Jennifer Kidwell
Jennifer Kidwell is a performing artist. Recent projects: Underground Railroad Game co-created/performed with Scott Sheppard (FringeArts 2015 & 2016, NYC Premiere Ars Nova 2016), Bessie award winning I Understand Everything Better (David Neumann/advanced beginner group), Antigone (The Wilma Theater), I Promised Myself to Live Faster and 99 Break-Ups (Pig Iron Theatre Company), -as the controversial artist Donelle Woolford- Dick’s Last Stand (Whitney Biennial 2014) and Zinnias: the Life of Clementine Hunter (Robert Wilson/Toshi Reagon/Bernice Johnson Reagon). As well as productions with Orbiter 3, The Bearded Ladies and 600 Highwaymen. Upcoming: Those With Two Clocks, a drag quartet. She is a proud co-founder of JACK (Brooklyn) and co-artistic director of Philadelphia theater company Lightning Rod Special
Awarded Grants
2015
Art and Change Grant (ACG)
Related grantees
Overview
Jennifer will facilitate Total Transformation, a workshop with students from the Academy at Palumbo that uses ensemble theater and metaphor to address issues of racism, sexism, and ageism. Based on her own experience of being marginalized as an actor, Jennifer believes this non-traditional technique will instill confidence and inspire participants to create their own work. By offering young artists the tools to create characters from metaphor as a opposed to a character’s psychology or history, students are challenged to connect to their breath, bodies, and the world around them rather than using stereotypes. The students will also learn to build together in and create a space where they can work collaboratively toward a common goal.
