Kenan Institute for the Arts supports UNCSA alumni creativity and self-discovery at La MaMa Umbria

Tucked among the hills of Spoleto, Italy, lies La MaMa Umbria International — a branch of New York-based La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. Each summer, artists of all backgrounds, ages and perspectives come together from around the globe to learn and create together, guided by renowned instructors and a world-class on-site team. The International Symposium for Directors and the International Playwright Retreat are two separate tracks for which artists may apply. For the third year in a row, alumni from UNCSA have attended the 10-day sessions, free of charge, through a partnership between the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts (Kenan Arts) and La Mama.  

“Supporting artists through the La MaMa Umbria Residency reflects our belief that creativity thrives through collaboration, curiosity and global exchange,” says Kenan Arts Executive Director Kevin Bitterman. “By engaging with artists from around the world, UNCSA alumni gain new perspectives that challenge, inspire and strengthen their artistic practice while deepening their connection to a broader creative community.” 

In 2025, eight alumni were selected by La MaMa and Kenan Arts to attend. The directors' symposium explored puppetry with Dan Hurlin, spatial design and narrative with Wesley Ruzibiza, physical theatre perspectives with Stefanie Batten Bland, and the art of curiosity with Liesl Tommy, along with workshops with Simon McBurney and Milo Rau. The playwright retreat was helmed by Dael Orlandersmith, rounding out an acclaimed group of instructors — all experts in their craft.  

The experience was life-changing. 

Space for immersion and care 

A key theme among UNCSA participants was appreciation for the intentional space created at the La MaMa Umbria campus and the care with which its hosts approached their guests. “From the very beginning, the experience was framed as an opportunity to fully reconnect with our artistic selves, free from outside concerns,” describes Houston Odum (B.F.A. Design & Production ’22). Others share that La MaMa was a safe space, where a lack of creature comforts allowed for a deeper connection to the art.  

Attendees live in shared spaces and are in community at all times, through their planned sessions and during all meals. Burdensome chores, such as doing laundry, were taken care of to allow participants to truly be immersed in creativity. “Nothing can prepare you for the experience of living in community with other artists,” says Heidi McIver (H.S. Drama ’99, B.F.A. Drama ’09, M.F.A. Filmmaking ’27). “We ate phenomenal home-cooked meals and worked on our art in such a stunningly beautiful place. It felt a bit like being in a dream, like the ‘real world’ was a lifetime away.” This dream space has had a long-lasting impact. “The kindness and hospitality softened me so much as a person,” shares Isabelle Ellingson (B.F.A. Drama ’14). “And that is actually the vehicle through which creativity thrives… It provided a very safe container to just take risks as an artist.”

Nothing can prepare you for the experience of living in community with other artists. We ate phenomenal home-cooked meals and worked on our art in such a stunningly beautiful place. It felt a bit like being in a dream, like the ‘real world’ was a lifetime away.

Heidi McIver (H.S. Drama ’99, B.F.A. Drama ’09, M.F.A. Filmmaking ’27)

While cell reception was scarce, the disconnect was freeing and had surprising outcomes. Patrick Osteen (H.S. Drama ’07, B.F.A. Drama ’11) developed a ritual of taking morning walks. Because he couldn’t easily connect with his partner back home in real time, he sent her voice memos from his daily walk. “It became a form of journaling,” he explains. “I could process and detail through the things we were working on and become more clear about them. Meanwhile, I was standing at the top of a hill overlooking the Italian countryside. That space was a wonderful one in which to process.” 

Space for the process 

The physical space made way for a shift in mental space, as artists dove deep with their cohorts to unlock thinking, feeling and movement in their art. The sessions focused on process over output — leaving judgment at home. Jessika ‘Jesse’ Pilkes (B.F.A. Filmmaking ’08) felt the immediate effects of the freedom of creative expression at La MaMa.

“When you remove judgment and when you remove survival and all of these other factors that inhibit creativity, you just have an unbelievable garden of creation,” she describes. Charles ‘Charlie’ Herndon (B.F.A. Filmmaking ’21) appreciated the same depth. “It’s important to talk about what you’re working on… the deep themes of it,” he explains. “We didn’t talk about production; only about story essentials.” 

