Regulations
on participation in Neural Night — a showcase of stage experiments with artificial intelligence, part of the “Neural Theatre: Rehearsal for the Future” laboratory
1. General Provisions
1.1. These Regulations (hereinafter — the “Regulations”) set out the terms and procedure for individuals' participation in Neural Night — one of the stages of the theatre laboratory “Neural Theatre: Rehearsal for the Future” (hereinafter — the “Project”), carried out in 2026-2027 by the Yevgeny Mironov Charitable Foundation “Theatrical Initiatives,” with the participation of the State Theatre of Nations and PJSC Sberbank.
1.2. The Project is a comprehensive theatre laboratory comprising: the in-person and remote stages of the Residency; a Foresight Session for theatre directors from across the country; the final showcase of stage experiments with artificial intelligence, Neural Night; and two open calls for participants — for the Residency and for Neural Night.
1.3. These Regulations govern the rules and terms of participation in Neural Night. The selection procedure for Residency participants is governed by a separate set of regulations.
1.4. The Project and Neural Night do not pursue commercial goals. Participation in Neural Night, and the selection, presentation, and other use of Works within the Project, are carried out on a gratuitous basis and do not constitute the rendering of services or the performance of work under a paid contract.
1.5. By submitting an application to participate in Neural Night (hereinafter — the “Application”) in the manner set out in Section 5 of the Regulations, a Neural Night participant (hereinafter — the “Participant”) confirms that they have read and agree to all the terms of these Regulations in full, have reached the age of eighteen, and are a citizen of the Russian Federation or of one of the BRICS countries.
2. Terms and Definitions
2.1. “Neural Night” — the final public event of the Project, a showcase of stage experiments with artificial intelligence, the program of which includes Works selected through the application process governed by these Regulations.
2.2. Curator — a director, playwright, or other expert invited by the Organizers to work with Participants and evaluate Works within Neural Night.
2.3. Work — a stage, performative, or other artistic project submitted by a Participant for participation in Neural Night. Eligible works include stage, performative, and artistic projects — performances, live acts, dance and music pieces, installations, objects, media art, and other experimental formats — created using neural networks or exploring artificial intelligence as a theme, a tool, or a participant in the creative process.
2.4. Author — a Participant who created a Work independently or as part of a creative collective and submitted it for participation in Neural Night.
2.5. Site — the Project's official web page (address to be confirmed), where information about Neural Night, the Application form, and the selection results are published.
3. Timeline and Stages
3.1. Schedule:
Application period for Neural Night — September 7 – November 29, 2026
Publication of the list of Neural Night participants — December 14, 2026
Arrival of participants — January 25, 2027
Neural Night rehearsal — January 26–29, 2027, Moscow, Theatre of Nations
Neural Night — January 30, 2027, Moscow, Theatre of Nations
Departure of participants — January 31, 2027
3.2. In the event of any discrepancy between clause 3.1 of the Regulations and information communicated to Participants by the Project coordinator, the information communicated by the Project coordinator shall prevail.
4. Neural Night Participants
4.1. Participation is open to legally capable adult individuals — authors and representatives of creative collectives who are citizens of the Russian Federation or of one of the BRICS countries and who have created a Work meeting the description set out in clause 2.3 of the Regulations.
4.2. Experience in theatre, the performative arts, media art, or work with artificial intelligence is an advantage in the selection process; no specific professional requirements apply to the Author.
4.3. Following selection, a limited number of Works will be invited to be shown in the Neural Night program, as determined by the Organizers based on the artistic concept of the event and the technical capabilities of the venue.
4.4. By submitting an Application, the Participant confirms their readiness to be present in person in Moscow during Neural Night, in accordance with the schedule in clause 3.1 of the Regulations. Failure to meet this condition is grounds for the Organizers to exclude the Work from the Neural Night program.
4.5. Persons included in the register of foreign agents under Federal Law No. 255-FZ “On Control over the Activities of Persons Under Foreign Influence,” dated July 14, 2022, are not eligible to participate in Neural Night.
5. Application Procedure and Deadlines
5.1. To take part in the selection process, the Participant completes the Application on the Site within the period specified in clause 3.1 of the Regulations.
