"Risveglio della Lumaca" Short Play Festival

A short play competition in the heart of the Langhe

The "Risveglio della Lumaca" is a national short play competition held at the Teatro Salomone in Cherasco, an elegant town in the province of Cuneo nestled in the hills of the Langhe, Piedmont. Created to provide a platform for theatrical experimentation and creativity, the festival focuses specifically on emerging theatre and the short-form genre: the short play.

How the competition works

The competition is open to non-amateur companies, collectives, and solo artists from all over Italy. Each entry must last between 8 and 20 minutes and can be a monologue, an excerpt from a show, or a multi-character piece, using contemporary or classic texts—published or unpublished—strictly in Italian or local dialects. Stage readings and performances in languages other than Italian are excluded.

The event spans three days: two semi-finals on Friday and Saturday, and the finale on Sunday, where the audience takes center stage. Indeed, spectators join a technical jury composed of prominent figures from the Italian theatre scene to crown the winners.

The awards

The competition does not offer cash prizes but provides concrete opportunities for artistic growth:

• Inclusion in the official program of the following season at the Teatro Salomone for the winning short play;
• "Lumaca d'artista" (Artist Snail), an award for the best performer;
• "Lumaca ad honorem" (Honorary Snail), a prize awarded by the audience, with the possibility of being included in the theatre's season.

A growing event

Organized by the Il Teatro delle Dieci association in collaboration with ControRealtà, "Risveglio della Lumaca" has quickly built a loyal following, receiving submissions from over forty companies across Italy. The name playfully references the snail—a gastronomic and cultural icon of Cherasco, famous for its snail farming and the "Gusta Cherasco" fair—reinterpreted here as a metaphor for the slow but tenacious awakening of the independent theatre scene. For theatre lovers and visitors to the Langhe, it is a unique opportunity to discover new talent in an intimate and welcoming setting.