Organizer Information
Kepler-452 is a Bologna-based theatre company founded in 2015 by Nicola Borghesi, Enrico Baraldi, and Paola Aiello, with Roberta Gabriele handling organization since 2021. Since its founding, the company has built its work around a strong interest in the relationship between theatre and reality, and what exists beyond the theatre itself. Its theatrical formats range from involving non-professionals on stage based on their own biographies, to reportage-style pieces that turn real-world investigations into performative moments, to audio-guided itineraries and other devices for interacting with urban space. Since 2014, the company has organized its 2030 Festival at the Oratory of San Filippo Neri in Bologna, the same venue hosting the Convergenze programme. Recent productions include Il Capitale and A Place of Safety, the latter developed aboard a search-and-rescue ship in the Mediterranean with EMERGENCY and Sea-Watch, which won the UBU Award 2025 for Best Theatre Performance and the Franco Enriquez Award for dramaturgy 2025.
Title & Description
Convergenze Festival — Open Call for a Documentary Theatre Show
In September 2026, Bologna will host the first edition of Convergenze, a new festival conceived and directed by Kepler-452. The festival aims to turn audience attention toward places, subjects, and realities that are typically overlooked, and to bring theatre into genuine dialogue with the world outside it. This open call will select one documentary theatre show, broadly defined, to join the festival programme. The organizers are not seeking work that fits strictly within a "documentary theatre" label, but rather pieces that engage honestly and urgently with real-world issues.
Theme
Documentary theatre and the relationship between theatre and reality — no single subject is prescribed, but the piece must engage meaningfully with real-world issues that "can't afford to be looked away from."
Categories
- Theatre
- Performance
- Site-specific
Eligibility
- Open to individual artists and companies, Italian and international
- Open to companies, co-ops, informal groups, and solo artists working professionally in contemporary theatre, dance, and performance
- Only shows that already have English or Italian surtitles may apply
- Amateur groups and student/workshop productions are not eligible
- Incomplete applications (missing any required material) will be excluded
- Selected artist/company must hold all necessary permits (work clearance, authors' permits, any required releases) and confirm they hold or are legitimately licensed to use all rights needed to perform the piece
Program Benefits & Awards
- Fee of €2,000 (excluding VAT where applicable), covering artistic fees and all costs tied to staging the show, travel, transport, and any other related expense
- Author's rights coverage
- Full use of the venue (Oratorio di S. Filippo Neri, Bologna) for the entire day of the performance, September 18, 2026
- Technical support during load-in and the performance
- Italian surtitles prepared for non-Italian shows, from an existing English version
- Promotion as part of the Convergenze programme
- Free admission for the audience, by reservation, while seats last
- Extra technical equipment, if needed, arranged in advance at the Festival's expense
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 24 July 2026
- Selection Announcement: by August 2026
- Performance Date: 18 September 2026
Location
Oratorio di S. Filippo Neri, Bologna, Italy
Additional Details
- Selection is made at the Artistic Direction's discretion, weighing artistic quality, fit with the call's aims, and technical/organisational feasibility at the venue; there is no restriction on subject matter
- Selection is contingent on confirming the show can technically be staged at the Oratorio di S. Filippo Neri, which has no wings, no backdrop, and only one motorised truss at the front; nothing may be screwed or nailed into the stage, and artists must adapt their show and technical rider to fit the space
- The Artistic Direction may request further clarification or documents, and reserves the right not to select any proposal if none is deemed suitable
- If the selected artist or company withdraws, the Artistic Direction may choose another proposal from those received
- Dates, venue, or programme may change for organisational reasons or force majeure, with prompt notice to those involved
- Materials submitted remain the property of their creators; by applying, participants allow the Festival to use them for selection purposes, and promotional materials (photos, videos, trailers) for Festival communications, with credit given wherever possible