For the 2026 edition, the jury consists of: Francesca Sangalli, playwright, author, and screenwriter; Claudio Chiapparino, Director of the Events and Congresses Division of the City of Lugano; Sabrina Faller, cultural journalist; Claudia Lombardi, President of the Fondazione Claudia Lombardi per il teatro; Gianfranco Helbling, Director of the Teatro Sociale di Bellinzona; Ermanno Nardi, Coordinator of Circuito CLAPS and IntercettAzioni; Donato Nubile, Artistic Director of Campo Teatrale in Milan.

2026 winner
““Each of the four finalist projects appeared to the entire jury to be carefully developed from both a technical and a performance perspective. The quality of the dramaturgy and ideas was also noteworthy, and the interviews confirmed their depth.” The winner of the 2026 call, however, is LaCruna, a company based in Gordola, with Lilla.

“The jury awards the testinscena 2026 prize to LaCruna for Lilla. The project addresses illness—particularly breast cancer and the dispossession of the female body—with a poetic and original voice, allowing the drama to emerge through irony and without resorting to the rhetoric of suffering. The excerpt presented reveals a powerful theatrical concept, supported by a clear and well-crafted structure. The jury also appreciated the actresses’ performances and the delicate balance between the textual and performative dimensions. While recognising an artistic value already fully evident on stage, the jury identified significant potential for further development in Lilla, which the prize will help bring to full expression through a programme of mentoring and residency.”

For reasons similar to those highlighted by the technical jury, the audience jury also chose to award its commendation to Lilla.

Special Mention
A special mention is awarded to Boys will be Boys by il turno di notte: “The project addresses the issue of femicide from a perspective rarely explored in theatre: that of the environment surrounding the perpetrator, namely the group of friends around the couple. The project has the courage to seek the roots of the act in the banality of everyday life and in a proximity that implicates us, without slipping into facile blame. The writing has depth and adopts a varied language, moving across very different registers and culminating in a stylised form of comedy that does not diminish the tragedy but intensifies it; even the more marginal characters are given a distinct depth. The jury recognised Boys will be Boys as a project that is already dramaturgically mature, with direction consistent with the writing and a technically accomplished and immediate versatility on the part of the two performers. This commendation is intended to emphasise the value of a work that is already fully formed.”

Thanks to this commendation, the company receives a one-week artistic residency at the Fondazione Claudia Lombardi per il teatro during the 2027/2028 season, aimed at developing a new performance project; 600 seconds of music for use in its theatrical production, offered by Pastelle Media Sagl; and participation in one of the seminars offered by Hystrio during the 2026/2027 season. In addition, the Teatro Foce of Lugano will host one performance, provisionally scheduled for spring 2027.

Other finalists

Il giardino dopo la pioggia
A project by Compagnia Kasama

A che serve il petrolio?
A project by Collettivo Petrolio

In the 2024 edition, the jury consists of: Francesca Sangalli, playwright, author and screenwriter; Claudio Chiapparino, director of the Events and Congresses Division of the City of Lugano; Sabrina Faller, cultural journalist; Gianfranco Helbling, director of the Teatro Sociale in Bellinzona; Claudia Lombardi, president of the Foundation; Ermanno Nardi, project manager of Industria Scenica; and Donato Nubile, artistic director of Campo Teatrale in Milan.

Testinscena® Winner
The jury found “high artistic quality and sincere motivationin all the finalists,and therefore hopes that all the projects will be brought to fruition,” but winning the 2024 edition of the call is the Sorengo-based company Divano project with Un live podcast.

“The jury awards the testinscena 2024 prize to the Sofa Project company for its well-executed experiment in contaminating the theatrical medium of expression with writing conceived for the podcast. The work presented captured with astute irony and critical thinking the condition of bewilderment and unease of a young generation grappling with the attempt to recognize itself in a creative craft. The jury also appreciated the collective’s ability to get involved by manipulating their autobiographies between reality and fiction, while maintaining freshness in interpretation and staging. The use of entertainment’s own narrative to sink into the complexities of life, slipping between different planes of contemporaneity, also attracted interest. “

Special Mentions
A special mention is awarded to the project Contronatura by the SE²I Collective: “the jury recognized signs of a potentially deflagrating work and wants to encourage the research path to a full realization of the project’s ambitions.”

