Venice Open Stage

What Venice Open Stage does

Venice Open Stage is an annual international theatre festival held each summer in Venice, Italy, organized since 2013 by the cultural association Cantieri Teatrali Veneziani (Ca.Te.Ve.). Founded by IUAV University professor Gigi Dall'Aglio from his mise-en-scène workshops, the festival runs for approximately 12 days from late June to mid-July at the Campazzo San Sebastiano venue in the historic Dorsoduro sestiere. It is free to attend and targets both participants (international theatre academies, emerging Italian companies, professional companies, and local Venetian troupes) and general audiences including citizens, students, and tourists.

The festival's programming is structured into multiple complementary sections: Accademia (international drama academies), Fermenti (emerging companies selected via open call), Rassegna (professional companies), Pistilli-Talks (informal industry discussions), Laboratori (workshops), Maestranze (technical/production training), and Kilometrozero (local territory companies). Participation has historically spanned theatre schools from 13+ countries including Denmark, Greece, Iran, Lithuania, Malaysia, Portugal, the UK, Switzerland, Spain, Romania, and Turkey. The event draws over 200 attendees per evening.

The business model is that of a non-profit cultural initiative rather than a commercial venture. Revenue is sourced from public grants (primarily from the Comune di Venezia), private sponsorships, institutional partnerships with IUAV University and Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia, and public donations via PayPal. The organization operates with 1-10 staff and engages volunteers and university interns. There is no proprietary technology platform; digital presence is limited to a website and social media channels (Facebook, Instagram) used for programming and community engagement. The festival is recognized as part of Venice's intangible artistic heritage.

Name

Venice Open Stage

Legal name

Cantieri Teatrali Veneziani (Ca.Te.Ve.)

Website

https://veniceopenstage.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Venice Open Stage is an annual international theatre festival held each summer in Venice since 2013, organized by the non-profit association Cantieri Teatrali Veneziani. It serves international theatre academies, emerging and professional companies, and the general public through free programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts Festival

NAICS

Performing Arts Companies (7111), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110), Fine Arts Schools (61161), Fine Arts Schools (611610)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Touring Theatre Productions (MPAGABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Theatre Education, Training & Conservatories (MPAGABAN), Theater & Performing Arts Venue Operations (Playhouses, Opera Houses) (MPAGALAB), Performing Arts & Cultural Event Venues (Theaters, Museums) (THAHAAAG)

Keywords

• International theatre festival
• Performing arts festival
• Drama academy showcase
• Emerging theatre companies
• Live arts programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Venezia, Ve

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Public and Private Funding: The festival is organized by Cantieri Teatrali Veneziani (Ca.Te.Ve.) as a non-profit cultural initiative, funded through public grants (Comune di Venezia), private sponsorships, and institutional partnerships with universities and arts academies.
2. Donations: The festival accepts donations through PayPal, providing a mechanism for public support.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Venice Open Stage is an annual international performing arts festival held at Campazzo San Sebastiano in Venice, Italy. Organized by Cantieri Teatrali Veneziani (Ca.Te.Ve.), the free-admission event runs for roughly 12 days in late June/early July and integrates performing opportunities for international drama academies, emerging professional theatre companies selected through open calls, established companies, workshops, technical training, and informal talks. It serves as a cultural platform connecting theatre training institutions and practitioners with the city and its audiences.

Product overview

Venice Open Stage is a single unified festival product—the Rising Theatre Festival—an annual international performing arts event held in Venice, Italy. The festival operates as an integrated program featuring multiple complementary sections: Accademia (international drama academies), Fermenti (emerging professional companies), Rassegna (professional companies), Pistilli-Talks (informal discussions), Laboratori (workshops), Maestranze (technical training), and Kilometrozero (local companies). All sections take place at Campazzo San Sebastiano during the festival period from late June to mid-July, organized by Cantieri Teatrali Veneziani in collaboration with the Municipality of Venice and the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fermenti VOS: OFF section of the festival dedicated to recently formed Italian theatre companies, selected through a call for proposals since 2017.
• Pistilli - Talks
• Kilometrozero

Products and services

• Venice Open Stage - Rising Theatre Festival Annual free-admission international theatre festival held in Venice, integrating sections for international drama academies (Accademia), recently formed professional companies (Fermenti), established companies (Rassegna), local territory companies (Kilometrozero), informal talks (Pistilli), workshops (Laboratori), and technical training (Maestranze). Designed for international theatre academies, professional and emerging companies, and the general public attending free-of-charge performances at Campazzo San Sebastiano.

