Nicholas Lampietti ’25 Awarded 2025 Projects for Peace Grant
Nicholas Lampietti ’25 has been awarded a 2025 Projects for Peace grant to implement a global peacebuilding project this summer. His project, an original musical inspired by the Buddha's journey to enlightenment, will blend the rich performance traditions of India with Western musical theatre, serving as a catalyst for interfaith dialogue in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.
Lampietti’s project stems from his lifelong passion for theatre, his academic studies in Sociology and Peace & Conflict Studies at Grinnell, and his semester spent living in a Buddhist monastery through Carleton College’s Buddhist Studies in India Program. His musical will incorporate elements of pop/rock musical theatre, Bollywood, and Indian folk sounds and dance, exploring universal themes of faith and truth.
“The initial idea for this project, writing a musical about South Asian religious traditions, came from many failed meditation sessions while on my semester abroad–my wandering mind couldn't shake the fact that Jesus has three musicals written about him, but the Buddha has none. That's about to change! All jokes aside, I eventually settled on the story of the Buddha, after much deliberation, because of its simplicity and how much it resonates with my own feelings about the current state of the world,” said Lampietti. “It’s a story about someone witnessing suffering, becoming disillusioned, and seeking a greater understanding of existence. I hope this musical inspires audiences to reflect on their own journeys and the shared human search for meaning.”
A key aspect of the project will be a series of public workshops in Jaipur, fostering interfaith dialogue at a time when ethno-religious tensions are rising across South and Southeast Asia. By engaging local communities in the creative process, Lampietti hopes to demonstrate theatre’s role as a tool for peacebuilding.
Ashley Laux, associate director of Faculty-Led Learning Across the Globe (FLAG), expressed enthusiasm for Lampietti’s work. “Nicholas’ project demonstrates the critical role that art plays in building peace. His deep engagement with both the creative and scholarly aspects of peacebuilding in collaboration with global community partners makes this an exciting and impactful initiative.”
About Projects For Peace
Projects for Peace is a national grant program, based out of Middlebury College in Vermont, which provides a $10,000 grant designed to help undergraduate students implement a grassroots project that addresses root causes of conflict and promotes peace. Projects for Peace is a global program that partners with educational institutions to identify and support young peacebuilders. Each year, the program grants $1.25 million to student leaders who are developing innovative, community-centered, and scalable responses to the world’s most pressing issues.
