Searching Muse — Theatre Dinners
Searching Muse is a young project that started in June of last year and brings together cuisine and theater. The project hosts theatrical dinners.
At these dinners, guests are introduced to literary works that are currently being staged in Moscow and enjoy dishes inspired by those texts. All recipes are adapted for healthy eating by a chef-nutritionist, so the meals are free from lactose, gluten, and sugar.
Each month is centered around a specific playwright or theme.
Over the course of its first year, the project’s dinners explored the works of Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Bulgakov, Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov, Nikolai Gogol, Fyodor Dostoevsky, William Shakespeare, Alexander Ostrovsky, Carlo Gozzi, and Carlo Goldoni.
In addition, some dinners were dedicated to broader themes such as love in Russian novels, mysticism and money, and women and theater.
Telegram Channel Searching Muse
Project goal: To create a cultural leisure format in Moscow that combines theatrical art and culinary experience for people who care about their health and seek new cultural impressions.
During the dinners, guests enjoy dishes from literary works, adapted for healthy eating.
Target Audience: Gender: Primarily women (although men are also welcome) Age: 20–45 years Marital Status: Single, in a relationship, or married — possibly with one or two children Profession: Intellectuals and creatives, including entrepreneurs and business owners Education: Higher or incomplete higher education Income: Starting from 70,000 rubles per month
Psychographics: Emotionally engaged, active, and creative individuals who seek self-expression and lead a healthy lifestyle. They are culturally curious, enjoy trying new things, and value personal growth, self-realization, health, and fitness. They regularly attend cultural events, visit cafés, and stay physically active.
Pain Points: Digestive issues, sugar cravings combined with dietary restrictions, high calorie content of familiar dishes, gluten and lactose intolerance, and a lack of like-minded people for cultural leisure activities.
Program and Schedule of Theatrical Dinners: 20:00 — 20:20 — Guest introductions and welcome, presentation of the dishes
20:20 — 22:00 — Lecture and discussion of the literary works and their stage adaptations currently playing in Moscow
During the lecture, guests learn about the history of the featured literary work, its historical context, key characters and their real-life prototypes, the first stage and film adaptations, as well as current theatrical productions in Moscow.
Expansion and Product Development: In April of this year, the project’s desserts were showcased at the trendy «Zavodskoy Market» in Moscow, held at the Design Factory. Visitors had the chance to sample the most popular desserts from the theatrical dinners.
Currently, the team is developing a new line of functional desserts free from lactose, gluten, and sugar, enriched with probiotics and micronutrients.
Team of the project
Project Author and Lecturer: Maria Muzalevskaia — theater critic, speaker on the TV program «The Glass Bead Game», student of the Theatre Studies Faculty at GITIS (Russian Institute of Theatre Arts), and the first Editor-in-Chief of Theater Magazine. Nutri-Chef:
Olena Panchuk — health coach, nutritionist, and author of workshops on balanced nutrition for both children and adults.
This year, the project was shortlisted for the HSE CREATIVE OPEN competition in the nomination Curatorial Project.
Contacts: email: muzalewskaya.maria@gmail.com Telegram: @muzalewskaya_maria