For Herndon, this led to a new opportunity once returning home. After the playwright retreat, his group stayed in touch and arranged a multi-day reading in New York City at La MaMa’s Great Jones Studios. He presented three works over three days, including a solo work inspired by his life story. “I’m a writer. What I do exists on a page,” explains Herndon. “But at La MaMa, I learned to present solo work.” That experience has led him to dig deeper to connect with other artists in the city. “After La MaMa, I’m a little less intimidated by people who have been doing this since they were five years old,” he says. “Once you start making your own work, you’re part of it all.” 

Space for community  

While networking and connection-making are undeniably highlights of the La MaMa Umbria experience, it’s better framed as simply community. “The time built in for socializing created space for really authentic conversations about our work,” shares Odum. Community was, in turn, formed within the diverse group, and amongst the UNCSA alumni who attended the same sessions. Though everyone scattered in different directions at the close of the intensive, community remains. “I have stayed in conversation with Houston,” says Pilkes. The two share a love of clowning and circus. “We’d like to work together on a new clown show he is building,” she adds.  

Ellingson stayed in touch with a member of her cohort who will direct an upcoming performance at Ellingson’s Shakespeare on the Water company in Sausalito, California. Fueled by the community at La MaMa Umbria, Osteen will continue growing a writing workshop at his Asheboro, North Carolina-based RhinoLeap Productions, joined by UNCSA alumnus and 2024 La MaMa attendee Robby Lutfy (H.S. Drama ’05, B.F.A. Drama ’20). Herndon attended the same session as Samip Ravel (B.F.A. Drama ’12), and they connected around a shared discovery that they grew up in the same Charlotte, North Carolina, neighborhood. With almost exactly ten years between them, Herndon appreciated Ravel’s wisdom from a different career vantage point, and his advice to trust and follow your instinct. Nothing about the community-building experience felt transactional — only a bond built around vulnerability and artistic trust.  

Space for possibility 

“The first word that comes to mind is ‘possibility,’” says Ellingson of the greatest takeaway from her La MaMa experience. “It felt like I had this one kind of vision of what was possible within the world I had created for myself… then I went to La MaMa and discovered endless possibilities. Some tangible, and some creating a different tone within my work. What I am able to create is actually endless.” Pilkes shares a similar sentiment. “The experience helped me weave together all of the things that I love: puppetry, movement, directing, dance… I’ve been fusing mediums a lot more now,” she says. “I feel a new surge of confidence. It’s all possible.”

The first word that comes to mind is 'possibility.' It felt like I had this one kind of vision of what was possible within the world I had created for myself… then I went to La MaMa and discovered endless possibilities.

Isabelle Ellingson (B.F.A. Drama ’14)

“One of the most powerful things about La MaMa Umbria is watching artists reconnect with the part of themselves that creates freely,” says Bitterman. “This experience reminds them that there are far fewer limitations than those we often place on ourselves. When you feel truly supported, anything becomes possible.” 

Some attendees discovered new possibilities in familiar places. Michael Lluberes (B.F.A. Drama ’01) will direct “Cabaret” next spring at UNCSA as part of the School of Drama’s performance season. For some, the possibility unlocked is within. McIver, who has struggled with authentically identifying as an artist moved in a new direction following their time at La MaMa. “The experience at La MaMa catapulted that conversation in a new direction for me,” they explain. “I told myself I wasn’t good at drawing, but would create an intricate and beautiful shadow-puppet wolf freehanded. I didn’t consider myself a dancer or choreographer, but there I was creating movement pieces. I arrived with my usual imposter syndrome and left with a quiet, grounded belief that I am an artist.” 

“The person I was there felt like my freest and most uninhibited creative and wild risk-taking version of myself,” shares Pilkes. “Experiencing that was life-changing. I’m now aware that it’s all in me. Most of us live in a world where we have much to be guarded about. The most beautiful and profound thing I took away from La MaMa was cracking myself open and discovering seeing that geode. That version of me is who I want to live my life as. I just have to keep fostering and nurturing it.”