A Love Letter to Bartenders

A bar in a gallery. Photo: Denis Ghisalberti 

A love letter to bartenders, this artistic research investigates the role of a bartender and the importance of neighborhood bars. It results in two performative actions: a thesis, video interviews, and the creation of "The Last Drop Bitters."

The “A Bar in a Gallery” exhibition at Np3 Research Gallery was a five-day interactive installation exploring the phenomenon of the white box gallery and reclaiming bartending as an art form. Heavily inspired by Allan Kaprow’s ‘Happenings,’ this project aims to elevate bartending into an art form. It broke away from the traditional confines of the hospitality industry, presenting bartending as a human-centered practice that thrives on genuine connections and personal stories. The goal was to facilitate a space for conversations in an artistic setting, making art more approachable. It was an experiment to see how the bar phenomenon changes in an artistic setting and context.

“A Bar on Stage” was a continuation and adaptation of this project, refocusing on individual encounters. This six-day installation-performance, set in a bar, invited the audience to engage in staged yet authentic conversations, highlighting the bartender as a human. Each personalized drink featured a special ingredient: a drop of The Last Drop Bitters, distilled from the tears of bartenders. A combination of theater elements, cocktail bar skills, storytelling, personal involvement, and connection.

A Bar in a Gallery. Photo: Denis Ghisalberti 

Sasha Schewelew's thesis, "A Love Letter to Bartenders," explores the parallels between her 

work as a bartender and being an artist on stage. It excellently and originally demonstrates how these two roles are deeply intertwined in her life. For Sasha, life is art, and art is life. Sharing her personal story and growth is refreshing and empowering.

By sharing her own and others' moving stories through her setup and performance-like installation, Sasha navigates a field marked by fragility, a balance of power relations, and precarity. This is not an easy field; thus, it's crucial to always ensure that her actual goals and intentions align with what she conveys to her audience. If they do, she is set to achieve great things. I look forward to seeing more of Sasha's work in the future

• Nicky Assmann

A Bar on stage. Photo: Isabela Manea 

A Bar on stage.

Misaki 404

An immersive VR experience, exploring live theatre, cinematography, cyberspace and the role of an online spectator. Travel to a sci-fi future inspired by the present.

In the year 2048 a tragedy hit the human race, forcing everybody to isolate themselves in their homes. Physical human interaction is not possible any more. Remembering times before that, John, a self-taught scientist/hacker, decides to use modern bioprinting technology to print an actual human being. While he advertises his project to the online community as an inevitable step in human development, the girl he created becomes increasingly unhappy with her situation.

Simultaneously, John is hiding from the agency, who wants to steal his codes. Little does he know that the agency has been watching him all this time.

Misaki 404 was made possible by Grand4, Grand Theatre's development space, to explore the boundaries of live and digital performing arts. Work with online theatre and experimental technical applications, looking for new theatre experiences. I started this project with Ana Bob, a filmmaker and cinematographer. Together we wanted to explore how our disciplines can blend together. The final result took place in three different spaces. The live film set, the theatre stage with our live audience and the meta space where all elements came together.

Concept and execution Sasha Schewelew

Directing Sasha Schewelew

Creative Producer Sasha Schewelew

Cinematography Ana Bob

3D design Erick Schoonbeek, Pan Vanitcharoenthum

Writing Maciej Tyrakowski

Script Editor Laura Green

Music Elena Kostova

VR game development Happy Ship

Cast Ana Bob, Maciej Tyrakowski

With the support of: Els van Raaij, Michael Alexsandrovsky, Andre Pronk, Minerva art academy and Grand4

Premiered: 14.07.2022 at Grand Theatre

NO EXIT

NO EXIT attempted to challenge traditional ideas of theatre and find a new way to continue creating during COVID-19, pushing the boundaries of live-streamed theatre at the time. With actors, technicians, directors, and light designers all confined to different locations, we attempted to produce a play without ever meeting in person. How can theatre exist in an online space? We experimented with live-streaming, two-dimensional scenography, and mise-en-scène, using graphic design and video art techniques. These elements were live-manipulated and combined with an ongoing Zoom call by a VJ, then streamed to the audience. We explored new ways and combinations to create live-stream theatre specifically designed for the digital realm.

Three strangers are forced to confront each other, themselves, and their past in this modern adaptation of Jean-Paul Sartre's “No Exit.” They are isolated in their rooms yet compelled to interact through a screen that never turns off. Can they come to terms with their confinement and learn from their past?

Watching and being watched is our digital reality. One could argue it’s a purgatory in itself.

Directing Sasha Schewelew

Production Sasha Schewelew

VJ Erik Schoonbeek

Video art Sasha Schewelw

Cast Julia Mösch, Maciej Tyrakowski , Michael Alexandrovsky, Sasha Schewelew

Premiered: 11.05.2020 on Twitch

Hannah / Invisible I.

On the border between slightly dusty stand-up and quiet metaphorical images, a story is told about finding one's own place in the world, a story about the unceasing energy of a woman who involuntarily became the heroine of an ancient tragedy, but still did not give up.

In a dialogue with dancer Markéta Jandová, sound designer Martin Tvrdý and director Miřenka Čechová, Hana Frejková delves into childhood memories, involuntary exclusivity, and comments wittily on the position of an aging woman - an artist, to whom theater brings one of the important meanings of life.

