Janet Stanford is a national leader in Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) who commissioned 60 new works for the field, introduced Theatre for the Very Young (TVY) to the USA, and reached non-traditional audiences with social justice themes.

As Founding Artistic Director at Imagination Stage (ISI), Janet negotiated Equity and USA contracts, and successfully led the charge to have the Helen Hayes Awards include TYA productions. With Executive Director Bonnie Fogel, she took ISI from a community arts organization with a budget of $850K in 2000 to a nationally significant regional theatre and arts education center committed to youth development with an annual budget of $6M by 2012.

Janet has directed over 60 plays and musicals for Imagination Stage, other TYA companies, colleges and professional theatres. Four of her productions have been nominated for Helen Hayes Outstanding Theatre for Young Audiences Awards and she has twice been nominated for the Outstanding Director Award, Resident Musical. Janet won many travel grants in order to find inspiration and original talents. Her visits to Europe, Scandinavia, South America and Asia led to projects with overseas playwrights, choreographers, composers and directors. In the DMV, she collaborated with The Washington Ballet’s Septime Webre on acclaimed adaptations of The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (2012) and The Little Mermaid (2016).

Janet’s plays for children, ages 1-12, are published by Samuel French Ltd., Dramatic Publishing, and Plays for New Audiences. She is the 2017 winner of the Harold Oaks Award for Excellence and Innovation in TYA, and the recipient of the 2024 Imagine Award for Lifetime Achievement.