Jennifer Ridgway is a seasoned theatre teaching artist with 30 years of experience harnessing the transformative power of theatre. Beginning her journey on stage in the DMV area, she developed a strong commitment to theatre for young audiences, working with organizations such as Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre Programs, Imagination Stage, and Adventure Theatre. Recognizing teaching artistry as a vital artistic discipline, she specializes in facilitating creative, arts-making and learning experiences that amplify everyday stories, promote empathy, create positive change, and foster community joy.
Jennifer’s extensive repertoire includes writing, directing, designing, and puppet building, and her work seamlessly integrates theatre, storytelling, music, dance, and puppetry. While she enjoyed her international experience directing dual-language American musicals in China, she is passionate about small, local work, such as her collaboration with Building Better People Productions directing "Friendlier Fables and Thoughtful Tales," featuring stories by Ricardo Rivera, Rissa Miller, and Lynne Streeter Childress, BBPP’s Founding Artistic Director. She skillfully weaves academic content and cultural and environmental themes into her projects, and enjoys involving the community in the development process.
Alongside Cory Wilkerson, she co-authored a case study in “The Reflexive Teaching Artist,” focusing on her work with the Neighborhood Bridges Program, a critical literacy that uses storytelling and theatre. Jennifer holds an MFA in Directing/Theatre for Youth from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro; a BA in Acting from the University of Maryland, College Park; and a certificate in Arts and Culture Strategy from the University of Pennsylvania.
In April 2020, she launched YARD DRAMAS in Prince George’s County, MD, supporting her community during the challenges of virtual life. Now recognized as a certified minority-owned LLC, YARD DRAMAS collaborates with clients to create customized, interactive, community-minded storytelling experiences that bridge connections, increase learning, and grow new ideas, pathways, and solutions. Jennifer integrates her role as an Anacostia Watershed Steward and her social justice, critical literacy, and arts integration expertise to create impactful experiences for all ages.
As Co-Founder and current President of the Teaching Artists of the Mid-Atlantic (TAMA), she empowers and supports fellow teaching artists and advocates for their recognition as professionals. Her contributions include speaking on behalf of 69 Teaching Artists before the Maryland Senate and House Committee budget hearings in February 2025, and leading the authorship of TAMA’s recommendation to the US Department of Labor to add “Teaching Artist” to the Standardized Occupational Classification Codes in August 2025 and TAMA’s 8 Principles for Professional Teaching Artists.
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# Artistic Statement
# Each of us has a story to tell, and we all have a role to play in writing our collective story.
I am a Theatre Teaching Artist with a diverse portfolio, including classical productions, American musicals, theatre for young audiences, and film/tv production, both on and behind the scenes in professional environments, and within community contexts. My journey as an actor, director, playwright, puppeteer, and designer is profoundly shaped by my practice as a Teaching Artist. I view the creative process as a vital element of artistry and believe teaching artistry is a unique and specialized discipline in all artistic mediums. While most artists are focused on the final product, Teaching Artists often emphasize the creation process, recognizing that each individual is a unique artist and their life serves as a work of art. Thus, I view each individual as a creator, and the work is an encounter with artistry that may include productions, scenes, and a creative journey.
In all my work (both the process and the product), I cultivate meaningful dialogue among creators of varying skill levels (beginner to professional), the text (the script, research, inspiration), and the broader community (audience), ultimately promoting equity and justice through the transformative power of theatre. My aim is to activate artistry and move the collective soul.
Diversity, accessibility, and inclusion are foundational to my approach and woven into my creative practice. I collaborate with diverse teams, inviting authentic engagement from all participants. With a strong foundation in critical literacy and experiences working with Deaf actors and as a Spanish-English interpreter, I connect individuals and communities, pushing boundaries to challenge assumptions, and encouraging creators and audiences to embrace the idea that multiple truths exist in one moment. We strive to embrace discomfort and uncertainty as integral to the creative process, any work of art, and life.
My projects promote social and cultural exchange, emphasizing risk-taking and vulnerability. Utilizing my "emotion collection" strategy, I invite creators of all ages to draw on their emotional experiences to connect to and shape characters and story. Inspired by the work of Augusto Boal and the principles of Process Drama, this shared act of creating and the product of creation enhance civic engagement, prompt reflection on our individual roles within the community, and cultivate awareness as global citizens, reinforcing the important truth that each of us has a role to play in writing our shared narrative.
# My Manifesto
An Ever-Evolving Promise
I aim to work with artistic and educational colleagues who create extraordinary theatre experiences so that they can activate artistry, amplify ordinary stories, agitate change, and create joy in communities.
To accomplish this goal, I will:
Create meaningful theatrical performances that appeal to every human at every stage of their life. In the event that these scripts cannot be found, I will write or secure exceptional playwrights to write beautiful, funny, moving and fascinating theatrical stories.
Advocate for arts education and lifelong learning, and provide opportunities for every human to enjoy the act of creating, while
exploring the expressivity of their body & voice,
playing with dance, music, song, and puppets,
fostering independent thinking and collective goals,
enlarging perspective,
nurturing an openness to ambiguity,
developing thought, understanding and sensitivity,
igniting an imaginative spark in the human spirit, and
inspiring happy, engaged citizens.
Engage diverse participants, creating equal access, well-being and a sense of belonging for all, which includes race, ethnicity, age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, language, religion, geographic location, and socio-economic background.
Challenge emerging theatre artists to realize the next American theatre, and summon artists, schools, the community and the government to sponsor and endorse theatre arts education programming for all; and foster community ownership and participation in live theatre,
Secure a lifelong relationship with theatre audiences, especially those previously unconnected, and popularize the concept that theatre, a uniquely communal experience where participants converge in vital dialectics, should be attended each and every week.
A believer of magic.
Signed,
Jennifer