This is an invitation to join the Department of Parasitic Dramaturgy (DDP), to spend two days investigating together an unexplored, unpredictable, and ephemeral field of theatre studies.

The DDP is dedicated to discovering, studying, and disseminating dramaturgical parasites, textual species that live by parasitizing any text related to theatre (from actors’ lines to their contracts, from program notes to the director’s annotations). As with animal and plant species, there are very intrusive dramaturgical parasites, others that are invisible, parasites that harm their hosts, and others without which the host would suffer. Since texts and their forms are potentially infinite, the number of dramaturgical parasites could also be infinite.

These are some of the disciplines studied in the DDP:

- Comparative parasitic anatomy (study of similarities and divergences between animal parasitism and dramaturgical parasitism)

- Parasitic taxonomy (classification and naming of the various discovered parasite species)

- Parasitic ethology (behavior of parasites in relation to their host texts)

- Parasitic geography (ranges, internal and external habitats, reproduction sites, etc.)

- Parasitic paleontology (study of fossils and extinct species)

During the workshop, we will search for new species of dramaturgical parasites, conduct live experiments with already known species, and show how dying texts, thanks to parasites, can give new life to the theatrical forest.

PROGRAM

The workshop is free of charge and includes participation in two days of activities at the following times:
Thursday 8 and Thursday 15 January 2026: from 9.00 am to 1.30 pm.

HOW TO APPLY

We are looking for people interested in any form of writing, performance, and staging, and curious to experiment with a new approach to dramaturgy.

To apply, please fill out the following form.
Deadline for submitting applications: 18/12/2025

Image: Petromyzon marinus (Lamprey) mouth in Aquarium Finisterrae, in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. Author: Fernando Losada Rodríguez. License: Creative Commons
Logo: Dipartimento di Drammaturgia Parassitaria, Jacopo Giacomoni.