Angela Ray

Actor
Durham, NC

Actress, Author, Speaker, Poet

Angela is an artist. The work she creates on the stage affords her the rare opportunity to give life to words and circumstances that so often imitate reality.  On the big screen, she paints pictures of people laughing, crying, and  at times,  just being.

When Angela recited an Easter speech in church at the age of 3, she had no idea how that experience would begin her journey of the road she has come to know as the performing arts.  It seemed at first this was just a way to get attention and applause as a child.  She entered every oratorical contest she could, beginning in elementary school.  

By the time she was a freshman in high school, she had earned the first place prize in the state level of Modern Woodmen of America's Civic Oration Contest and went on to represent North Carolina at the national level.  This accomplishment helped her earn the title of "Person of the Week" by WFNC Radio.

An honors graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Radio, Television, Motion Pictures, and Speech Communication,  this Fayetteville native has paid her dues.  Her first professional job on the stage was in the play Blues which was presented at the National Black Theatre Festival.  Two years later, she made her professional debut on the small screen in the teen drama, Dawson's Creek.  

Her most recent awards for her work include a nomination as best supporting actress in a comedy play for her role in Samm-Art Williams' The Dance on Widow's Row, by the Triangle Theatre Awards.  In 2004, she was named an Emerging Artist by the Durham Arts Council for excellence in Drama.

While working in front of the camera is a great love for Angela, she has also been committed to developing her skills in other areas of entertainment.  She is a produced playwright, with two full length works to her credit, Loved Ones, and Aluta Continua, which was presented as a part of the University of North Carolina's Bicentenial Celebration. Further, she has developed her skills to include freelance writing and writes a weekly society column for the Herald Sun Newspaper.  

Still working in the arts, this George Moses Horton Award winning poet published her first book of poetry in 2004, Blackberry Whispers.  She is also a contributing author to the anthologies, Delta Girls:  Stories of Sisterhood, No More Silent Cries, and Gumbo for the Soul. 

An avid believer in giving back to the community, in 2004, Angela established the Mahogany Dime Awards, a ceremony that honors the achievements of African American women across the state of North Carolina.  In recognition of her work, she has received a key to the City of Durham during the inaugural celebration.  The next year, the mayor of Durham declared March 12th as  "Mahogany Dime Day" in the city.