Edoardo Ripani was trained as an actor, before in Italy, with the experience of the independent group Aikot 27, then around the world, with several formative experiences with Jim Slowiak, Jairo Cuesta, Marco Sgrosso, Elena Bucci, Philippe Gaulier, Norman Taylor and Mariangela Gualtieri.
In 2006 he graduated in theatre studies (DAMS) at the University of Bologna. In 2011 he achieved a Master in Philosophy of Performance at the University of Macerata and in 2018 he obtained a Master’s degree in Theatre Directing at the RITCS School of Arts in Brussels. Between 2012 and 2020 he has been associated actor and teacher at the Italian Institute of Culture in Brussels. As an actor, he has had several experiences in the field of research theatre and have worked with several theatre companies, like Nessunteatro (finalist Scenario Price 2011), Pantakin, Urban Lies, Cuoredebole project (winner “Made in Marche” Price 2013), K.A.K., Stichting ism & heit, Unie der Zorgelozen, Nico Boon/Arsenaal with which he has performed in different European countries In recent years, he has been developing his own theatrical practice and has been focusing on a documentary approach with several references to history, one of his main passions. His approach to the subject can be defined as almost scientific, as he likes to combine different documentary materials (articles; testimonies; real facts) and to transpose them into theatre. At the same time, he is focusing on a form that goes beyond the black-box and does not necessarily involve professional actors. He is interested in working with communities and storytelling. He is currently active in participatory projects in the peripheries of Brussels, with Casi-UO in Anderlecht (association that works since almost 50 years with Italian migrants in Belgium) and with the working-space Transfocollect in Schaerbeek (space of theatrical expression for young people, mainly with a migration background). He is also teacher at the RITCS School of Arts in Brussels for the “Transversaal Atelier”, a multidisciplinary workshop focusing on participation, which involves students of different media. He is touring as a performer in “All Inclusive” by Julian Hetzel, a performance which has been presented in several European Festivals such as “Actoral”, “Impulse”, “Belluard”, “Biennale Teatro”, “Spielart”, “Point communs” and “Mladi Levi”. In August 2021 he presented the documentary performance about the tragic story of the Peci brothers, “Fratelli. What pain hangs over my city?” in which he is actor and director. The show was presented in Italy and Belgium during seasons 2021/2022 and 2022/2023. He is first assistant of the Belgian filmmaker Manu Riche for his new docu-fiction “Charbon-The Eternal Fire” and, at the same time, he is working as a theatre-maker on a new performance about the communities of the Apennines from Central Italy, “La montagna è finita” (“The mountain is over”), an Italian-Belgian co-production that will premiere during November 2023 in Genk.
