In Memoriam
Jerry McAdams (1940-2018)
Jerry was a prominent member of the St. Louis theater community and a longtime teaching artist for PPA. He taught at Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific, Missouri where he helped create original productions based on writings by incarcerated artists.
“My dad spent the final part of his life with PPA, bringing theater to those who needed it. His professional life was all about motivation - finding new ways to reward hard work, making people feel valuable and worthy of praise, and so his work at PPA was a natural extension. He was overwhelmed watching the actors discover new skills, ways of expressing and means of self-valuation not previously imagined.”
– Ryan McAdams, Jerry’s Son
“Jerry was a human’s human. He believed in everyone, although nobody got a free pass. His greatest strength was his character. Jerry had a way of making you feel great about yourself. I am a better person for having known him.”
– Martin, MECC artist