Piersandra Di Matteo
IUAV University of Venice (Italy)
Tactile-hearing: Deaf knowledge in the Italian and American performing arts
2025–2026: Spring
Piersandra Di Matteo is a performing arts theorist, curator, and dramaturg. Her research spans contemporary theatre, the politics of voice and listening, curatorial practices, and accessibility in the arts. She is a member of PerLA | Performance Epistemologies Research Lab and SSH | Sound Studies Hub at IUAV University of Venice, where she teaches Curating Performing Arts.
Di Matteo has been invited to lecture and lead seminars at major international universities and research centers, including those in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Montréal, Amsterdam, New York City, Philadelphia, and São Paulo.
She is widely recognized for her long-standing collaboration with Romeo Castellucci, the Italian theatre director, as his theoretical collaborator and dramaturg in prominent theatres and international festivals such as Festival d’Avignon, Ruhrtriennale, La Monnaie, Schaubühne, Wiener Festwochen, Opéra de Paris, Staatsoper Hamburg, Opéra de Lyon, Bayerische Staatsoper, Dutch National Opera, Salzburger Festspiele.
She served as Artistic Director of Short Theatre Festival (Rome, 2021–2024) and Atlas of Transitions Biennale (Bologna, 2017–2020).
Her recent publications include A bocca chiusa. Effetti di ventriloquio e scena contemporanea (2024), the edited volume SPEAKING NEARBY (2024), Performance + Curatela (2021, with A. Sacchi and I. Caleo) In fiamme. La performance nello spazio delle lotte (1967–1979) (2021).
She is also editorial director of the Short Books series (NERO Editions) and Performance+ (Sossella Editore, Rome).