The collective wins, thanks to this mention, two weeks of artistic residency at Campo Teatrale in Milan.

New for the 2024 edition is the awarding of a mention by the audience jury, which expresses its preference for Manicaretti, by the Cholstomér collective.

“The performance project “Manicaretti,” by the Cholstomér collective, won over the audience jury mainly due to the strength of the acting and the ability to create an atmosphere of suspense and mystery. In just 15 minutes, the actors managed to render the psychological complexity of their characters, inhabiting the stage with increasing tension. The ability to gradually unravel the plot, hinting at a development of the drama toward noir, captured the audience’s attention, keeping interest and emotional involvement high. The pace was well calibrated, with a crescendo of intensity that was able to emphasize the sharpening of the couple’s dynamic. The well-conceived dramaturgy also shows significant potential for further coherent development.”

Following that mention, the Foundation chose to reward the Cholstomèr Collective by offering them a week-long artistic residency and programming the show within its upcoming new play review.

The Foundation is very pleased with the success of this sixth edition of testinscena, which was marked by the high quality and diversity of the submitted projects. The winning show, Un live podcast, will premiere at Campo Teatrale (Milan) from November 22 to 24, 2024, and will debut at Teatro Foce (Lugano) on January 24 and 25, 2025.

The enthusiastic participation of the audience, throughout all stages of the competition—from the awards ceremony to the debut—further demonstrates the significance and value of this initiative.

Other finalists

L’istrionica
Project of Company L’istrionica

Versipelle
Project by Compagnia Ototoi

In the fifth edition of testinscena®, the jury consists of: Francesca Sangalli, playwright, author and screenwriter; Claudio Chiapparino, director of the Events and Congresses Division of the City of Lugano; Ermanno Nardi, project manager of Industria Scenica; Gianfranco Helbling, director of the Teatro Sociale of Bellinzona; Sabrina Faller, cultural journalist Rete Due (RSI).

Important notice: starting from this edition, the call for testinscena® takes on a biennial basis, in order to allow the Foundation to carefully follow and support the whole project of the winning company until the official debut of the show.

Winner testinscena®
The jury unanimously decreed Giostra, by Compagnia Agemò, the winning project of the edition, particularly appreciating its layered work on dramaturgy. The collective demonstrates on stage and at the interview a unity of purpose, a chorally sustained participation in the staging, and a willingness to delve into themes of existential impact and intimate nature, remaining open to all the suggestions the text proposes.

Other Finalists

Il velo di Maya
Project by Compagnia Sineddoche

Intermittenze
Project by Compagnia Hentopan

M’ama o non m’ama
Project by Compagnia Chorós Teatro

The jury of testinscena® 2020 consists of: Francesca Sangalli (jury president), playwright, author and screenwriter; Anna Ruchat, poet, author and translator; Claudio Chiapparino, director of the Events and Congress Division of the City of Lugano; Donato Nubile, artistic director of Campo Teatrale Milano; and Massimo Monaci, assistant artistic director of LAC.

Because of this unique period, given the impossibility of holding the finals, all finalist projects are awarded equal prizes.

Finalist projects

E cadere sarà lieve
Project by Compagnia Errico/Del Grosso

Dicono che farà caldo
Project by Compagnia Curto/Di Cesare/Gallucci/Pietrovita

Buoni a nulla
Project by Compagnia Occhi Aperti

Cinque sensi non sono una tragedia
Project by Compagnia Officine Porpora

La costellazione del criceto
Project by Compagnia Salz

For the third edition, the jury consists of: Giorgio Thoeni (jury president), journalist and theater critic; Claudio Chiapparino, director of the Events and Congresses Division of the City of Lugano; Yvonne Pesenti Salazar, artistic director of the PiazzaParola Literature Festival and president of the Dante Alighieri Society of Italian Switzerland; Francesca Sangalli, playwright, author and screenwriter; and Donato Nubile, artistic director of Campo Teatrale Milano.

