Juliette Carrillo Named 2025 MacDowell Spring-Summer Fellow 

UC Irvine Department of Drama professor joins internationally recognized residency for artists

The Claire Trevor School of the Arts is pleased to announce that Juliette Carrillo, professor of drama, has been named a 2025 MacDowell Spring-Summer Fellow. Founded in 1907, MacDowell is the first artist residency in the United States, providing artists and writers with time and space to develop new work for over a century. Past fellows include James Baldwin, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Louise Eldrich, Cathy Park Hong and Dee Rees.  

The 2025 selection process was highly competitive, with 2,222 applicants and a 6.8 percent acceptance rate. Carrillo will join a cohort of 300 artists chosen for this year’s residency.  

“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to spend four weeks at MacDowell this summer,” shared Carrillo.  “As a director who also identifies as a playwright, it’s extremely difficult to find unencumbered time to focus on my writing.”   

Carrillo is a nationally recognized theatre director, writer and filmmaker from Los Angeles. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, she has directed productions across the country, including premieres and classics at theaters such as at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Yale Repertory Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory and more. Carrillo’s recognitions include a National Endowment for the Arts/Theatre Communications Group Directing Fellowship and the Princess Grace Award. 

At MacDowell, Carrillo will work on The Healing Play, a project she began in 2024. 

“A brother-sister play, the piece explores how we go from illness of all kinds to health” shared Carrillo. “I’m really looking forward to taking a deep dive into this project.” 

To learn more about MacDowell, visit macdowell.org. To learn more about Juliette Carrillo, visit her Department of Drama bio page here.