18th Annual La MaMa Umbria International Playwright Retreat
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT RETREAT
Playwrights are welcome to spend their summer with La MaMa Umbria International in beautiful Spoleto, Italy. The selected group of playwrights will participate in writing workshops led by an award-winning playwright while enjoying the peaceful surroundings of the Italian countryside. Past workshop leaders include Branden Jacob-Jenkins, Mac Wellman, Lynn Nottage, and Lisa Kron.
Martyna Majok was born in Bytom, Poland and raised in Jersey and Chicago. She was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play, Cost of Living, which debuted this fall on Broadway. Other plays include Sanctuary City, Queens, and Ironbound, which have been produced across American and international stages.
Martyna Majok was born in Bytom, Poland and raised in Jersey and Chicago. She was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play, Cost of Living, which debuted this fall on Broadway. Other plays include Sanctuary City, Queens, and Ironbound, which have been produced across American and international stages. Other awards include The Obie Award for Playwriting, The Hull-Warriner Award, The Academy of Arts and Letters’ Benjamin Hadley Danks Award for Exceptional Playwriting, Off Broadway Alliance Best New Play Award, The Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding New Play, The Hermitage Greenfield Prize, as the first female recipient in drama, The Champions of Change Award from the NYC Mayor’s Office, The Francesca Primus Prize, two Jane Chambers Playwriting Awards, The Lanford Wilson Prize, The Lilly Award’s Stacey Mindich Prize, Helen Merrill Emerging Playwright Award, Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding Original New Play from The Helen Hayes Awards, Jean Kennedy Smith Playwriting Award, ANPF Women’s Invitational Prize, David Calicchio Prize, Global Age Project Prize, NYTW 2050 Fellowship, NNPN Smith Prize for Political Playwriting, and Merage Foundation Fellowship for 1 The American Dream. Martyna studied at Yale School of Drama, Juilliard, University of Chicago, and Jersey public schools. She was a 2012-2013 NNPN playwright-in-residence, the 2015-2016 PoNY Fellow at the Lark Play Development Center, and a 2018-2019 Hodder Fellow at Princeton University. Martyna is currently writing a musical adaptation of The Great Gatsby, with music by Florence Welch and Thomas Bartlett, and developing films for Plan B, Pastel, MGM/Orion, MRC, and Participant.
“To make theater, artists must step into somebody else’s minds and hearts, their wounds and desires—whether as writer or actor or audience. Theater asks us to imagine living as another to expand our outlook on human possibility. Which might be why it’s so threatening to some, and so nourishing to others, but so vital for all. By daring to tell stories, we can access and gift access to a wider understanding of all human life across our global home.” — Martyna
Kenneth Prestininzi is a playwright, director, dramaturg, teacher and producer. Prior to coming to Connecticut College, he was the Chair (acting) and Associate Chair of Playwriting at the Yale School of Drama and a Pembroke Fellow at Brown University. He directed “The Totalitarians” by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb in New Orleans, “El Grito del Bronx” by Migdalia Cruz in Providence and his own play Ugmo and Eenie Go Down THe Ruski Hole in Boston in 2014. His play, “Birth Breath Bride Breath Elizabeth” was a featured show in Boston’s The Next Thing Festival (2013), alongside shows by Mike Daisy, Richard Maxwell, The Debate Society and Daniel Fish.
He has written and directed new plays for the last twenty years in Brighton (England), Cambridge, Chicago, Edinburgh, Kalamazoo, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York City, Philadelphia, Prague, Providence, and San Francisco, and has received theater awards from the American College Theater Festival, California Arts Council, Djerassi Artist Program, Gerbode Foundation, Goethe Institute, LEF Foundation, Millay Arts Colony, National Endowment of the Humanities, Rockefeller Foundation and the San Francisco Cultural Equity Office. His acclaimed play “Chaste” was recently produced at Trap Door Theatre in Chicago (Kate Hendrickson, director), where previously his play “Beholder” received a Joseph Jefferson Award for best new play. His original plays include: “A License to Love,” “AmeriKafka,””As American As,” “Beholder,” “Chaste,” “Love in the Seventh Kingdom of Wrath,” “The Monkey from Zanzibar,” “Ria and Bobby,” “Ugmo and Eenie Go Down the Ruski Hole,” and the chamber operas “Ariadne,” “The Response” and “Servitude of a King.”
Currently the artistic director of Brown/Trinity Playwrights Rep (playwrightsrep.com) where he also teaches the creative ensemble, he has taught playwriting and performance courses at ACT of San Francisco, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Cornell University, Intersection for the Arts, Northwestern University, University of Iowa and West Coast Playwrights.
LA MAMA UMBRIA SYMPOSIUM AND RETREAT FAQ
How is it decided who will be accepted into the Programs?
The applications are considered on the basis of the responses to the questions on the Application Form: why is this Program appropriate for you and what do you hope to get out of it? Once the Application has been vetted, and approved, the participants will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis. If the Program is filled up, there is a Waiting List you can join.
How does the Waiting List work?
If a Program fills up, we will let you know and put you on the Wait List. If someone drops out, we will go to the next person on the List and offer them that spot. This could happen any time up to a week prior to the start of the Program. If you decide not to wait, please let us know and we will remove your name from the List.
How do I apply for a Scholarship?
Write an email to [email protected] requesting a scholarship. Let us know which program you are interested in. Most scholarships cover part of the fees. Please explain why you need the assistance and the minimum you would need to make your participation possible.
Should I wait until I have been accepted prior to sending in my deposit?
You can wait until you receive an acceptance letter, but we will not reserve your spot until we receive your deposit. If you send your deposit and are not accepted, you will receive a full refund (except for credit card fees.)
What is the Application deadline for the Playwright and Directing programs?
The deadline is May 15th, but the Programs could fill up prior to that date. Please check with us to see if there is still space. We will have a waiting list for those who wish to wait to see if someone who applied decides not to attend. If you pay the Deposit by May 15th and we are not yet full, we will hold your spot.
If I pay the Deposit and find that I cannot attend, willI get a refund?
You will get a full refund if you cancel by May 15th, except for the credit card fee.
When is the Full Payment due?
Full payment is due by June 1st.
If I pay the Full Payment and then I find I cannot come, will I get a Refund?
You will get a Full Refund (except for Credit Card charges) if we have a Waiting List and we can find someone to take your spot. If not, you will get a 50% Refund if you let us know by June 15th. After June 15th, there are no Refunds.
Is there a way to pay where I won’t incur Credit Card charges?
Yes, you can pay by check, made out to La MaMa ETC and mailed to: La MaMa ETC, Umbria Programs, 66 East Fourth Street, New York, NY 10003, USA. There are no additional fees. You can also pay by bank transfer or Zelle. There are not additional fees to us, but your bank may charge you a fee.
