Miguel Bregante '24 Named New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Artistic Fellow

Directing alum Miguel Bregante '24 was selected as one of five 2050 Artistic Fellows at New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW). The fellowship is named in celebration of the U.S. Census Bureau milestone expected in 2050, when there won't be a single ethnic or racial majority in the United States. The small, annual cohort represents the plurality of perspectives New York City has to offer.

"The 2050 Artistic Fellowship embodies our values of nurturing and cultivating an artistic community that challenges dominant paradigms and amplifying those whose experiences are not often heard," NYTW said.

As a 2050 Artistic Fellow, Bregante will develop a modern retelling of Frankenstein that interrogates how AI, as today's boogeyman, mirrors what it means to be human. He will also participate in gatherings, workshops and sharing sessions at NYTW with his cohort.

"After my years at Columbia, and as someone still quite new to the US, I’ve been navigating the search for jobs that make sense to me, and spaces to do it. NYTW felt like exactly the right place for that," Bregante said. "This fellowship opens the NYTW doors to the US and offers support for next steps in the city. That means mentorship, financial support, and a sense of theatrical home. And that is huge."

The 2050 Artistic Fellowship has nurtured new generations of theatremakers for the last 25 years. The fellowship supports artists across theatre disciplines, including playwrights, directors, designers and producers. Bregante was chosen as a director. He has been inspired by NYTW productions including, but not limited to, Here There Are Blueberries, Merrily We Roll Along, To Love You So Much I Could Die, How to Defend Yourself, and Hadestown.

 "NYTW is a very very exciting institution. I’ve seen several productions there over my four years in NYC that have really inspired me," Bregante said. "Their programs feel accessible, engaged and connected, and also open to change."

NYTW developed the 2050 Artistic Fellowship to push artists and the theatre industry to grapple with questions like, "How can theatre challenge our conceptions of storytelling? How can we push aesthetic boundaries in the 21st century? What is the power of theatre today?"

Bregante is a Chilean-Spanish director who studied mathematics and physics and worked in telecommunications engineering across Spain, Austria and France before co-founding and directing the acclaimed and experimental La Mona Ilustre Theater Company in Chile, known for its image-based, nearly wordless storytelling. 

"Evolving from a Lecoq-based movement methodology to an in-depth script analysis, his work blends multilayered narratives and distortion of reality to explore the enigmatic inner landscapes of individuals," said NYTW. "Fiercely advocating for tenderness, Miguel fosters a nurturing, diverse, and highly collaborative rehearsal space, where each voice holds the potential to unlock the key idea for a production’s success."