The performance collective notsopretty consists of Anna Júlia Amaral, Marcel Nascimento and Nina Weber. They got to know each other while studying the Master’s degree in Scenic Research (Szenische Forschung) at the Ruhr University Bochum and had already been working together in various constellations before notsopretty was officially created. For example, Anna Júlia and Nina advised Marcel on his solo performance MANSPLAINING (2018). Anna Júlia and Nina developed the performance #RACE in 2018 for the theatre festival Schwindelfrei in Mannheim. They share similar interests and the same artistic questions, but their individual approaches do differ, and this is one of notsopretty’s strenghts. The heart of their collaboration is the artistic exploration of self- representation and identity construction based on origin, gender and sexuality in both analogue and digital spaces.
What characterizes notsopretty is the mutual inspiration, the ability to endure frictions, the fun of working artistically and the joy of pop. The various experiences from choreographic works, video art, as well as stage and lecture performances are the basis of the group’s aesthetics. For notsopretty, the choice of aesthetic means must always interact with the subject matter of the productions. In doing so, they borrow from pop culture and use the material to explore different artistic formats as well as forms of mediation. Pop culture shapes our everyday lives as well as our experiences as a collective. Pop comprises a variety of artistic manifestations that dialogue with the consumer society without being mere entertainment. Pop culture does not only limit itself to the consumption of products, but also influences interpersonal relationships and the way people behave. The references are well known in the general society, but appreciated in different ways. We see artistic potential in this ambivalence. The multimedia performance DER COMPUTER NUMMER 3 (2019) was the first project to be produced by notsopretty. For this performance, all three members were on stage for the first time and simultaneously responsible for the artistic direction. The performance has already had several guest performances in North Rhine-Westphalia (including Ringlokschuppen Ruhr, Theater im Depot) and Lower Saxony (including TheaterWrede+ Oldenburg and Theater im Pavillon Hanover), as well as on the Internet as a live stream. The cooperation between notsopretty and the Ringlokschuppen Ruhr developed further in 2021, and the new co- produced work BOYBAND celebrated its premiere there on 19 November 2021. In this work, notsopretty deal, along with the performers Tim-Fabian Hoffmann, Lars Schmidt and David Martínez Morente, with masculinities and pop culture. The production is the result of the FRAGILE project, which was funded by the Fonds Darstellende Künste in the #TakeAction programme.
As from 2023, notsopretty will be supported by the conception funding from the Ministry of Culture and Science of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Anna Júlia Amaral is an actress, performer, workshop leader, production manager and content creator. She was born in Brazil, has lived in Bochum since 2014 and works between Brazil, Spain and Germany both alone and with other collectives and artists. From 2015 to 2018 she studied the Master's degree in Scenic Research (Szenische Forschung) at the Ruhr University Bochum and since then she has been working as a freelancer in the independent theatre scene in North Rhine-Westphalia. She also collaborates with several artists in Brazil and founded a platform for Brazilian artists living in Europe, called EXIT.BR. Since 2017 she has been part of the performance collective dorisdean She is constantly looking for interdisciplinary approaches to her work and for different ways of looking at and experiencing artistic creation. Since 2018 she is part of the performance collective notsopretty (www.notsopretty.de). Her interests include a perspective on the construction of identity, the body and Latin American decolonialisms in Europe. In 2019 she was part of the project vier.ruhr as content producer and social media manager. From June to September 2022 she worked in the press and social media department at the theatre festival FAVORITEN, and since July 2022 she has been working for RIGBY, a project by Theater Oberhausen, Kaufmann / Witt and the Ringlokschuppen Ruhr.
Instagram: @annajuliaamaralx
MIs performer, video artist and stage director. After previously living in Hesse and Mainz, he moved to Bochum in 2015 to study his Master's degree in Scenic Research (Szenische Forschung) at the Ruhr University in Bochum. There, he developed various artistic networks and was involved in different projects at Ringlokschuppen Ruhr (Mülheim a. d. Ruhr), PACT Zollverein (Essen), Urbane Künste Ruhr and Schauspielhaus Bochum, among others. This was followed in 2017 by an engagement as the responsible for the performance schedule for the Ruhr region version of Rimini Protokoll’s HAUSBESUCH EUROPA (2017). His artistic research interests focus on queer studies, sexuality, masculinities, body images and pop culture. Research on identity and the self are in the centre of his interest. Media and technical means as well as the relationship between spectators and performers are essential for him. In 2018 he premiered his first solo work MANSPLAINING , commissioned by WEST OFF 2018 - Theaternetzwerk Rheinland, in which he explored his own masculinity in the context of society. Marcel was awarded the Christoph Schlingensief Fellowship of the Master’s programme scenic research (Szenische Forschung) and the Kunststiftung NRW in 2022, in the framework of which he will work on the artistic examination of his own biography. In addition to his work with notsopretty and as a solo artist, he has been working regularly with the collective kgi - Büro für nicht übertragbare Angelegenheiten as a video designer and production assistant since early 2019. Apart from his work as an artist, Marcel is a freelance speaker in adult education on queer topics.
Website: www.marcel-n.de / Instagram: @marcel.n.here
Nina Weber is a performer, director, dramaturge and theatre pedagogue. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Pedagogy at the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and her Master’s degree in Scenic Research (Szenische Forschung) at the Ruhr University in Bochum. Since 2014 she has been working as a freelancer in various projects in North Rhine-Westphalia and in the Rhine-Neckar region. Her main areas of interest are the critical examination of social phenomena and identity constructions, with a strong focus on decolonisation, racism, privilege and critical whiteness. With her video work "wir werden rassistisch gewesen sein" (we will have been racist), she was a Young Fellow of the Academy of the Arts of the World in Cologne in 2016 and also screened it at the FFT Düsseldorf. In 2018, she and Anna Júlia Amaral developed the performance "#RACE" for the theatre festival Schwindelfrei in Mannheim. The performance discusses the relationship between own privileges and critical whiteness. She is also a passionate theatre practitioner for children and young people. She directs many different projects with children and young people, such as the youth group of the HELIOS Theatre Hamm in the framework of the international youth art project europefiction. Since 2020 she is working with Companie Mt Companie M as a director for professional theatre for young audiences. On several occasions she received a fellowship from the Next Generation Programme of both the national and international ASSITEJ. In addition to her work with notsopretty, she is also part of S. Rudat & das (i)dentityteam. n that group, she is primarily responsible for dramaturgy and production management. The first work "Definig (i)dentity" was a co-production with the FFT Düsseldorf and got invited to the theatre festival Favoriten 2020. 2020-2022, das (i)dentityteam was part of the freischwimmen network. In 2021, the second work "Shame you WHAT!?" celebrated its premiere at the Favoriten Festival 2022 and at the Freischwimmen meets Rodeo Festival Munich.
Amelie Werner (she/her) is dramaturg and production manager. She studied comparative literature and theatre studies in Bochum and is currently studying dramaturgy at the Theaterakademie Hamburg. She has done internships and assisted at the Deutsches Theater Göttingen, Schauspielhaus Bochum, Schauspiel Dortmund, K3 | Tanzplan auf Kampnagel and the Staatstheater Kassel. As a dramaturg, she accompanied productions at the Theaterakademie Hamburg, at the St. Pauli Theatre in Hamburg and in the independent theatre scene in Bochum. At the interface of art, science and mediation, she is particularly interested in the potential of community and solidary, resistant practices. For notsopretty, she works as the production manager.