Umbria 2016: International Playwright Retreat
Teaching Artist: Mac Wellman (USA)
August 12 – 22, 2016
Mac Wellman is best known for his experimental work in the theater which rebels against theatrical conventions, often abandoning such traditional elements as plot and character altogether. His plays frequently resemble a moving collage of events which has more in common with an avant-garde dance production than Broadway-style theater. Wellman said that he uses words as objects in his writing. “I found if you try to write totally in cliches and things that don’t sound right,” Wellman clarified, “you deal with a language that frankly is 98% of what people speak, think, and hear. So it’s enormously enjoyable.” This type of language has been positively characterized as “an untrammeled flow of logorrhea: plain words, fancy words, space-age words, Victorian words and words that defy the dictionary” by The New York Times reviewer Ben Brantley.
CREDIT: The Symposium and Retreat are fully accredited programs of Sarah Lawrence College (2 credits for one session of the Symposium and 1 credit for the Retreat) For more information about Sarah Lawrence College, please visit www.slc.edu.
FEE: The fee is $2,400. Fee includes workshop, housing and meals for 10 days, ground transportation from the Rome airport to and from La MaMa Umbria, and excursions by bus, van or car.
APPLICATION PROCESS: Playwrights who wish to participate in the retreat will fill out the Application Form and send in their $500 deposit. You will be notified about your acceptance into the program shortly. Participants will be selected based on their commitment to the process and the case they make on the application as to how this program will help them with their creative process. Subject matter of the plays developed will NOT be a criterion for acceptance, nor will theatrical style, number of characters, nationality, perceived ethnicity, race or gender.
If you are not accepted into the Retreat, your deposit will be returned in FULL. If you are accepted and choose not to attend, you will receive a refund of all but a $100 registration fee, provided you notify us by June 15th. After that date, we cannot provide a refund of your payment.
La MaMa Umbria International
La MaMa Umbria International provides artists from around the world with residency programs and intensive workshops. For over 25, La MaMa Umbria has fostered cross-cultural and international exchanges and creative collaborations. Hundreds of artists have found Umbria to be a space that is beautiful, spiritually enriching, welcoming, and open to bold artistic experiments.