Ah! Italia!

After a rather rough flight and only sporadic sleep, I arrived in Roma...but my bag did not. Really, this is not an issue as expected something like that to happen what with two connecting flights and all. And besides...I'm in Italy! The drive to Spoleto was beautiful, with the countryside getting more and more hilly and mountainous as we got closer to the villa. Fields of sunflowers dotted the side of the road, and olive tree groves sprang up the farther from Rome we got.

There are a wide variety of people here - 4 from Singapore, 2 from Seoul, South Korea, and the rest from the US. Ages range from 21 to mid-50's, with both professionals and academics. I am sharing a room with a grad student from Sarah Lawrence who is here for the four weeks as well. Our room is at the top of a tower of rooms, and overlooks the villa's garden as well as the hills of Umbria (and olive tree groves).

Today, we had time to relax and get orientated to the villa and grounds here. Parts of the original structure of the house date from 1511. It has been beautifully and lovingly restored over the years that La MaMa has owned it, with rehearsal spaces, a chapel and common eating areas. The grounds are wonderfully landscaped, with potted hydrangeas, climbing jasmine (which is in bloom!) and roses. This evening, we walked down to the bottom of the hill for dinner at a local restaurant, sampling a variety of antipasti including figs, prosciutto, seafood salad and some delicious pizzas, including the local specialty with black truffle. YUM! And of course, lots of discussion about art and theatre.

Pictures will follow as soon as the bag arrives with the uploading cable...

Buona notte!

My bags are packed...

Off I go in the morning! It's finally here!!!

Everything is packed up...clothes, reading materials, journal. And the camera! I really enjoyed taking photos the last trip to Italy, and I look forward to a new part of the countryside to capture.

Everything is in the bags. Time to catch a few winks before I go.

10 days to go!

I'm getting really excited now. Organizing and packing has begun. I have several scripts to read before I get there - A Winter's Tale, The Seagull as well as two scripts for Chinese-Canadian director Liangtee Tue. Workshops for the first two weeks will be lead by Liz Diamond, Meredith Monk, Kama Ginkas, Michael Marmarinos and Liangtee Tue. My graduate committee suggested that I take a look at The Dramatic Imagination by Robert Edmund Jones before I go, so that's on the list too!

It will be a long trip - I leave Memphis at about 9:30 Saturday morning, and arrive in Rome at 8:45 am Sunday morning after two connections. From Rome, it's about a 2 hour ride to Spoleto. Hopefully I'll have slept on the plane so that I can enjoy the drive!

Ciao tutti!

Welcome to my blog for my month-long trip to Italy. I plan on sharing events of the workshop as well as the sights and sounds (and tastes!) of Italy. My last trip there was in 2006 with my sister and mom, and we had a fantastic time up in the northern region - visiting Pavia, Piacenza, Portofino, Lago Maggiore and Varese. Absolutely beautiful.

This trip will put me farther south, in the town of Spoleto in Umbria, about half-way between Rome and Firenze (Florence). Day trips that are planned include nearby towns of Assisi, Perugia, Deruta and Orvieto. I have two days off between sessions, and hope to journey a little further afield, but I haven't decided where yet. Departure in less than three weeks!

Ciao!