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.

The Umbrella Arts Center's Artist-in-Residence program has expanded for 2025/26, and we're pleased to welcome a cohort of five makers and educators to make something unforgettable with our resources and for our community here in Concord. In ceramics, Katie Fee has moved into a studio and begun working and teaching with enthusiasm this month. 

Alex Lonati is making her Umbrella directorial debut with this fall's season opener, the award-winning play The Counter by Meghan Kennedy. 

Every Monday morning, Jason Rogers practices law. But on Monday nights, Jason became an oil painter, then a prize winner. More importantly, he became a better lawyer.

Thanks to oil classes led at by instructor Lois Andersen, Rogers' work "3 Eggs in a Nest" was awarded the highest honor at The Umbrella's 2025 Summer Student Showcase. In the wake of this honor, Rogers reflected on how his artistic journey has been a key component of his personal and professional development during the spring semester (read on below).

Ilyse Robbins is an Elliot Norton Award-winning Director and Choreographer who will be returning to The Umbrella this month with our new musical production, The Spitfire Grill. Robbins also directed and choreographed last season's rock musical, LIZZIE. 

Ilyse “took 5” with us during a busy holiday and rehearsal weekend to share her enthusiasm about the new show, which opens in previews April 25 and runs through May 18.