LISA LAURENT

THE WIZARD IS NOT REAL

the wizard is not real is a poetic and grotesque journey through sadness and absurdity, an attempt to move through sorrow without freezing it. Soberly equipped with a microphone and a table, lisa laurent cries. What emerges is not a catharsis, but a raw landscape where emotion becomes sound, gesture, and rhythm.

The performance unfolds like a failed symphony of sighs and silences, where fragility becomes a space for both humour and beauty. Through burlesque gestures and futile attempts at normality, lisa laurent exposes the tension between collapse and control, despair and lucidity.

the wizard is not real does not seek resolution. Instead, it lingers in the cracks - transforming discomfort and emotional overflow into fleeting moments of clarity, acceptance, and a more tender relationship with our limits.

CREDITS

concept & performance
Lisa Laurent

Dramaturgy
Baptiste Cazaux

Crying coach
Piera Bellato

Styling research
Elie Autin

Sound
Gaspard Perdrisat

Artistic support
Thibault Lac

Music research
Nelly Schaub

Lights
Sélim Dir Melaïzi

Editorial support
Pauline Coquart

Production
Yamina Pilli oh la la performing art

Co-producers
Théâtre de L’Usine
Théâtre Sévelin36

Support
Loterie Romande Ernst Goehner Hans

Acknowledgements
Mom, Dad, Johan, Nicolas, Antoine Weil, Aude Martino, Mayotte De Saulieu, Giulia Essyad, Morgan Carlier, Pierre Piton, Lucia Gugerli, Gabriella Imrichova, Isabel Lewis, Rares Donca, La Ribot, Trixie & Katya

For Anne <3

lisa is an artist based in Geneva (CH).

Her work explores the representation of lisa’s own body through a lens of reflexivity and self-derision. with a particular interest in the tension between control and exposure, lisa engages in a continual dismantling of form – physical, emotional, and spatial. the performances present porous situations that question perception, heighten sensorial experience, and encourage deeper awareness and connection through acute emotion and vulnerability.

in parallel with her choreographic practice, lisa has worked with Cindy Van Acker and was a member of La Ribot Ensemble, where she took part in both new creations and the repertoire of the artist. lisa also works as a dramaturge and external eye for artists in the performing and visual arts, collaborating with Baptiste Cazaux, Thibault Lac, Giulia Essyad, Pauline Coquart, and Antoine Weil.

in 2025, lisa won the Swiss Performance Art Award for her piece the wizard is not real.


www.lisalaurent.com