Auto

The automobile is more than a means of transportation. It is one of society's most prevalent status symbols. As the epitome of mobility, it symbolizes freedom and speed. As much as the automobile is emotionally charged, it is also a highly complex, technical product. The eroticism, evoked by its coating of paint, is the result of serialized manufacturing processes. A symbol of endless freedom, produced by the time constraints of the assembly line.
Tempo and transit - Ford and Taylor. The automobile is the motor behind industrial progress and the spearhead of technical rationalization. One out of every seven employees in Germany works in the car industry. Consequently reports of halted assembly lines are taken as an indicator of Germany's worsening economic crisis. If Germany suffers, so does its car industry, and vice versa.
The project "Auto" examined the relationship between car manufacturing and the consumer. How much labour is necessary to manufacture a dream car? And how much work do we - as consumers - have to do to purchase and maintain such a car? "Auto" was a theatre performance that combined both simulation and production. Working by the clock, the audience could serially develop their own dream cars. The HAU has been converted into an assembly line and production site for a new brand of automobile.

With: Caroline Peters, Jana Supka, Arnd Klawitter and others
Director: Gesine Danckwart
Stage design: Doris Dziersk
Costume: Nadine Grellinger
Video: Victor Morales
Dramaturge / Producer: Julia Schreiner

Venues and schedule:
Theater Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin: 7 - 12 Jan. 2009