Overview

Trinity/La MaMa is a unique performing arts program, immersing students in the cutting-edge theater and dance scene of New York City.  It is the only one of its kind in the nation.   

Students from around the country keep developing their skills in ongoing technique classes and get to experience a wide variety of styles and approaches in workshops with noted NYC based artists.  

Students attend around 50 performances during the course of the semester and learn first-hand about the vibrant world of the NYC arts scene.  They then critically discuss and contextually place these performances in a two course-credit seminar entitled “Performance Analysis.”

Students also participate in a field study/internship with a dynamic arts organization to learn how artists get their work out and survive in the challenging climate for arts in this country. Beyond the experience this offers during the semester, students get to network and make invaluable life-long connections.

In addition to the rich curriculum, students experience living in New York City and become comfortable with navigating what is arguably the most vibrant, diverse and stimulating metropolis in the world.

Trinity/La MaMa follows a model created in the Theater and Dance department at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, which is a blending of the academic and the experiential.  It is integrally connected to the curriculum of the department.  The program provides students from Trinity and other schools with a full semester of undergraduate or graduate credit.  Students receive a transcript from the Trinity College registrar upon completion of the program.

Staff & Faculty:

Barbara Karger – Program Director & Associate Professor of Theater and Dance at Trinity College

Was born and raised in Vienna, Austria. She received her Master’s Degree in Physical Theater from the renowned Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Germany. After graduation, she and fellow classmates co-founded Antagon-Theater and created two original shows that were performed throughout Europe. After the group disbanded, she became a movement choreographer for productions in theaters such as Schauspielhaus Zürich, Schauspielhaus Düsseldorf, Stadttheater Stuttgart, and Halleschen Ufer and Kulturfabrik in Berlin.

As a performer, she toured the world with the acclaimed Swiss mask theatre group Mummenschanz for three years, which brought her to 6 continents. She also appeared in productions in Europe and the U.S. by groups such as xx-project, Bobo Dance, Faustwork, Circus Flora, and Ripe Time.

 She co-directed the original musical Ludwig II, which ran for three years in Füssen, Germany. Other directing credits include New York Goofs‘ Clown Brain at the Flea Theater and Coffee Cup Company’s Standing Clear. She has collaborated with her husband Michael Preston on such shows as a full-length version of Peter and the Wolf in Antwerp and Amsterdam, the Bindlestiff Family Circus‘ High Heels and Red Noses and From the Gutter to the Glitter, and Doug Elkins‘ and Friends award-winning, Fräulein Maria, which toured the United States for five years.

She has been teaching around the world for decades and held positions at NYU, Cooper Union, and the New School before joining the faculty at Trinity College in Hartford, CT in 2004. As an Associate Professor, she has taught courses in Directing, Voice, Physical Theater, Playwriting, and various levels of Acting. She has also been the Chairperson of the Department of Theater and Dance at Trinity College for a number of past years. Favorites among the student productions that she directed include Cloud Nine, The Laramie Project, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, and Spring Awakening (which she also translated). In 2018 she took on the directorship of the Trinity/La MaMa Performing Arts Program. Additionally, she holds certifications in Fitzmaurice Voicework and the Feldenkrais Method.

Her main goal and passion in her teaching is to facilitate, foster, and witness student’s growth and support them in finding their own artistic voice and path.

 

Sydney Yu – Program Coordinator at Trinity/LaMaMa

Sydney (Jiani) Yu is a recent graduate from Trinity and a Trinity/LaMaMa alumna from 2023. She was born in Sydney, Australia but raised in Beijing, China. She is a multi-disciplinary artist who loves using media, music and autobiographical storytelling as inspiration. Her previous directing/devising credits at Trinity College include The Vagina Monologues (Director), The Last Leaf (Devisor, Writer, Actor) and Baltimore (Assistant Director). Her experience in acting includes Cinderella (Ella), Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play (Lisa), Futurity (Chorus Leader/Head of Society), and Hamlet (Laertes). Sydney made her professional debut as Assistant Director of The Comeuppance (Silverthorne Theater).

Sydney is very thrilled to serve as the Trinity/LaMaMa Program Coordinator. She is a firm believer that broad experimentation with different kinds of arts helps a young artist develop their unique voice.