5.2. In the Application, the Participant provides: last name, first name, and patronymic (if any); stage or creative name (if any); date of birth; citizenship; city and country of residence; contact details (phone, e-mail, links to professional pages and social media); information about the Author or creative collective; the title, format, and year and place of creation or premiere of the Work; a description of the Work and the role artificial intelligence plays in it; a link to video documentation of the Work; technical requirements for the presentation; and, if desired, photo and video materials in jpg, pdf, or mp4 format.
5.3. The Application is submitted personally by the Author, by a representative of the creative collective authorized by its other members to act on their behalf, or by a representative of the venue where the Work was created. Including third parties' personal data in the Application without lawful grounds is not permitted.
5.4. An Application is submitted in respect of one Work. An Author, creative collective, or venue may submit applications for several Works, provided a separate Application is completed for each one.
6. Selection Procedure
6.1. Applications are reviewed by a selection committee (hereinafter — the “Committee”), comprising representatives of the Organizers and Curators of the Project.
6.2. The following Applications will not be considered: those containing incomplete or inaccurate information about the Participant or the Work; those submitted in violation of the procedure or deadlines set out in Sections 3 and 5 of the Regulations; and those containing materials that violate the legislation of the Russian Federation — including requirements on countering extremist activity and on protecting minors from information harmful to their health and development — or that otherwise violate the rights and legitimate interests of third parties.
6.3. Works meeting the description in clause 2.3 of the Regulations are eligible for review. No restrictions apply as to the specific neural networks or AI tools used to create the Work.
6.4. The Committee selects Applications based on the artistic value and originality of the Work, its relevance to the subject of artificial intelligence, and the completeness of the materials submitted.
6.5. Following preliminary review of an Application, the Committee may request additional materials from the Author or arrange a remote (online) meeting to clarify details of the Work.
6.6. Selection results are published on the Site on December 14, 2026. Participants who have been selected are additionally notified by the Project coordinator at the e-mail address provided in the Application.
6.7. The Committee's decision is final; no justification is provided for decisions on individual Applications, and no correspondence is conducted regarding the selection process with applicants who were not selected.
6.8. The Organizers reserve the right to postpone the announcement of results, having notified participants via the Site.
7. Financial Terms. Non-Commercial Nature of Neural Night
7.1. Participation in the selection process and the presentation of a Work as part of Neural Night are free of charge for Participants. The Organizers do not charge Participants any entry, registration, or other fees.
7.2. During the in-person stages of Neural Night, the Foundation covers the following for Participants from outside Moscow and from abroad: round-trip travel to Moscow; accommodation.
7.3. The Organizers and the Foundation do not pay Participants any fee for taking part in the selection process or for preparing and presenting a Work as part of Neural Night. These Regulations do not constitute a public promise of reward within the meaning of Chapter 56 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
7.4. The selection of Works for Neural Night does not constitute a public competition within the meaning of Chapter 57 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and does not create any legal and/or financial obligations for the Organizers toward Participants, other than those expressly provided for in these Regulations.
8. Rights to Works Submitted for Neural Night
8.1. Works submitted by Participants for Neural Night belong to their authors.
8.2. The Author (or authors' collective) independently and at their own discretion retains the right to further use the Work, including presenting it at other venues, both before and after its presentation as part of Neural Night.
8.3. The Organizers may, but are not obliged to, offer the Author of a given Work the opportunity to take part in subsequent programs of the Theatre of Nations or the Project's partners. The terms of any such participation are to be determined by separate agreement with the Author and are not governed by these Regulations.
9. License to Use Works and Application Materials
9.1. By submitting an Application and taking part in the selection process, the Participant grants the Organizers, for the duration of the Project, a simple (non-exclusive), royalty-free license to: publicly present, demonstrate, or publicly perform the Work as part of the Neural Night program, including rehearsals and set-up in accordance with the schedule in clause 3.1 of the Regulations; and to reproduce, store, and use text descriptions, photo, video, and other materials submitted as part of the Application and prepared for presenting the Work (hereinafter in this Section — “Materials”), including publishing them on the Site, communicating them to the public, and publicly displaying the Materials as part of the Foresight Session and Neural Night, and using the Materials in announcements, reports, and promotional materials about the Project, including publications in the media.
