DOIT Festival – Dramaturgy Beyond Theatre

A festival dedicated to modern playwriting

The DOIT Festival – Dramaturgy Beyond Theatre is one of the most recognizable fixtures of Rome's off-theatre scene: a national and international competition that rewards the quality of stage writing over big-name billing. Born from the project of the ChiPiùNeArt Social Promotion Association, the festival takes place in Rome, the capital of the Lazio region, across two independent venues that define its identity: Ar.Ma Teatro on Via Ruggero di Lauria, in the Prati district, and Teatro Ygramul, in the city's northeastern area.

How the competition works

Professional theatre companies from Italy and abroad are invited to submit original works lasting between fifty and one hundred and twenty minutes. Selected proposals are presented in the festival lineup and evaluated by a multi-tiered jury system: an expert jury of eight members, a public jury made up of audience members, and a youth jury dedicated to the memory of critic Adriano Sgobba. The winner receives a cash prize, the opportunity for publication with Edizioni Le Nebulose, and invitations to partner festivals and theatre seasons.

L'Artigogolo, the other half of the project

For years, the DOIT Festival has worked in tandem with L'Artigogolo – Writers for the Theatre, an international playwriting competition promoted by the same association. Both share the same goal: to provide a platform for unpublished texts and voices that operate outside mainstream circuits. The L'Artigogolo awards ceremony, featuring staged readings and presentations of the winning texts, is traditionally one of the most popular moments of the festival and is usually free to attend.

What to expect

The program alternates between monologues, social theatre, reinterpretations of classics, storytelling theatre, and forays into dance and physical theatre. The venues are intentionally intimate—seventy to eighty seats at Ar.Ma Teatro, about sixty at Teatro Ygramul—which radically changes the experience: the audience is just a few meters from the performers, keeping the spoken word at the heart of the performance. Alongside the competition, the festival offers:

• special events and off-competition shows;
• conversations with artists after the performances;
• staged readings of the winning texts;
• the closing night with the announcement of the winner.

Why it is worth attending

Those looking for something in Rome beyond the grand productions of historic theatres will find a privileged vantage point here on the current state of Italian theatre. It is a festival to be explored with curiosity: you will discover young companies, never-before-seen texts, and often, authors who appear in major theatre seasons just a few years later. The public jury vote also makes the audience an active part of the final verdict, a detail that perfectly captures the participatory spirit of the event.

Rome off the beaten path

The two venues allow visitors to explore a side of Rome less frequented by tourists: Prati, an elegant 19th-century district a stone's throw from the Vatican Museums and the Cipro metro station; and the city's northeastern area, a more residential district where Teatro Ygramul has been active for years in training and youth theatre. An evening at the DOIT Festival is easily combined with a night walk in the neighbourhood and dinner at one of the many local trattorias.