Warnock, Kirjan Waage and Gabriel Brechner have led Wakka Wakka Productions, an award winning theatre company based in New York City.  They have created and produced six original works of theatre.  Wakka Wakka creates innovative visual theatre, overlapping in a wide range of styles, incorporating elements such as object movement, puppetry and masks.

In 2007, Wakka Wakka Productions was invited to the National Theatre of Norway to perform their critically acclaimed work The Death of Little Ibsen in celebration of the 100 year anniversary of the poet and playwright Henrik Ibsen's death.

In 2008, Wakka Wakka was in residence above the artic circle with Nordland Visual Theatre where they created their latest production, Fabrik: The Legend of M. Rabinowitz (2008 Drama Desk Award Nomination, 2008 Unima Citation of Excellence, 2008 Henry Hewes Award Nomination for Puppet Design)

Wakka Wakka has toured with their productions throughout the US and abroad.

Gwendolyn Warnock long before she founded Wakka Wakka Productions, graduated from Northwestern University, (Performance Studies) and from the two year program at Ecole Internationale de Theatre Jacques Lecoq in Paris. She was seen in Mary Zimmerman’s production of The Magic Flute, and in Street Signs production of the Perjured City by Helene Cixous. She also trained on the trapeze at the San Francisco School of Circus Arts and the Actors Gymnasium in Chicago. She has used her aerial skills in several productions including Romeo and Juliet, directed by Daniel Kramer, as Juliet (London, Beirut) and in Acts of Love as Salman Rushdie, which she adapted and directed. She also starred in the short film The Birdman directed by Italian filmmaker Raffaele Passerini. Gwendolyn has created, performed in, designed costumes and written original music for all of Wakka Wakka Productions past works.

Kirjan Waage was born in Haugesund, Norway. He graduated from the University of Bologna, Italy where he studied puppet theatre under Professor Remo Melloni and received a diploma from University of Bologna’s Theatre School CIMES. He then moved to Paris to complete the two year program and the Laboratory of Experimental Movement (LEM) at Ecole Internationale de Theatre Jacques Lecoq. While in Paris, he launched his own series of stuffed animals called Aminols, later leading into the creation of a series of puppets. Kirjan toured Ireland and France with the French Theatre Company La Filante in 2000.   In 2001 he joined The Shakespeare Players along with fellow Wakka Wakka members to play Friar Laurence in Romeo and Juliet. The production played in London and Lebanon at the Al Bustan Arts Festival. Kirjan has created, performed in, designed and constructed the puppets for all of Wakka Wakka Productions past works. Kirjan is also a published cartoonist with Jippi Comics, and recently launched his first comic book entitled "Kjaele".

Gabrielle Brechner is a native New Yorker who was literally raised in a theatre, where she spent the first 18 years of her life working every post in the Off-Off Broadway establishment. In 1998 Ms. Brechner graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.F.A. in Theatre Performance and a B.A. in English Literature.  A sometimes dramaturg and former actress, she has studied at Circle in the Square Theatre, NYC and the Chautauqua Institution.  As a producer, her credits span over 1500 live concert events, theatre and film, including concerts by artists ranging from Aretha Franklin to Peter Frampton to Mos Def, the 2008 NYC run of Stitching at the Wild Project (Associate Producer) and the short film Taken to the Lowlands (Executive Producer).  Gabrielle was a 2007-9 fellow in the Six Points Fellowship for Emerging Jewish Artists.  Gabrielle has helped to create, produce and run the technical aspects for all of Wakka Wakka Productions’ past works and is the lead producer for the company.