Ksenia Shvets
City – Pryluky (Ukraine)
Language – Ukrainian
Genre – stand-up, improvisation
Becoming an artist
Ksenia Shvets is a Ukrainian stand-up comedian, resident of the “Underground Stand-up”, theater director. Ksenia was born in the city of Pryluky in the Chernihiv region. Since childhood, the girl was attracted to the stage. At first, the future star developed her talent while studying at a music school. Later, like many of her peers, Ksenia joined the local theater studio. It was then that her first passion for creativity and the bright revelation of the girl’s natural charisma took place.
In the graduating class, friends repeatedly told Ksenia that she should become a director. However, at that time it seemed too difficult and too responsible. At first, Shvets tried to enter the acting faculty, but it didn’t work out. However, fate had its own way – Ksenia did enter the Karpenko-Kary KNUTKiT. But for directing. The theater, to which she had given her heart since childhood, eventually became a profession.
Working in the theater
Ksenia’s first play was staged back in 2015. It was a thesis work called “The Whisper of the Murderer”, created based on the works of Agatha Christie. The venue for the production was “Young Theater”. For the girl, it was a real success. After all, creative teams of this level rarely agree to interact with students. As the director herself admits, everything happened almost by accident. Ksenia simply went to the theater and asked about the possibility of cooperation. And – unexpectedly, she heard a positive answer.
Working on the play required complete immersion. First, it was necessary to prepare a sketch (a short fragment lasting up to 15 minutes), which was considered by the theater commission. Only after official approval was the production approved. In total, the preparation lasted about five months. But all the efforts were justified. The premiere screenings were sold out. And the performance was moved to a larger stage. The actors themselves asked to participate, and the audience left warm reviews.
According to the results of the theater competition "Factoral", Ksenia entered the top three best directors of the year. The artist received an award for the best debut. After that, Shvets felt all the benefits of popularity and recognition. The director began to be invited to groups of other theaters. Ksenia felt confident in her profession, actively moving along the artistic track.
In 2016, work in the theater continued. But for Ksenia, this was already a new and difficult stage: the girl's vision began to deteriorate rapidly. And in the summer of 2018, she finally lost her ability to see. As it turned out, the cause was an autoimmune disease that caused retinal detachment.
Stand-up
Ksenia's stand-up career began unexpectedly. The place where the idea to go into the comedy genre ripened cannot be called traditional either. It all started in a rehabilitation center for people with disabilities, where Shvets went to learn how to use a cane. One day, the deputy director approached her with a proposal to teach acting to her wards. The idea captivated Ksenia from the very first moment.
So the girl began working with people with mental disorders. The work was difficult, but very meaningful. According to Ksenia, the theater helped people with special needs feel important. And one day, stand-up comedians came to the center with a master class in improvisation. One of them heard Ksenia joking and suggested that she try her hand at stand-up. The professional director had heard similar ideas from friends more than once. But it was then – at a time when she was still looking for a new direction after losing her sight – that the invitation became fateful.
However, Ksenia did not go on stage with a stand-up concert right away, but approached the matter seriously. At first, she signed up for special courses. According to her, the preparation consisted of three hours of communication with jokes. In the end, Ksenia wrote her first monologue. She began performing with it at open microphones.
Her debut in humor took place in March 2024 as part of an event organized by the Underground Stand-Up, one of the most powerful stand-up clubs in the country. After that, Shvets spent six months developing her comic skills and went to perform at the Underground. Her goal was to become part of a popular comedy community with a huge army of fans. And in October of the same year, the girl was invited to become a resident of the Underground.
The artist's creative development
Despite her deep love for theater, Kseniya Shvets always felt that she would not be limited to this sphere and wanted to try her hand at the comedy industry. At the same time, Kseniya never suspected that stand-up would become the tool that would not only open a new stage and attract the attention of fans, but also help her to more deeply accept her own identity.
For Kseniya, stand-up has become, first of all, a form of therapy. The comic admits: it is one thing to reach self-acceptance on your own. And it is quite another when society is also able to see and hear you for who you are.
The main feature of Ksenia's humorous style is bright self-irony. The artist jokes about her own limitations, situations from her personal life - with openness.ty and ease. Thanks to this, the viewer always empathizes and feels sincerity. The topics for Ksenia's jokes are diverse:
- dreams and walks;
- climbing Hoverla;
- peculiarities of life and socialization of the blind;
- life situations, relationships and much more.
In addition to performances on the stage of the club "Underground Stand-Up", Ksenia Shvets conquers humor fans by participating in entertaining podcasts, the show "Make the Comedian Laugh" and other comedy projects.
