First Name | Jennifer |
Last Name | Ridgway |
Biography | Tilting the artistic and educational paradigms on their sides, Jennifer marries theatre, storytelling, music, dance, and puppetry with traditional academic content and life long learning goals. She brings cultural and social contexts to the forefront of the experience, as most evident in Neighborhood Bridges. A case study, co-authored by Cory Wilkerson and Jennifer in The Reflexive Teaching Artist: Collected Wisdom from the Drama/Theatre Field (by Dawson & Kelin for Intellect Books), details her work with this nationally acclaimed critical literacy program. Trained in critical literacy, her multi-literate approach develops openness with ambiguity and multiplicity, probes at assumptions and invites perspective taking while encouraging creative transformation.
Jennifer traveled to China where she worked with ages 5-22, and served as director of two dual-language productions (CHITTY, CHITTY BANG, BANG《飞天万能车》and SEUSSICAL) for the Children’s Walking Drama in the People’s Republic of China at Beijing’s 菊隐剧场. She has led training workshops with the Arts Education Partnership and American Alliance for Arts & Education, and more recently virtually with the Educational Theatre Association and the State Education Agency Directors of Arts Education. In 2015, she served as a Benchmarker to support the development of the Model Cornerstone Assessments for the National Core Arts Standards in theatre.
Jennifer holds a MFA in Theatre for Youth (University of North Carolina, Greensboro) and a BA in Acting (University of Maryland, College Park). She holds a certificate from the University of Pennsylvania in Arts and Culture Strategy and is participating in the inaugural cohort for the Anti-Racist Educators of the Arts Learning Lab.
During 2020, Jennifer focused her attention to her role as Co-Founder and Vice President of the Teaching Artists of the Mid-Atlantic and her passion to advocate for Teaching Artists. She also launched YARD DRAMAS, a strategy to engage Prince George’s County MD families and households juggling virtual worlds and social isolation. Jennifer is committed to and ready to re-set, re-imagine and play our way into a new world that is just and equitable for all. |
Clients can contact me | https://www.honeybook.com/widget/jennifer_ridgway_170804/cf_id/60a0146b1fe30f6df381a8fe |
Website | |
Program Type Offerings | Culminating participant experience (performance, exhibition, parent community engagement), Outdoor events/festivals, Private lessons/coaching, Professional development, Residency, Virtual Residency, Virtual culminating participant experience (performance, exhibition, parent community engagement), Virtual professional development, Workshops |
Populations | Youth: 0-5, Youth: 5-18, Youth: 18-24, Adults, Elders, LGBTQ+, Social Justice, Families/parents guardians, Healthcare patients, People with disabilities, Immigrant populations, Teachers/educators |
Will travel to work in: | Delaware, District of Columbia, Internationally, Maryland, Nationally, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia |
Teaching Artists of the Mid-Atlantic is a network that advocates for, supports, and empowers Teaching Artists in the mid-Atlantic region.
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