Renovations are coming to The Umbrella Arts Center! As spring arrives, improvements are about to bloom, increasing resources for students, learners, and makers.

The Umbrella’s strategic vision for the next 5+ years strengthens our commitment to supporting artists at every stage of their journey and serving our community’s needs. As part of our planning, we identified some key initiatives that will serve as a strong foundation for our work going forward. We will…

Elliot Norton Award-winning director Scott Edmiston last helmed a production at The Umbrella during the 2023–24 season with the critically acclaimed The Minutes. Now he's back, bringing a fresh vision to one of American literature's most beloved and enduring stories.

Kim Burns curates and introduces monthly films at The Umbrella through The Concord Film Project. Her selections are often foreign or lesser known but much-acclaimed films grounded in relatable emotions, urgent questions, and unique perspectives.

To our Umbrella community,

Winter Market at the Umbrella celebrates its 20th anniversary this year!

Fall 2025 Music Director Jordan Oczkowski has some interesting parallels to composer and lyricist Jonathan Larson as he tackles the musical helm of his musical: both are rockin' piano players and both were on the cusp of turning thirty when they began work on TICK, TICK...

Our expanded Artist-in-Residence program is pleased to welcome Joe Juknievich to the 2025/26 cohort in the area of Performing Arts. Most recently, Joe assistant directed and conducted dramaturgical research for The Umbrella's production of TICK, TICK... BOOM! Previously, he served as Assistant Director on The Umbrella's production of Network. As a theater director and deviser, Joe has also worked with Central Square Theater, BEDLAM, The Players' Ring, Entropy Theater, Firehouse Center for the Arts, Prescott Park, UMass Lowell, Praxis Stage, and Exiled Theatre.

Beloved Norton and IRNE award-winning director and choreographer Ilyse Robbins is back at The Umbrella this fall with TICK, TICK… BOOM!, an electrifying autobiographical musical by Jonathan Larson. 

Our introduction to our 2025/26 class of artists-in-residence continues with Sayako Hiroi. Sayako is a Japanese visual artist based in Boston, working across painting and traditional kintsugi, the practice of repairing broken pottery with gold. Her practice responds to silence and erasure, and to the unseen traces of presence, drawing from feminist ethics and Japanese visual archives.