Kristóf Kelemen: Unfamiliar realities
A clearly defined structure is crucial when, as creators, we venture into unknown realities beyond our own social and geographic bubbles—guided by curiosity and mutual exchange.
As a case study, I will present the framework of my recent documentary theater project, DRIVE, which was created in collaboration with Tímea Török and Teresa Lucia Rosenkrantz. The project explores German automobile factories in Hungary from the perspective of their employees and labor unions.
The workshop is based on small-group discussions and will guide participants through the process of creating their own project, which will focus on the question: What role does work play in contemporary society? Together, we will not only plan a project but also explore how artists can go beyond merely depicting reality and actively help shape it.
Requirement: bring a document that is in some way related to your personal relationship to work.
Studio of ARCHA+, Zlatnická 1129/8, 110 00 New Town
English
180 minutes with break
A theater director, playwright, dramaturg, and performer based in Budapest and Munich. He creates research-based projects with a documentary approach and employs various forms of collaboration. His main artistic interests include forms of activism, collective memory, and society’s unspoken past, the visibility of the working class, and the analysis of contemporary political rhetoric, particularly right-wing populism and Christian fundamentalism.
He studied theater dramaturgy at the University of Theater and Film Arts in Budapest. For several years, he worked as a dramaturg at the Radnóti Theater while also directing his own projects on the independent scene (Hungarian Acacia, Observers, Necromancy, Some Viewers May Find This Distracting) and in municipal theaters (The Savage Detectives, The Widow of the Nation). At the same time, he completed his doctoral studies. For the past two years, he has been teaching playwriting and dramaturgy at the University of Pécs.
His productions have been presented at numerous international festivals, such as Fast Forward, Spielart, and Theaterfestival Basel, as well as at venues including Mousonturm, Bozar, Kaserne Basel, Hellerau, and the Akademie der Künste in Berlin.
In 2026, he created the production DRIVE together with Tímea Török and Teresa Lucia Rosenkrantz as part of a German-Hungarian co-production by Jurányi House in Budapest, HochX in Munich, and Lichthof Theater in Hamburg, supported by the Goethe-Institut’s International Co-Production Fund.
Website: https://kristofkelemen.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristof___kelemen/
