Performance / Concert
Alex Franz Zehetbauer transforms the format of the classical concert of vocalist at the piano, presenting an experimental performative approach that frees itself from the codes of the recital. Traversing different moods and registers, from poetic lullaby to folk song to pop rendition, »An Evening with« investigates the multiple roles of songs and their cultural impacts. In this performance, from which emanates an enchantment that sometimes slips into the absurd, he creates a closeness at once strange and familiar, stretching the song into various choreographic postures.
Alex Franz Zehetbauer (*1990 in Brooklyn) is a performance artist and vocalist currently based in Vienna. Critics have called him: an angel, a swamp monster, and a red-eyed demon. He studied vocal performance, choreography, acting and composition at the Experimental Theater Wing at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and the International Theater Workshop in Amsterdam. Alex has collaborated with artists such as Phillip Gehmacher, Jen Rosenblit, Taylor Mac, and Marta Navaridas. He has been awarded the BKA Startstipendium für Musik und Darstellende Kunst (2018) and the danceWEB Scholarship (2019). Recent performances include: Gessnerallee Zürich, Switzerland (2024); Les Urbaines, Lausanne, Switzerland (2023); Wien Modern / brut Nordwest, Vienna, Austria (2023); The Brick Theater, Brooklyn, NY (2023); fjk3 – Contemporary Art Space, Vienna, Austria (2023); FFT Düsseldorf, Germany (2023); Theater aan Zee, Oostende, Belgium (2022); La Strada Graz, Austria (2022); Šiauliai Art Gallery, Lithuania (2021) among others.
alexfranzzehetbauer.com
Instagram @afranzz ↗
Concept, songs, and performance: Alex Franz Zehetbauer
Text collaboration: Jen Rosenblit, Dez Miller
Dramaturgical advice: Jen Rosenblit
Outside ear & recording: Christian Schröder
Performance doula: Claire Lefèvre
Piano coaching: Han-Gyeol Lie
Lighting design: Joe Albrecht
Outside eye: Liv Schellander
Documentation: Ipek Hamzaoglu
Production management: mollusca productions
A co-production by Verein Wilhelmina and brut Wien/FREISCHWIMMEN Network in collaboration with Wien Modern.
With the kind support of the City of Vienna’s Department of Cultural Affairs, FREISCHWIMMEN, die Produktionsplattform für Performance und Theater, represented by brut Wien, FFT Düsseldorf, Gessnerallee Zurich, HochX Theater und Live Art Munich, LOFFT – DAS THEATER Leipzig, Schwankhalle Bremen, SOPHIENSÆLE Berlin and Theater Rampe Stuttgart, managed by SOPHIENSÆLE GmbH. FREISCHWIMMEN is funded by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media via the „Verbindungen fördern“ programme of the Bundesverband Freie Darstellende Künste e.V. FREISCHWIMMEN is further supported by Pro Helvetia, Schweizer Kulturstiftung and the Canton of Zurich’s Department of Cultural Affairs, supported by German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, The Brick Theater, ACT OUT, a project of IG Freie Theaterarbeit, funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs, and Kunstraum Eindorf.