La MaMa Umbria Symposium

The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts offers UNCSA Alumni an opportunity to attend the 2024 La MaMa Umbria Symposium in Italy for Directors and Playwrights.

The Call for Applications ended on May 10. Applications are no longer being accepted for the La MaMa Umbria Symposium for this year.

The 2024 recipients are:

La MaMa Umbria 2024 International Symposium for Directors
Ryan Pater, Drama ‘13
Vivian Farahani, Drama ‘24
Lindsey Knowlton, Drama ‘21
Robby Lutfy, Drama ‘21

La MaMa Umbria 2024 International Playwright Retreat
Bailey Lee, Drama ‘19
Abigail Holland, Drama ‘20

For over 30 years, the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts at UNCSA has partnered with cultural organizations, fostering new programs in arts and cultural research, the development of new work, arts education, and career development for artists and cultural leaders.

This summer, the Kenan Institute for the Arts is collaborating again with La MaMa Umbria International by sponsoring six UNCSA Alumni for one of three creative symposiums in Italy designed for artists to work with internationally renowned theatre professionals whose work is impacting the contemporary landscape of performative arts.

“For nearly 25 years,” says Kenan Institute Executive Director Kevin Bitterman, “La MaMa Umbria has served as a hub where artists from diverse corners of the globe convene to collaborate, generate new work and exchange creative concepts — it is a fertile crossroads for artists at all stages of development, and a perfect environment for members of the UNCSA community to advance their creative practice.”

Founded in 1990 by legendary theatre pioneer, Ellen Stewart, La MaMa Umbria International is dedicated to artistic experimentation, research, and learning. Housed in a former monastery just outside Spoleto, Italy, the center is less than two hours from Rome. Hundreds of artists have found Umbria to be a space that is beautiful, spiritually enriching, welcoming, and open to bold artistic experiments.

The 2024 La MaMa Umbria International workshop leaders include American theatre director Anne Bogart; Franco-Uruguayan playwright and director Sergio Blanco; Doris Duke Artist Award-winning director Stacy Klein; Contemporary Rwandan director and playwright Hope Azeda; Co-Founding Artistic and Executive Director of The Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics Derek Goldman; Co-founder of DAH Theater Dijana Milošević; and Polish-born American playwright Martyna Majok who received the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play "Cost of Living," among other workshop leaders.

Find more information about La MaMa Umbria International.