Mz. Ricciardi’s Contagious Love for Theater

By Sophie Indiana Fischer ‘23
There have been many changes during the first three months of the 2021-2022 school year, including a new administration and new teachers. One of these amazing additions to the GOA faculty is theater teacher Mz. Lillie Ricciardi. From her hysterical catchphrase “Yes God!” to her wonderful teaching skills and her compassionate personality, GOA and the Upper School Arts Department is incredibly lucky to have her.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Mz. Ricciardi has been involved in the arts since she was a child. She grew up in a family of performers and was used to leaving school early to shoot episodes of Sesame Street. 
Mz. Ricciardi says, “I was an incredibly, incredibly shy kid, so I used theater as the only way to actually talk to people.” 
After graduating high school, Mz. Ricciardi got a Bachelors in Fine Arts in Musical Theater at NYU Tisch while studying math. She received her Masters degree in Graduate Acting from Pace University. There, she took an array of acting classes, including voice and speech, directing and method acting—movement for actors.
Regarding method acting, Mz. Ricciardi says, “You spent a lot of time invisibly holding a cup in your  hand and being like ‘I can drink a cup of coffee’... it sounds like so little but it felt [like] so much.”
Before working at GOA, Mz. Ricciardi worked on a variety of different productions, including “Les Mis,” “Bombshell” and “A Little Night Music.” She has also narrated over 50 audiobooks and has worked other voice over jobs. 
    “I love the fact that [GOA] really embraced people being artists,” Mz. Ricciardi says. “The thing that’s hard about being an actor and an adult at the same time is that at every job that you apply for, people are always like ‘yikes, you’re an actor’... but that was a plus for Mrs. Watson, and I really appreciated that.”
Last year, Mz. Ricciardi started working at Pingry High School. She taught a film-making class and fell in love with teaching kids about the arts. With her work on the high school play, “She Kills Monsters,” and in her film analysis class, her success in inspiring students is clear.
    Sophomore Hannah Weisz said, “Mz. Ricciardi made me feel more confident as an actor and helped me out of my comfort zone.”
This year, Mz. Ricciardi is teaching sixth grade, eighth grade and the high school film analysis elective, as well as directing the high school play and the middle school musical. She loves the arts department, the drive and humor of her students and the collaboration at GOA.
    Mz. Ricciardi says, “[Mrs. Watson’s] goal was to get people interested in the arts, so I just felt like it was a really nice match.”
When Mz. Ricciardi is not working or performing, she is usually chilling with her cat Ike, reading, playing her Nintendo switch or going out and watching Broadway shows. 
“I think that Mz. Ricciardi is a fantastic addition to the GOA Arts Community and the general GOA staff,” senior Hannah Stoch says. “She is very caring, she wants to know about students, what their lives are like and what they need help with, and she is always there if you need a hug, a smile, a joke, a reassuring pat on the back. I always feel like Mz. Ricciardi is cheering me on and hoping that I do my best and I really appreciate that.”