“ranney”

“ranney” (Doaker Charles) delivers shape-shifting performances with no two roles alike. He is an award-winning actor (see his web site for a complete list), director, poet, writer, comedian, singer, musician, and international teaching artist with Patel Conservatory. Well-versed in August Wilson’s cannon, his portrayal of Doaker in APF’s production of The Piano Lesson brings “ranney” almost full circle; he will have portrayed four of the five male characters in the play. Las Vegas audiences have seen “ranney” previously in performance with Nevada Conservatory Theater (King Hedley in Seven Guitars and Chutes & Ladders in Water by the Spoonful). A side-splitting shaman known as The Illuminatus, Mr. FunnyBlackMan, and Chocolate Gandalf, “ranney” has headlined at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Comedy Cellar in Dublin, and London’s The Comedy Store. He was the premiere comedian for “Laff Tuesdays,” the world famous Apollo Theatre’s professional comedy club in Harlem. He has shared billing with Paul Mooney, Bill Bellamy, and Martin Lawrence and opened for Eddie Griffin, Kathleen Madigan, REO Speedwagon, and the Sugar Hill Gang. “ranney” is also the proud founder of The Prometheus Project: Incendiary Theatre of Transformation, a performance technique program focused on the incarcerated that ignites pivotal change by giving the participants tools for empowering catharsis. www.itsranney.com

The Actor appears through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.