Biennale College Teatro 2024

The Biennale Teatro intends to promote the call for Site-Specific Performances under 40 again in 2024, in order to give voice and visibility to those working in the theatrical scene, thus remaining faithful to its formative mission.

This is a call for an unpublished performance work outdoors, in Venetian "campi" - places of everyday life in the lagoon - that will be identified by the artistic direction.

In this need to construct a performative gesture in the social perimeters of everyday life, the theatrical fact will be placed in vital spaces, reviving the sense of collectivity that art must be able to bring to its citizens.

Given the great interest that performative authorship arouses today in the rest of the world, so profoundly connected with the Visual Arts, Music and Dance, La Biennale di Venezia believes it is important and necessary to invite international artists to confront themselves with a scenic writing, such as site-specific performative one, capable of narrating the instances of the Contemporary.

The call for projects is open to Italian and foreign performers (+18 and under 40 years of age). Those wishing to participate must not be older than 40 years of age on the closing date of the call (9 January 2024). The Call is open to performers proposing one of their own creations (in any language/no language) that has never premiered either in studio or full-length form. It is not possible to apply with a project already presented in previous editions of the Call.

The theme, in line with the concept of the 2024 event, will be BLACK/WHITE as:

Niger et Albus is the labyrinth, an inextricable path that takes us through the course of time. The ability to trace a path by following one's own instincts without relying on common sense, to avoid finding oneself, in the end, at the same starting point. Tired, deaf, satiated with bad food, not knowing why - and what - we were looking for.

Niger et Albus is the effort of the tear, the revolution, the dynamite straight back against the condescending cultural desert. Black, white, precise directions, without hesitation, without second thoughts. Labyrinth as purification, Niger et Albus is the expressive compass to recover the rise of a fiery, never lukewarm globe; a contrast, a duality that disrupts by dismantling false idols.

The number of people involved in the project (artistic and technical staff) may vary from 1 to a maximum of 4.

The performance must be suitable and conceived for daytime in an outdoor, "campo" setting, attended by both volunteer spectators and occasional passers-by, and may only involve the use of audio technique, costumes, and small props; the use of video projections is excluded.

Stage 1
An initial selection - based on the projects and materials submitted by the candidates – where Artistic Directors Stefano Ricci and Gianni Forte will select a limited number of artists (up to a maximum of 15) by the end of January 2024.

Stage 2
The selected artists will be met by the Artistic Direction in Venice (in the second half of February) to illustrate the tools, materials and dynamics of the creative process and to present a first study of the performance in scenic form, with a duration of no less than 15 and no more than 20 minutes.

The modalities of the performance will, in the event of selection, be the subject of analysis and fine-tuning with the Artistic Direction and the Biennale's production staff in order to identify points of crisis and adaptability.

At the sole discretion of the Directors, a maximum of two projects will be selected and considered winners.

Following notification of their admission, the two selected projects will be asked to pay the secretarial fees (€ 80.00 including VAT, non-refundable) exclusively by credit card. 

Participation in phase 2 is at the full expense of the participants.

Final stage
The two winning artistic projects will be defined and developed in all their aspects with the support of the Artistic Directors of the Theatre Sector who have selected and chosen them. They will guarantee their tutorship to arrive at the final realisation that will be presented in completed form directly site-specific in Venice in the 2024 edition of the Biennale Teatro. Rehearsals will take place in Venice starting 15 days before the debut.

The performances, lasting a maximum of 30/40 minutes, will become a city appointment during the Festival.

To this end, the Biennale di Venezia will provide:
· support and assistance for the setting up of the technical rider;
· coverage of production costs up to a maximum total amount of € 25,000 including the cachet of the people involved, travel and accommodation expenses, rehearsal space, costume making and/or rental costs, technical set-up costs, and any other expenses necessary for the realisation of the project.

The documents - which must be submitted by 9 January 2024 by means of an application form - consist of :

· curriculum vitae
· photo
· video of the performance of minimum 7 maximum 10 minutes. The video must show an extract of the unpublished performance submitted to the call and be a single sequence plan, not reworked with post-production editing
· any videos of previously performed performances
· artistic dossier of the project for Venice 2024 (minimum 4 pages) containing artistic/technical cast, concept, materials, images, technique, other)

In the case of co-creation – intended as a project by an artistic duo or collective of artists – each member from the group must fill out the application form with their personal details and CV, but the same artistic dossier of the project and videos.

Incomplete applications will be automatically excluded.

It is possible to apply to only one of the three Biennale College Teatro 2024 calls:
Direction under 35, or Dramaturgy under 40 (Italian calls),
or Site-specific Performance under 40 (International call).

college-teatro@labiennale.org

La Biennale di Venezia reserves the right in any case to modify, cancel or interrupt the initiative described above, in that the announcement or the selection do not constitute a binding contract for the same, nor do they entail the right to the reimbursement of any expense other than those specified above.

The integral acceptance of the conditions of the Biennale College Site Specific Call makes the application eligible.