Quantifiable outcome

• Festival attracts 200+ attendees per evening during the event period

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Cantieri Teatrali Veneziani (Ca.Te.Ve.)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe festival is organized by Cantieri Teatrali Veneziani (Ca.Te.Ve.), the cultural association that serves as the primary organizing body. This is the founding organizational partner without which the festival would not exist.
• Comune di VeneziacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Municipality of Venice partners with Cantieri Teatrali Veneziani to organize the festival, providing institutional support and legitimacy as a civic cultural event.
• Accademia di Belle Arti di VeneziacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with the bachelor's degree program in stagecraft, stage design, and stage architecture at the Venice Academy of Fine Arts. Students gain practical experience working on the festival.
• European Cultural CentremajorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as main technical sponsor of the festival, providing technical infrastructure support.
• Venezia TodayminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as media partner, providing editorial coverage and promotion of the festival.
• IUAV University of VenicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe festival originated from IUAV University where founder Gigi Dall'Aglio taught. The university connection continues through student participation, internships, and ongoing collaboration with the Senato degli Studenti.
• European Cultural Centre (ECC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with ECC for the Pistilli talk event 'E allora esageriamo!' on gender differences in cultural professions.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Festival dei Due Mondi: Annual international arts festival held in Spoleto, Italy. Comparable as an Italian-based international performing arts festival showcasing theatre, opera, dance, and music with international company participation similar to VOS's multi-national programming.
• La Biennale di Venezia - Teatro: Venice Biennale's international theatre festival, operating in the same city as VOS. Directly comparable as a Venice-based international performing arts event featuring contemporary theatre, international participation, and academic programming overlap.
• Santarcangelo Festival: Italian performing arts festival focused on contemporary theatre and emerging companies. Comparable to VOS's Fermenti section for emerging professional companies and similar mission around contemporary dramaturgical experimentation in Italy.
• Edinburgh Festival Fringe: The largest arts festival in the world, held annually in Edinburgh, Scotland. Comparable as an international theatre and performing arts festival featuring emerging companies, established troupes, and academic performers, with multi-section programming similar to VOS.
• Festival d'Avignon: One of the world's largest annual international performing arts festivals held in Avignon, France. Directly comparable to VOS as a summer international theatre showcase featuring contemporary productions, international companies, and academy programming in a historic European city.
• Short Theatre: Rome-based contemporary performing arts festival. Comparable to VOS as an Italian festival featuring emerging companies, experimental theatre, and contemporary dramaturgical languages with similar open-call selection processes.

Others

• European Cultural Centre (ECC): Venice-based cultural organization operating exhibitions and events. Comparable as a Venice cultural partner providing technical sponsorship to VOS and as an adjacent cultural operator in the same Venetian ecosystem.
• IUAV University of Venice: Venice's architecture and arts university, founding institutional partner of Venice Open Stage. Comparable as the academic home of the festival's scenography, stagecraft, and stage architecture training components (Maestranze, Laboratori).
• Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica Silvio d'Amico: Italy's premier national theatre academy in Rome. Comparable as a partner institution for VOS's Accademia section and as a feeder of emerging professional companies to Italian festivals including VOS's Fermenti.

Regional players

• Torino Fringe Festival: Italian fringe-style theatre festival based in Turin. Comparable to VOS's emerging-company programming and open-call model but operating in a different Italian city without Venice's tourism positioning.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/VeniceOpenStage
• Instagraminstagram.com/veniceopenstage/?hl=it
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/venice-open-stage

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Venice Open Stage