Kenan Institute for the Arts provides UNCSA alumni opportunities for global connectivity through La MaMa Umbria’s summer residency

For more than twenty-five years, individuals from around the world have gathered near Spoleto, Italy, each summer to participate in a renowned artist residency program. Dedicated to “artistic experimentation, research and learning,” the La MaMa Umbria International Symposium for Directors and Playwrights — a branch of New York-based La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club — has solidified its place as a premier destination for creation and collaboration. For the last two summers, the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts has sponsored UNCSA alumni to travel to and attend the residency.

“La MaMa Umbria is a hub where artists from diverse corners of the globe convene to collaborate, generate new work and cultivate creative connections,” says Kenan Institute Executive Director Kevin Bitterman. “It is a fertile crossroads for artists at all stages of their career, and a perfect environment for members of the UNCSA community to advance their creative development.”

In 2024, six alumni were selected by La MaMa and the Kenan Institute to attend one of three sessions: two directors’ symposiums (one for devising and adaptation and one for arts-based civic engagement and conflict transformation) and another symposium for playwrights led by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Martyna Majok. Workshops for each session were curated for the small group of artists by a diverse range of respected international theatre makers.

The La MaMa experience

Founded by Off-Broadway theatre pioneer Ellen Stewart, La MaMa Umbria’s home is on the grounds of an old monastery. Participants live, learn and create together in close quarters in the bucolic Umbrian hills of Italy.

“La MaMa was different than I expected,” recalls Bailey Lee (B.F.A. ’19), who studied acting at UNCSA and is now honing her voice as a playwright while co-leading NYC-based The What Co. — an artistic lab for new work. Lee says that she drew strength from her diverse group of peers in the playwright retreat. “I walked away with resources I didn’t know I would need. I came up with so many new questions based on what I was learning. Above all, it helped to clarify for me that my voice and my writing is supposed to be different from the person next to me, and that my work is inherently good.”

“It was even beyond what I was looking for,” adds Abigail Holland (B.F.A. ’20), who also attended the playwright residency. “It was a very surprising, grounding and expansive experience.” Holland, who works in both theatre and filmmaking, has discovered many parallels between the two crafts. But she is grateful for the playwright symposium's focus on writing for the theatre: “It affirmed for me why I love film, but also why I love the theatre. Our learning was entirely community-oriented, which is something I love about theatre.”

For many, the symposium experience felt like a return to conservatory form. “It reminded me of the part of UNCSA where we could be wholly focused on art and craft our technique and build things together,” says Vivian Farahani (B.F.A. ’24) who attended the directors’ symposium led by Anne Bogart, Sergio Blanco, Stacy Klein, Amrita Ramanan, Daniela Nicolò and Enrico Casagrande. “It felt like a company mindset,” adds Lee, “from the communal learning down to the family-style meals.”

“We were incredibly close,” describes Robby Lutfy (H.S. ’05, B.F.A. ’20) of his experience in the directors’ symposium led by Hope Azeda, Derek Goldman, Dijana Milošević and Jakub “Kuba” Skrzywanek. “And it wasn’t just my cohort. There was a closeness with everyone: the teachers, the people cooking our food, the ones doing our laundry — the full staff. We were together all the time.” This incubation, he says, allowed him to create bold work he would not have been able to generate at home. “I had been out of conservatory-style training for a while,” he adds. “Here, we were constantly cross-pollinating with people of all ages and backgrounds. It broke us out of our comfort zones. It was a spiritual experience for me.”

[The Symposium] allowed me to witness firsthand how there are so many ways to build a life doing something you really love.

Abigail Holland

The intergenerational makeup of attendees was particularly impactful. “It allowed me to witness firsthand how there are so many ways to build a life doing something you really love,” says Holland. Some attendees were 45 years into their careers. Some were recent graduates. All were generous in sharing their unique perspectives.

A global perspective

One of the Kenan Institute’s key contributions to the UNCSA community is its dedication to fostering global connectivity among artists — an approach that aligns seamlessly with La MaMa’s mission to cultivate a truly international artistic experience through its residency program.

“It’s easy for artists to become siloed in their work,” says Bitterman. “A global perspective not only enriches individual artistic practices but also creates a more empathetic and interconnected artistic community. Ellen Stewart modeled this beautifully throughout her career — and her spirit continues to resonate through La MaMa Umbria and the artists it nurtures around the world.”

In the ten years since he completed his undergraduate degree at UNCSA, Ryan Pater (H.S. ’09, B.F.A. ’13) has discovered that American theater makers sometimes lack awareness of global theater traditions. “I think it’s important for American artists to have space to build that awareness,” says Pater of his time at La MaMa Umbria, “and to embrace something besides Western canon and approach.”

