From September to November 2025, I had the pleasure of being part of “Wenn nicht hier, wo dann?”, a theatre production at Varieté et cetera in Bochum, Germany.
For almost two months, the theatre became a little world of its own — a place where artists from very different disciplines came together to create one show. Acrobatics, music, comedy, beatbox, juggling, trapeze and sand art met on the same stage, each bringing its own artistic language and character to the production.
For me, this project was particularly special because sand art became part of the dramaturgy of the entire evening. I appeared at three different moments throughout the show: opening the performance, presenting my own ten-minute sand art act, and returning for the finale to bring the evening to a close.
From the very first image to the final scene, sand art became a visual thread running through the entire show.
Stories of Bochum Told in Sand
Sand art became a recurring visual language throughout “Wenn nicht hier, wo dann?”, appearing at the beginning, in the heart of the programme and once again in the finale.
The story was deeply connected to Bochum and the Ruhr region — a place shaped by its industrial past, hard work, strong character and a very distinctive sense of identity. Through sand, I created images, faces and emotions inspired by this world, continuously transforming one scene into the next as the story unfolded.
The opening was accompanied by “Tief im Westen”, the famous musical declaration of love to Bochum. Sand, music and rhythm gradually came together, before the rest of the cast joined the stage and the performance grew into the opening of the entire show.
Later, sand art returned in my own ten-minute performance. And in the finale, it became a reflection of the evening itself. I recreated the artists and acts the audience had just experienced on stage, allowing moments from the show to emerge once more in sand, disappear and transform into the next.
The final image carried a simple message:
“Always welcome to et cetera.”
What made this production so special to me was the way sand art became part of the show’s own language. It introduced the world of Bochum, returned to tell its own story, and in the finale brought the evening’s artists and performances together once more. The same sand that opened the show was also there to bring it to a close.
Sammy is not only an incredibly talented director, but also a wonderful person, and someone I deeply respect both personally and professionally. What I particularly admire about his work is his ability to find an original idea and build an entire world around it. He doesn’t simply put individual acts together — he creates a concept, finds connections between completely different artists and disciplines, and gives the whole production its own character.
He has a very distinctive creative style. There is always an idea behind what happens on stage — a certain rhythm, an unexpected transition, a detail that connects one moment to another. He knows how to see possibilities in an artist’s work and place them into a larger theatrical story without taking away their individuality.
For “Wenn nicht hier, wo dann?”, Sammy developed the concept and directed the production, bringing together very different forms of performance into one theatrical world. For me, it was especially exciting to explore with him how sand art could become more than an individual act — how it could return throughout the evening
Rhythm, Voice and Sand
The opening of the show was a true collaboration. My sand images were joined by the beatbox of Kevin O’Neal, whose rhythm added an entirely different energy to the visual story. Kevin is a multiple German Beatbox Champion, and hearing the sounds and rhythms he can create using only his voice and a microphone is an experience in itself.
Then came Helmut Sanftenschneider — the host of the evening, musician, comedian and guitarist, and a true Bochum personality. His music and vocals became another layer of the performance as the rest of the cast gradually joined us on stage.
Helmut also became part of my own ten-minute sand art act. Towards the end of the performance, he joined me with live vocals and guitar while I continued drawing in sand. There is something very special about moments like this: neither the music nor the image simply accompanies the other. They react to each other in real time, and every performance becomes slightly different.
This was one of the things I loved most about the production. We were all very different artists, working with completely different forms of expression, but on stage those differences became our strength. Image met rhythm, rhythm met voice, music met movement — and together they became part of one story.
Looking back at these photographs now, I remember not only the performances, but the people, the atmosphere and the feeling of those two months in Bochum.
I am deeply grateful to Silvia and Ronny Cabello, Jörg Richter and the entire Varieté et cetera family for creating this extraordinary place and for giving artists a stage where so many different forms of art can come together.
My heartfelt thanks also go to Sammy Tavalis, to the entire cast of “Wenn nicht hier, wo dann?”, and to everyone behind the scenes — the technical team, production, office, service and all those whose work made every performance possible.
A theatre production is never created by the people standing in the spotlight alone. Behind every moment on stage are many hands, ideas, hours of work, trust and care.
Thank you for these wonderful two months, for the creativity, the laughter, the shared stage and all the memories that remained after the final curtain.
Some projects stay with you long after the stage lights go out. This is certainly one of them.