About Us

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History In 1965 a handful of Ridgefield residents banded together to form a small theater group dedicated to providing community theater. This not-for-profit organization grew into the Ridgefield Workshop for the Performing Arts, Inc. Housed in a rustic converted dairy barn leased from the town of Ridgefield, the Workshop continues to produce an ongoing series of comedies, dramas, and musicals. We maintain a production schedule of four shows per year, with performers chosen through open auditions. The cast and crew of every show run the gamut from raw amateurs to seasoned professionals.

All participants, whether on stage or off, are volunteers. We are actors, dancers, musicians, seamstresses, carpenters, singers, electricians, and individuals who just offer willing pairs of hands to do anything from painting scenery to taking tickets at the door. Our compensation comes in the form of good times, camaraderie, and the satisfaction gained from learning new things, being part of a team, and staging a quality production. The Ridgefield Theater Barn is excited about its upcoming season—its 46th year! With cabaret seating at candlelit tables, we offer superior entertainment, so BYO refreshments and join us!

Here's a brief summary of current offerings at the Barn:

Mainstage ProductionsOur Mainstage productions this season are among the best ever, and we have an impressive list of directors and performers lined up to entertain and delight our audiences. Once you have seen the line-up, perhaps you'd like a Season Subscription?

Play Reading Series The Play Reading Series includes readings of original works. They are held on Tuesday evenings throughout the season and are followed by "talk back" sessions with the playwright, director, cast, and audience. The audience learns more about the artistic process and provides suggestions to the playwright and crew on how to improve the play. You never know when you may have chance to preview a future Broadway play.

When the schedule permits, we select the best of the previous season's play readings for a "Black Box" production...simply a lighter version of a production (a play, but with minimal sets and costumes and light/sound effects). Our first Black Box was Milton and the Minotaur which was very well received last season.

Our play reading series is FREE and seating is theater style. We do provide light refreshments including snacks, wine, soft drinks and coffee so donations are appreciated. Be sure to check watch our special events page for our next play reading.

5 Minute Date ~ February 2008

Comedy Improv Series Our resident improv group, The Role in the Hay Players, debuted in spring of 2007. You liked it so much, we've expanded it into a series of "Whose Barn Is It, Anyway?" performances!

One-Acts New in 2010, this program running over two consecutive weekends includes a series of one-act plays by a featured playwright or a series of playwrights following a specific theme.

Word Around Town - An Evening of Original PoetryDirected by Patti Azzara, the evening was a blending of common themes among the seven poets whose ideas and words were woven together to create a story line. The poems were not merely read, but were dramatically performed. This program was so successful that we have decided to schedule two similar evenings during the 2011-12 season.

Youth WorkshopsOur Youth Musical Theater Workshops showcase student actors ages 8-18 and teach them to shine! Classes meet two days a week for instruction in musical-theater performance with the Barn's dedicated and talented staff of theatrical and educational professionals. The workshop culminates in student performances that are open to the public. We've had rave reviews from our young thespians, 'The Theater Barn Kids'.

Adult WorkshopsIn 2011 we initiated a series of adult-only workshops, entitled Develop an Acting Career. This series is taught by Susan Grace Cohen of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, where she has been a faculty member for 20 years. Classes are limited to 14 and most classes have been sold out. We are pleased to offer these classes again for the 2011-2012 season. Check our workshop page for more information.

Children's Performance Series
New in 2008-2009, the Theater Barn introduced a series of performances designed for preschool and elementary school audiences. There were 4 performance throughout the year beginning in July 2008 and these programs were initially sponsored by the Taylor-Zemo Foundation. Since that time, the Theater Barn has taken over sponsorship. While we are now limited to 2 performances per year, they are still wildly popular with our youngest theatergoers.