9.2. The license under clause 9.1 is granted for the duration of the Project and for the whole world, and does not entail payment of any additional remuneration to the Participant, since the Materials are used solely for the non-commercial purposes of the Project (clause 1.4 of the Regulations).
9.3. The license under this Section does not affect the Author's rights to the Work itself as a result of creative activity (Section 8) and does not constitute a transfer of the exclusive right to it.
10. Presentation of Works in the Neural Night Program
10.1. Selected Works are included in the program of the Neural Night showcase of stage experiments with artificial intelligence — the final public event of the Project.
10.2. The format in which each Work is presented — a full performance, presentation (demonstration) materials, a video presentation, or another form — is determined jointly by the Curators and the Author of the Work, based on the artistic concept of the Work and the technical capabilities of the venue.
11. Use of Intellectual Property in Creating Works. Participant Warranties and Liability
11.1. The Organizers regard working with existing cultural, documentary, media, and other materials as part of the Project's creative and research process — on par with other forms of artistic analysis and interpretation — consistent with the research-oriented nature of the Project, which is devoted to studying the interaction between theatre and artificial intelligence.
11.2. Responsibility for complying with the rights of third parties — including copyright, related rights, and other intellectual property rights — in creating a Work and its accompanying Materials rests with the Author who created that Work.
11.3. By submitting an Application, the Participant warrants to the Organizers that: they use third parties' intellectual property in creating the Work and Materials solely for the purposes of analysis, research, quotation, parody, or another form permitted under the intellectual property legislation of the Russian Federation; they do not and will not infringe third parties' rights in creating and presenting the Work and Materials; they have provided accurate personal data relating only to themselves in the Application; and they have not included in the Application or Materials any personal data of third parties without lawful grounds and without notifying such persons in accordance with Part 3, Article 18 of Federal Law No. 152-FZ “On Personal Data,” dated July 27, 2006.
11.4. The Organizers bear no liability to third parties for a Participant's violation of the rights warranted under clause 11.3 of the Regulations. Should the Organizers face claims or lawsuits from third parties relating to infringement of their rights in a particular Participant's Work or Materials, that Participant undertakes to settle such claims independently and to reimburse the Organizers for any documented losses incurred as a result of the infringement.
11.5. The Organizers reserve the right to refuse to present a Work or Materials, or to suspend their presentation, upon receipt of a substantiated claim from a third party alleging infringement of their rights.
12. Processing of Personal Data
12.1. In connection with the selection process and the presentation of Works at Neural Night, the Organizers process Participants' personal data to the minimum extent necessary and sufficient to organize and hold Neural Night in accordance with these Regulations: collection, recording, systematization, accumulation, storage, clarification, use, depersonalization, blocking, deletion, and destruction of personal data, whether by automated means or otherwise.
12.2. The Organizer may transfer Participants' personal data to the Foundation and to Curators to the extent necessary to organize the logistics and program of Neural Night, and may disseminate Participants' personal data (last and first name or stage/creative name, city of residence, photo and video materials) on the Site, in presentation materials, and at Project venues, based on the consent provided by the Participant when submitting the Application.
12.3. Personal data is processed in accordance with Federal Law No. 152-FZ “On Personal Data,” dated July 27, 2006.
13. Final Provisions
13.1. The Organizers reserve the right to unilaterally amend these Regulations, including adjusting the timing of stages, by publishing the current version of the Regulations on the Site.
13.2. The Organizers bear no liability for technical failures of the Site, the application submission process, or other services used in connection with Neural Night.
13.3. The Organizers bear no liability for losses a Participant may incur in connection with participation in the selection process, the presentation of a Work, use of the Site, or the use of the Participant's Work and Materials in the manner provided for in these Regulations.
13.4. Any matters not settled by these Regulations shall be resolved by the Organizers and, where necessary, governed by additional documents published on the Site.
13.5. All disputes and disagreements arising in connection with Neural Night shall be resolved through negotiation.
13.6. These Regulations, and any relationship arising in connection with their performance, are governed by the legislation of the Russian Federation.