The Invisible trilogy, of which Hannah is the first part, deals with the stories of women artists who at a certain moment cease to be seen, are doomed to disappear, disappear from the spotlight and become invisible, whether it is due to age, the unexpected end of a career, political events or motherhood.

translated with ChatGPT from tantehorse.cz/

Text Hana Frejková, Miřenka Čechová

Starring Hana Frejková, Markéta Jandová

Director Miřenka Čechová

Music Martin Tvrdý

Scenography Sasha Schewelew

Lighting design Jiří Šmirk

Production Jakub Urban

The performance was co-produced with the Akropolis Palace and supported by the capital city of Prague, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the State Cultural Fund of the Czech Republic

Premiered: 7 September 2020 at Acropolis Palace

MOMO

A production by Theater Incognito. Featuring actors and team members of the Strassentauben Collective. Based on Michael Ende. Adapted by Canan Venzky.

Momo listens to everyone, especially her friends Gigi and Beppo. But eventually, there's no one left for her to listen to. Gray gentlemen gradually take over, ruthlessly driving joy out of the world. Michael Ende's timeless classic is full of themes that have not lost their relevance. Yet, some questions can be further explored. How right is Momo's course of action? How truly evil are the gray gentlemen? And what does it really mean to "save time"? When these questions are closely examined, one realizes that Momo might not be just a children's story after all. Some topics are not easy to handle. Do you have time for it...?

translated with ChatGPT from: strassentauben.de

Direction Canan Venzky

Stage/Lighting & Video Sasha Schewelew

Musical Direction Pablo Schröder

Public Relations Andreas Scharfenort

Dramaturgy Dustin Lange

Animation and Video Erik Schoonbeek

Musician Pablo Schröder

Cast: Amelie Maresté, Linus Wirth, Walter Heidtmann, Nora Gambihler, Jule Urban, Gian-Luca Kemper, Sasha Schewelew, Maciej Tyrakowski

taz (...) "Save time and optimize yourselves," with this bitter summary of the first monologue, the audience is drawn into the hour-and-a-half piece under the direction of Canan Venzky. "Momo" is the famous story by Michael Ende about a young girl and her naively carefree friends who inadvertently become an acute threat to the "Gray Gentlemen," those emotionless time-vampires who eerily remind us that a capitalist can be just as interested in our time as in our money, because: "Time is Money." The opening words of the "Gray Gentleman" lie over the entire play like a cold veil, creating a tension that almost feels like a crime thriller. This tension is primarily carried by Maciej Tyrakowski, who portrays the manipulative time thief in a business consultant look with impressive presence. Momo, played by Amelie Maresté, provides the counterpoint to the time shark as a harmony-seeking and childishly naive character, adding a touch of fairy tale with a clear division of good and evil. (...)

(Sophie Lahusen, taz, 14.01.2020 )

Weser Kurier (...) The artist collective Straßentauben celebrated its first own premiere with the play "Momo" in the theater hall of the University of Bremen last weekend. Except for ten tickets, the performance on Saturday evening, the day of the premiere, was sold out. On Sunday evening, the theater hall filled with around 40 spectators. With "Momo," the group of young artists dedicates itself to the children's classic by Michael Ende from 1973, presenting it not only through acting performances but also multimedia with original music and short film sequences. (...)

(Chantal Moll, Weser Kurier, 15.01.2020 )

translated with ChatGPT

The Elephant in the Room

Elephant in the Room is my position paper for my final year of my bachelor's degree. It is a theatre piece created with a 360 camera, set on the stage of an absurd late-night show. The special guest is a stuffed elephant toy. The show is interrupted by an anonymous hacker who is clearly a Grotowski fanatic, warning the audience to stop watching this hybrid spectacle—a conglomerate without backbone or integrity that presents itself as an organic artwork.

The piece showcases my research into various theatre theorists and the cult-like mentality theatre can adopt. It documents the process of producing a site-specific performance in a foreign country, with the pandemic interfering. It is a self-reflective piece about my time in theatre and a dialogue/negotiation with myself.

Text Sasha Schewelew

Directing Sasha Schewelew

Stage design Sasha Schewelew

Video/Projections Sasha Schewelew

Lights and sound Ana Bob

Music Erik Schoonbeek

Cast Sasha Schewelew, Ana Bob

Showcased: 13.05.2021 at Grand Theater

What’s Up with the Ranevskis?

What’s Up with the Ranevskis? is a multimedia play inspired by Chekhov’s classic play ‘‘The Cherry Orchard”. This project examines the different layers of reality TV and how they affect our perception of the people in them. It merges theatre and reality TV format videos to tell the story of the Ranevski family, who rose to fame with their own reality TV show. They are accustomed to a life of luxury, but now the family has fallen upon hard times. They aren’t doing well financially, and the ratings of their show are declining. As relationships within the family become strained, they try to maintain the appearance of luxury and happiness. What’s Up with the Ranevskis? explores the tension between the family’s real emotions and the way they are portrayed on television.

It's easy to get lost in realities when you exist in multiple.

Text Sasha Schewelew, Els van Raaij

Directing Sasha Schewelew

Production Sasha Schewelew

Dramaturgy Sasha Schewelew, Els van Raaij

Stage design Elena Popova, Nadejda Trifonova

Videography Nina Wasyluk, Erik Schoonbeek, Ana Bob

Light design Cerian Mason

Cast Els van Raaij, Johan Stapert, Jans Jelijs, Ana Bob, Famkje Elgersma, Michael Alexandrovsky

Premiered: 26.06.2029 at Grand Theatre

Festival: Kultur on tour 04.01.2019 at Theater Bremen