KRISTEN ASHLEY RAGUSA
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ACTOR.
DANCER.
SINGER.
TEACHER.
Aqua Talent Agency
Courtney Peldon
Theatrical/Commercial
(310) 859-8889
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ABOUT ME
"Live the life you've always dreamed"
HOW I GOT STARTED
When I was 5 years old, I starred in my first musical- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I was cast as an Oompa Loompa and I was so excited, especially because I was given the responsibility of being THE line leader. Opening night comes and it's time to lead my fellow orange children on stage. I was nervous, but when that spotlight hit my face, all the nerves melted away and I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Coincidentally, my birth announcement was a clapperboard saying "A Star in Born" and I've been trying to prove my parents right ever since.
AFTER PANDEMIC- Back to Acting, Teaching, and Giving Back to the Community
Getting back into acting full time has been so rewarding, but so has teaching and directing children. I am currently directing and teaching 7 different shows for two companies: The Adderley School and Star Kidz. It's been wonderful to see children get the acting bug like I did.
CURRENTLY DIRECTOR/ CHOREOGRAPHER: Encanto and Hairspray
CURRENTLY AD: Sing 2, School of Rock, Wizard of Oz, and The Greatest Showman
THIS YEAR: Directed/Choreographed Mamma Mia and Frozen II
I also have a passion for giving back to my community so I have also become a tour guide at The Bush-Holly House to teach about The Revolutionary War in CT and Slavery in CT. I think it's important to fix the misconceptions in our history and educate the younger generation.
Through the Greenwich Historical Society I am also acting as Sarah Bush, a powerful woman in our history, and touring around Greenwich schools which combines all my passions of acting, teaching, and community engagement!
DURING PANDEMIC- Producer/Artistic Director/Writer/President of The Citadel of Playwrights
I took the pandemic into a positive perspective and started to work on my art with playwriting. I was doing online shows and I felt the need to help produce the new works that were being created by me and my peers. Through my company that I created with a dear friend, we were able to fund productions online as well as help facilitate live performances when the world started to open up. Seeing the other side of the table and helping my artistic community produce our work was magical. I even got to produce my own one act play called Shadow Work which was an exploration of misogyny and masochism in the memory of the modern American woman.
BEFORE THE PANDEMIC- Actor working in Film and Theater
At the time of the pandemic I was touring schools in the Northeast with The Hampstead Stage Company in a two person show of Aladdin and Hercules. It was awesome being able to put my combat training, love of children, and traveling into one job. Before the pandemic I had only been an actor, teacher, and choreographer, but I was itching to see things from the other side of the table. I was able to do my first commercial and perform all over the East Coast- it was truly so rewarding.