Farahani, who spent some of her childhood in Düsseldorf, Germany, was interested in the residency specifically to embrace a new approach. “I want to create a connection to the international theatre scene because I am interested in pursuing work in Europe. My whole family is there,” she explains. “La MaMa gave me the opportunity to learn different practices outside of my four years of American training and experience.” Farahani continues: “Because everyone spoke different languages, I found often that our first step wasn’t to talk. We would simply start working and find something together without using words or placing an idea first. I’ve never had the opportunity to create like that.”

Ticket Knowlton (H.S. ’17, B.F.A. ’21) agrees. “My session was cultivated around care and how to create caring spaces for a diverse group. We, ourselves, were a diverse group. You can’t achieve the same results in a room where everyone has the same language, the same definitions and the same labels as you.” At La MaMa Umbria, a diverse space equates to a safe space. “I had never been in a learning environment where there was no power dynamic,” they add. “I didn’t feel less than someone who was from a different country or who had a different educational background. There was no competition and no judgment.”

Through the residency, Lutfy discovered a different approach to directing — one that challenged his approach to work at home. “As a director in America, we tend to work from the inside out: table work and the intellectual aspects of the piece before you get on your feet in the space,” he explains. “In Europe, I found it was largely the opposite. It was from the outside in: get in the space and move around. From there, we began to unlock aesthetics and then intellectualize.” 

Altering artistic DNA

Though each participant returned home with their own unique reflections, the lasting impact of La MaMa Umbria is shared. Pater brought back new life to a personal project — one that blends autobiographical reflection with fiction. “I had been working on a solo show before the residency,” he says. “Watching my peers pull from so many parts of their lives was inspiring. It liberated me in my process and in my thinking [around my work].”

Farahani, who describes herself as shy and not overly social, gained perspective on her inner self: “There was something about the amount of freedom everyone felt in that environment… I’ve never been as impulsive or creative or taken as many risks as I did in those two weeks. I hope to continue to bring that part of me along.” Following her time in Umbria, Farahani collaborated with symposium colleague Elizabeth Hess on a new work, "No Reservation." Conceived, written and directed by Hess, “No Reservation” premiered in February 2025 at La MaMa’s The Downstairs Theatre — with Farahani serving as assistant director and stage manager. Coming on board for “No Reservation” also gave her the opportunity to collaborate with fellow UNCSA alumna Maya Mays (B.F.A. Drama ’24), who made her Off-Broadway debut in the performance piece in addition to serving as a producer.

“The first time I worked with Maya as an actress was when I directed Caryl Churchill’s ‘This is a Chair’ during our second year at UNCSA,” recalls Farahani. “After one of our ‘No Reservations’ rehearsals recently we were on the subway home together and had this moment of, ‘oh wow, we’re doing it!’ It has been so fulfilling to get to work on a show at La MaMa and connect with all of the artists, technicians and users who pass through that building.”

Holland has also embraced the opportunity to continue collaborating with La MaMa peers through a series of readings hosted at La MaMa NYC — an event organized annually for summer symposium participants. “I showcased a draft of the project I began developing in Umbria,” says Holland of her adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “Three Sisters.” Holland’s piece was read by eight actors — a mix of new faces and frequent collaborators, including Kate Pittard (B.F.A. Drama ’20) and Pat “Rooster” Monaghan (B.F.A. Drama ’20). “It was affirming to hear it read out loud,” she says, and it has allowed her to bring fresh material into her next draft. “One of the actors had a great note about one of the characters,” she recalls. “It was so much better than what I had conceived. I’m now editing and revising while keeping that detail in mind.”

I had intense burnout...La MaMa gave me a sense of purpose that I was in desperate search of… it connected me to roots for something much bigger than myself.

Robby Lufty

“I had intense burnout,” reflects Lutfy, who had produced and directed a string of shows on end leading up to his time at the LaMaMa Directors Symposium. “I couldn’t go back to that,” he says. “La MaMa gave me a sense of purpose that I was in desperate search of… it connected me to roots for something much bigger than myself.” 

Editor’s note: The UNCSA campus community can experience Lutfy’s work this spring when he returns to UNCSA to direct Martin McDonagh’s “The Pillowman” as part of the School of Drama’s Patrons Series.

“I keep referring to this past year as the ‘Year of School of the Arts,’” says Lutfy. “I had the incredible opportunity to go to La MaMa Umbria, thanks to the Kenan Institute. I directed two plays for alumni-run RhinoLeap Productions and I produced with the National New Play Network, an organization run by alumnus Nan Barnett (B.F.A. Drama ’83). And now, I’m directing at UNCSA.” “I’m thrilled to return to UNCSA,” he continues. “It was the first place I truly felt like I found my people. It gave me the confidence to call myself an artist and it provided me with both craft and with lifelong collaborations.”

“I am so grateful to have been a recipient [of support from the Kenan Institute for the Arts],” says Lee, summarizing her experience at La MaMa Umbria. “It was very affirming as an artist to be supported in that way. The relationships I made are powerful, and they will continue. I hope others have the opportunity to do the same. I already feel that the seeds for my experience there are becoming part of my artistic DNA.”