After I Left / After I Stayed
an unusual opening ceremony

What makes a young teacher or a professional who has spent decades in the field say goodbye to teaching? And what motivates those who continue in the present circumstances?
Can we imagine a world in which instead of dealing with the tons of daily problems, deficits, conscience, public pressure, we can focus on a better education? What would it take and who would create it?

In the different spaces of a school in Budapest, we meet teachers who have left and stayed in their careers, and their varied stories. We hear stories from urban and rural life – from primary school to vocational training to elite high schools in the capital – all of which are personal and relatable mosaics of a systemic problem. We then attend an extraordinary graduation ceremony set in a fictional setting that takes an unexpected turn.

The documentary performance of STEREO AKT does not seek to take a position on the question of whether to go or stay, but invites us to reflect together on the basis of personal experiences: it explores different strategies of survival and possibilities of resistance. We see, know and feel what divides us. But what do we have in common? How to remain free and self-identified in a centralised and oppressive (educational) system? And how can we build what is most important: our own future?

Participating former and current teachers:

Béni András, Horváth András, Illés-Gurubi Réka,Keresztény Dorka, Tóthné Őry Katinka, Pokrócz Enikő, Szilágyi Kitty, Szűcs Gábor, Varga Sándor, Weszely Kinga,
and Szalontay Tünde

Creators:

Dramaturgue: Bíró Bence
Theatre education specialist: Csernai Mihály, Török Tímea
consultant: Kovács Éva, Sikoparija Lujza
Technical support: Kiefer Tibor
Production leader: Lajkó-Balogh Zsuzsanna
Producer: Mayer Dániel

Artistic Director: Boross Martin