Patricia B. Snyder

**Patricia B. Snyder** is a writer, producer, director, teacher, and the founder of the New York State Institute for the Performing Arts (formerly known as ESIPA). She produced multiple stage productions of *Raggedy Ann*.

## Personal Life

As a child, Snyder and her parents lived with her maternal grandmother, a devout Catholic immigrant, and she found herself attracted to the pageantry of the church's High Mass services, which she has likened to the theatre.

In 1958, William Snyder transfer into her school and the 15-year-olds became smitten with one another. Bill was heavily involved in the theatre, but he later gave it up fearing a lack of stability if they were both involved in the arts. They wed in 1962, had three sons (George, William, and Richard), and remained together until his death in 2020.

## Career

Snyder was offered a full scholarship to Syracuse University to major in voice, but she turned it down at the urging of her father, who wanted her to pursue a career that would benefit the lives of others. She ultimately did attend Syracuse, opting to become an English teacher, with the dual intention of remaining in the entertainment industry by heading up the drama club.

During her first year teaching, she began creating handbooks to show ways to connect with students. These garnered attention and eventually led to an offer to run a government-funded children's theatre program in Albany, NY.

When one of her sons was 3-years-old, she attended a production of *The Wizard of Oz* and was horrified to discover that it included no special effects or scenery, and the actors were clad in cheap rubber masks. In 1974, she adapted her own version of Oz for SUNY, which was so successful that she and 42 students were invited to the Soviet Union to perform it. Husband Bill produced a TV special about their trip for Schenectady's CBS affiliate, WRGB-TV.

## Credits

* 1776 (2008)
* Agatha Christie's A Murder is Announced (2004)
* Agatha Christie's Cards on the Table (2000)
* Agatha Christie's Ordeal by Innocence (2007)
* Agatha Christie's the Unexpected Guest (2005)
* The All-Time Good-Time Knickerbocker Follies (1982)
* American Soup (2007)
* Anastasia (2008)
* And Then There Were None (10 Little Indians), (2002)
* Around the World (1999)
* Arsenic and Old Lace (1990/1996)
* Beauty and the Beast (1996)
* Born Yesterday (2003/2004)
* The Canterville Ghost (1997)
* The Carey Years (1982)
* The Cat, the Sun, and the Mirror (2006)
* A Christmas Carol (1986/1987)
* The Circle of Christmas (2002)
* The Elephant Man (1998)
* The Emperor's New Clothes (2002)
* Fiorello (2004)
* Flying by Foy (1982)
* Gertrude Stein's First Reader (1973)
* Gina and the Prince of Mintz (2002)
* The Gingerbread Man (1999)
* Harvey (2003)
* Heidi
* Hizzoner! (1989)
* Idiot's Delight (2006)
* An Imaginary Report on An American Rock Festival (1986)
* Immo and Leo (2005)
* Incident at Vichy (2001)
* It's a Wonderful Life (1982)
* Joan of Arc the Lark (2006)
* The Killing Tale (2002)
* King Island Christmas (2006/2009)
* King of Shadows (2005)
* Ladies of a Song (2002)
* The Lancashire Lad (1980)
* A Legend of Sleepy Hollow (2009)
* Letters from a Window in the Sky (2008)
* Little Princess (1997)
* Macbeth (2008)
* Magna Carta (2002)
* Man of La Mancha (2005)
* Master Class (2003)
* Miracle of 34th Street (2001)
* Murder on the Nile
* Number the Stars (2006)
* Of Mice and Men (2008)
* Orphan Train (2009/2010)
* Peter Pan (1988)
* The Philadelphia Story (2009)
* Pygmation (1999)
* Raggedy Ann & Andy (1983)
* Raggedy Ann/Rag Dolly (1984/1985/1986)
* Really Rosie (2004)
* Reunion (2007)
* Sherlock's Legacy (2005)
* Sleeping Beauty (2008)
* The Snow Queen (1990/1997)
* The Stranger (2019) - Director
* Sweetie: The New Musical (2012)
* Treasure Island (1995)
* Twelve Angry Jurors (2008)
* Typo, (2004)
* Wait until Dark (2001)
* Witness for the Prosecution (1997)
* The Wizard of Oz (1975/1977/2003)
* A Wonderful Life (2006)
* You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (2009)
* Yours Anne (2009)

## References

1. ↑ William Fortune Snyder (1941-2020)
2. ↑ The Kingston Daily Freeman from Kingston, New York,Sunday, May 5, 1974, Page 11

## External Links

* About the Artists - Patricia Di Benedetto Snyder
* Internet Broadway Database
* Internet Movie Database