Written by Jaden Parker
You may or may not have noticed, but your dear editor was away for a little while—10 days to be exact. I was away on a Playwright Retreat in Spoleto in Umbria, Italy. Of course, I couldn’t go without taking some notes and beautiful photos to share with you all! I’ll be uploading these in three separate parts, so stay tuned for the rest of my story!
I’d only left the country once in my entire life when I arrived in Italy, my first European trip. The airport atmosphere was unforgiving for those who don’t pay attention to anyone but themselves, which was sort of a huge relief for me. After a stress-induced walk back and forth in the airport terminals, I finally found the group that was to meet me. From there, we took the train from Rome to Spoleto. At the train station, a van took us to the villa.
The villa was absolutely gorgeous. There were wooden picnic tables outside, a beautiful setting for all our meals, and the grounds extended far into the distance on all sides. During our tour of the villa, I saw sights so beautiful that I couldn’t find words to speak. The villa was rumored to be an old monastery, so there were still the old wooden doors and windows with iron bars from those days.
All of our meals were made by a cook who came to the villa to prepare them for us. At our first meal, all you could hear were sounds of satisfaction, as we enjoyed the fresh fruit and vegetables from the garden and the delicious meats and cheeses. I actually maintained my weight while being there believe it or not because they have no added sugars in their food there. Everything is healthy and fresh! Our last dinner was cantaloupe pasta. It sounds like an odd combination, but it was absolutely incredible and delicious.
I had my first ever fresh fig while there, as their gardens contained plum trees, olive trees, and various other fruit trees for us to enjoy. While we were in town, we got to see a shop known for Spoleto’s namesake, the porchetta sandwich! Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my favorite food of all: gelato! I am a sucker for ice cream and all things of that nature, so I couldn’t resist getting gelato any time I had the chance. It would be 10am, and I would step away from the group to snatch up some stracciatella, which is vanilla with chocolate streaked through it.
After I’d dived into my first bite of gelato, I was informed that the place to get gelato was this place called Crispini. When we arrived at the storefront on our tour, I understood why! They had won awards for years in a row for being the best gelateria in the country! They were known for their pistachio flavor, but I’d already been known to track down stracciatella wherever we went. I was blown away by the contrast in flavor. Crispini’s gelato was so smooth and rich. It was a thousand steps above the gelato I’d sunk myself into on the first day! But gelato is gelato. I was just happy to be in Italy.
On our first day, we learned a lot about Ellen Stewart, the founder of La MaMa. Ellen Stewart was the first black female fashion designer for Saks Fifth Avenue. Because she couldn’t get other black women to work for her—they believed her to think she was better than them—she hired immigrants to sew her designs for her. They called her MaMa. Her brother came to her one day, wanting there to be a space for him to put on his plays since no other theater would take his work. She decided to make their own.
Jumping from location to location, she settled illegally in the basement of a building. Eventually, the building director came and informed her what she already knew: she couldn’t have a theater in that location. But she could have a cafe. Her workers were calling out to her “MaMa! MaMa!” as he tried to help her come up with a name. “What about MaMa Cafe?” he offered. “If it’s going to be anything, it should be La MaMa Cafe,” Ellen corrected. And that’s how La MaMa got its name.
Over time, she moved her work internationally because it was easier to approve plays in Europe. She was devoted to keeping La MaMa for artists. If your play was a hit, you had three weeks to stay. If it flopped, she had you come back in two years to try again. She knew that it was only the play, not the artist; she always believed in the artist.
With this amazing history surrounding me, I couldn’t help but feel empowered to write. It was nice to get back into writing and enjoying it again. I’d lost touch with my inner artist. But with the help of gelato, Ellen Stewart, and an amazing group of people to work with—more on them later—I was able to relax, take in the scenery, and write.
