Lights, Camera, Action with Angela Ray in this special Q&A. Professional entertainer, Angela Ray shares a few gems on how to maintain longevity in a career when the lime light fades away.
Meet Angela Ray
With over a decade of experience working alongside Tyler Perry, appearing on the Oprah Winfrey Network, and most recently making her Lifetime Television debut Angela Ray is a powerful example of what it means to stay booked by building your own path, even when the spotlight dims. I believe her career story showcases the strategic reinvention required to thrive in today’s entertainment industry and would make a great feature for LME Magazine.
This fall, she is returning to her theater roots which is the place where her passion first took shape. The project coincides with a broader conversation around actors creating their own vehicles amid industry shifts and uncertainty.
When she’s not set, Angela actively hosts live events, panels, and creative showcases to stay connected and visible. These off-camera moments have proven just as essential to her career as the roles themselves.
The idea that “visibility equals success” has become a dangerous illusion in the digital age. How can women distinguish between attention that feeds their ego and attention that feeds their future?
I think the key to distinguish between the two is really a gut check. Attention that feeds the ego feels needy. And when it’s not available, we feel the void, almost like something is missing.
But attention that feeds the future feels inspiring and motivating. It propels us to move to the next level. When it’s missing, we may feel the loss, but it doesn’t impact our emotional well being the way the ego attention does.
So, it’s all about the gut in determining how the attention ultimately makes us feel internally. Using our intuition and being honest with ourselves about what that visibility is feeding is also key. And that also considers that we have a certain level of self-awareness too.
When I appeared in a Lifetime movie for the first time, I was so excited. Not only was my voice used in the promo to advertise it, but I also appeared on screen too. But just appearing in the promo alone didn’t feed my future. I had to be strategic in using that appearance as leverage to start discussions that led to additional opportunities.
What does leveraging opportunity look like in a world where industries are rapidly changing and traditional gatekeepers no longer hold the same power?
Leveraging opportunities is about taking risks and operating outside of the comfort zone. For me, that means building relationships. And I’m not talking about collecting business cards or building likes or followers. I’m talking about truly having a network of people who you have supported and built a rapport with so that when opportunities come, your name is the top of mind.
Now that doesn’t mean you won’t have the occasional Taker who never gives. That’s a whole different discussion. But social media has leveraged the playing field. I have good relationships with people I have never met in person just based on how I move online.
In entertainment especially, social media and even a web presence can make a difference. A couple of years ago, I was looking for an actor with a specific background. Everyone in my personal network was booked. I asked for referrals.
Nada.
But then I searched specific hashtags on Instagram and looked at some options. Literally I slid in the guy’s DMs because he used hashtags that made it easy to find him. And when I went to his website and searched his profile, I could see his talent.
There’s often pressure for Black women to “do it all.” How can we reframe the narrative to honor rest, boundaries, and sustainability as strategic tools for longevity and success? Let’s not forget creativity as well! Would you say your one woman show feeds which beast; creativity, entrepreneurship or bucket list?
Intention. It’s a simple word but that is how we reframe. We must intend our actions so that we do honor rest and boundaries. And when we have not done that, we must give ourselves grace for changing commitments.
A few years ago, I was overbooked and my travel schedule was making it nearly impossible to emcee a charity event in another state. I reached out to another amazing emcee to find out her availability and interest in the event. She said yes. So when I called my contact to let them know I couldn’t make it, I offered them a capable replacement so that their event ran smoothly and so that I was taking care of myself too.
My one-woman show is definitely a bucket list creative venture. I had the idea of a one-woman show over a decade ago when I saw several presented at the National Black Theatre Festival. I started writing a couple of scripts, but my heart wasn’t in it.
Then last year an idea hit me in the gut, and I knew that’s what I wanted to create. That’s how Croaker and Hot Water Cornbread was born.
Many people equate brand partnerships and public recognition with financial freedom, but we know that’s not always the case. How can women structure their brands to ensure financial security behind the spotlight and with the absence of viral success.
I think it’s about the contracts and legal protections. With my acting background in entertainment from a commercial standpoint, we often have limited contracts for brands to use our image in a commercial. For example, some people may remember over a decade ago the Verizon guy Paul was in commercials asking, ‘Can you hear me now?” After a while the usage and/or no compete clause for him appearing in competitors commercials expired. Then Sprint hired him to represent them, proclaiming that he left Verizon because Spring was good quality and cost less. In reality, he was no longer in an exclusive contract and Sprint made a brilliant business decision by hiring him.
Some content creator and brand partnerships are structured that way, but I had no idea that was happening until recently. That’s an added level of long-term protection to ensure financial security. Without adding those protections to an agreement with a brand, people may find that brands are using their image into perpetuity which could make it difficult to work with other brands in the same category.
An attorney or agent specializing in brand partnerships is a great investment to learn more about this.
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