GENDER IS A MAGIC TRICK I FORGOT HOW TO PERFORM

“Secrets and lies, appearances and disappearances, trickery and deceit – why do these words have a strangely intimate affinity with my gender? Maybe because I used to be a wizard? Or because I do magic in a transphobic society?” So-called sawed-up and bearded women together in “freak shows” and “human zoos” – the contexts and aesthetics of magic have always been problematic and still are. In her solo performance, Jeanne Eschert does not hide the techniques she learned as a magician. She seeks to resolve the “You tricked me!” accusation so that the experiences of magic can be told. In a world that unmasks where there is nothing to unmask, the binary of truth and deception blurs in “gender is a magic trick i forgot how to perform”. Concept and performance: Jeanne Jens Eschert Dramaturgy: Eva Königshofen Costume and choreography: René Alejandro Huari Mateus Stage design: Clara Reiner Magic box construction: Till Korfhage A production by Jeanne J. Eschert in cooperation with Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm and Frankfurt LAB. Supported by the Kulturamt Frankfurt am Main, the Hessian Ministry of Science and the Arts, the Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media within the framework of NEUSTART KULTUR and the Frankfurt LAB – Emerging Artists Program, with the kind support of the Crespo Foundation, the Adolf und Luisa Haeuser-Stiftung für Kunst und Kulturpflege, the Stiftung Polytechnische Gesellschaft Frankfurt am Main and the BHF BANK Stiftung. Made possible by the HTA postgraduate funding “Artistic Research” (2022) – a funding project of the Frankfurt LAB for alumni of the Hessische Theaterakademie, supported by the Hessian Ministry of Science and the Arts. Many thanks to the Kinder- und Jugendcircus Linoluckynelli from Lino-Club e.V.