Jonathan Rizzardi (they/them)

Jonathan M. Rizzardi (they/them) is a Seattle-area performing artist and theatre historian. After moving from Washington, D.C. to complete their PhD in Theatre History and Performance Studies at the University of Washington School of Drama where they were a nominee for the 2019 Excellence in Teaching Award, Jonathan has continued to teach youth theatre, act, facilitate educator training programs, and develop social activist-focused curriculum in the Pacific Northwest. A Visiting Assistant Professor of Education at Pacific Lutheran University where they teach instructional methodologies for trauma-informed, equity-centered education to future teachers, Jonathan earned their BA and Master of Arts in Teaching at St. Mary's College of Maryland where they were winner of the Margaret Eagle Dixon Award in Literature and Maryland’s Teachers of Promise distinction. 

Rizzardi’s practitioner work extends across fields of youth creative drama, arts integration for mental health and wellness, stewardship for student populations in juvenile detention centers and drug rehabilitation facilities, and creating alongside youth in the foster care system. Their scholarship unpacks how acts of education, maturation, and coming-of-age intersect with theatre and public performance in the early twentieth century United States, and unravels queer readings of teaching and learning as mechanisms of citizen-making in the theatrical past. Rizzardi hopes to use theatre scholarship to champion the artistic and educational aspirations of students of all ages, and to create collaborative art that promotes conversation.

Jonathan is an avid runner, singer/musician, and sports fan (Go LakeShow!)