Winner testinscena®
The project I sonnambuli by Compagnia Domesticalchimia is awarded by the jury for the good stage performance of the scenes presented, which allowed a glimpse of an interesting future development of the work. The rehearsal demonstrates an intelligent balance between the different components of the staging; text, direction and interpretation of the actors complement each other well and meet the criteria of the call. The theme of perversion stands out as one of the keys to interpreting postmodern societies, supported by the right vein of irony. The direction is able to enhance the different elements by skillfully guiding the actors.

Special Mention
The jury singles out with a honorable mention the project Annunciation by Compagnia La memoria del teatro-collettivo teatrale Le Ore Piccole: a valuable, well-structured text that lends itself to various interpretative possibilities, putting the viewer in front of universal themes such as the relationship between individual and society, motherhood as an act of power, and the relationship between individual and collective choice.

Other finalists

Caterina che per ott’anni vestì abiti da uomo
Project by Apis – Teatri Reagenti

A braccia aperte
Progetto di Compagnia Caterpillar

Il presidente
Project by Compagnia Teatrale Les Moustaches

In the second edition of 2018, the jury is composed of: Carmelo Rifici (president of the jury), artistic director of LuganoInScena and director of the Piccolo Teatro School in Milan; Claudio Chiapparino, director of the Events and Congresses Division of the City of Lugano; Giorgio Thoeni, journalist and theater critic; Francesca Sangalli, playwright, screenwriter and author, as well as teacher of creative writing, dramaturgy and storytelling at the CFP Bauer school in Milan; Francesca Garolla, dramaturg and author, collaborator in the artistic direction of Teatro-i in Milan.

Winner testinscena®
The project Finisterre by Compagnia praticidealisti won the approval of the entire jury, which was deeply touched by the choice of subject.

Alejandro Finisterre’s biography opens up evocative scenarios, bringing to life an important page of history through the metaphor of table football, which he invented. The lightness of the game, contrasting with the tragic nature of the events narrated brings out the sensitivity and potential of the play.

The jury believes that with proper accompaniment, the project can grow significantly.

Special Mention
The jury marks with a mention the project The Great Evil with All Good, by Compagnia Comteatro. Special appreciation to the young playwright’s courage in telling a painful story through the dual register of lyric and naturalistic.

Other finalists

M-Orpheus
Project by Compagnia InAzione

La colazione del guerriero
Project by Guinea Pigs Company

Canta e vinci!
Project by Compagnia Caterpillar

For the first edition, the jury is composed of: Carmelo Rifici (president of the jury), artistic director of LuganoInScena and director of the Piccolo Teatro School in Milan; Claudio Chiapparino, director of the Events and Congresses Division of the City of Lugano; Serena Sinigaglia, director and artistic director of the ATIR Teatro Ringhiera company in Milan; Renato Gabrielli, theatrical author and professor of dramaturgy at the “Paolo Grassi” School and the Civica Scuola di Cinema in Milan; and Fabio Pusterla, poet, translator, literary critic and professor at the University of Italian Switzerland.

Testinscena® Winner
The Jury, in unanimously awarding the 2017 Testinscena Prize to the project La fabbrica della felicità by the company Cambio di fuoco/Connettiv024grammi, emphasizes the originality of the subject and its political-cultural necessity. Irene Canali’s text, inspired by Aldous Huxley’s New World , questions the issues of our daily living, descending into the depths of individual existences and solitudes. The very young company impresses with energy, determination and willingness to build an autonomous vision.

Special Mentions
The Jury also awards, again unanimously, a special mention to two projects that have particularly distinguished themselves:

Cheap Beer, by the company LecheDeTigre, which impressed with the solidity of the artistic ensemble and the maturity of the project.

Il Carrefour è aperto anche di notte, by Compagnia Lumen. The jury appreciated the richness of the dramaturgical aspect, the urgency of the topic and the solid presentation.

Other finalists

Speed Date Hotel
Project by Gli Artimanti – Milan

Deep web
Project by Compagnia Blusclint