Bio

Janet is a freelance director and playwright based in the Washington, DC, area dedicated to opening hearts, inspiring minds and igniting imaginations.  For 30 years, she served as the Founding Artistic Director of Imagination Stage (ISI), a regional theatre arts company dedicated to positive youth development.  Janet’s plays and musicals for ages 5-10 are adaptations of classic tales which she seeks to make relevant to contemporary American audiences.  Aladdin’s Luck with a score by Turkish composer, Fahir Atakoglu, has been produced from Hawaii to Pennsylvania.  Her versions of Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Dickens’s Davy Copperfield all premiered at ISI.  In 2012 Janet partnered with Septime Webre of the Washington Ballet (now the Artistic Director for the Hong Kong Ballet) to create a dance theatre version of The Lion, Witch & the Wardrobe with original composition by Mathew Pierce.  The innovative production featuring both ballet dancers and actor/singers proved a tremendous success, garnering 5 Helen Hayes nominations and winning 2 Awards.  This was followed in 2016 by a second dance theatre adaptation of The Little Mermaid which broke all ISI previous box-office records.  In 2008 with the help of a TCG grant, Janet introduced Theatre for the Very Young to the USA with Wake Up, Brother Bear. She firmly believes in the importance of introducing live theatre to pre-schoolers such that they experience an impactful alternative to digital media.

Janet is the 2017 winner of the Harold Oaks Award for Excellence and Innovation in Theatre for Young Audiences, the 2024 Imagine Award, and the inaugural 2024 Adventure Theatre Leadership Award.  She currently serves on the Maryland Arts Council.

Website: https://janetstanford-directordramatist.com/