OnStage! American Readings

Independent American theatre arrives in Rome

OnStage! American Readings is a series of staged readings dedicated to new drama from the United States, hosted at TeatroBasilica in the heart of Rome, just steps from Piazza di Porta San Giovanni. The festival is the result of a new collaboration for the 2025-26 season between KIT Italia – Kairos Italy Theater and TeatroBasilica, and is part of the broader OnStage! Festival project, which has been bringing the best of independent American theatre to Italy since 2019.

A project on new drama

The readings feature texts selected from over thirty works translated as part of the OnStage! project, giving voice to a new generation of American playwrights who use theatre to question society and defend the right to free expression. It is a rare opportunity in the capital to closely compare the contemporary Italian and American scenes, spanning off-off-Broadway styles, civic themes, and experimentation.

Companies and guests

The readings at TeatroBasilica are entrusted to three young under-35 companies from the Roman and national scene: Gruppo della Creta, Giordana Morandini / Zio Albert Produzioni, and Fucina 0. Three of the featured playwrights – Frank J. Avella, Dave Johnson, and Matt Williams – are expected in Rome to meet the public before the readings and, where possible, to conduct workshops and masterclasses. The translations also involve the Department of Languages, Literatures and Foreign Cultures of Roma Tre University.

TeatroBasilica and the city

TeatroBasilica is an independent theatre space overlooking Piazza di Porta San Giovanni, in the San Giovanni district, one of the iconic landmarks of the Municipality of Rome. Its programming, focused on research and contemporary languages, provides the ideal setting for a series that combines reading, author encounters, and reflection on the present. The festival enriches the cultural offerings of the Lazio Region and confirms Rome as a crossroads between Italian and international drama.

Why attend

• Four evenings of staged readings from unpublished contemporary American plays.
• The presence of American playwrights for meetings and workshops.
• The work of three under-35 companies on new texts translated into Italian.
• A direct look at American off-off theatre, rarely accessible in Italy.