Angela Bey

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But, my friends call me "Ang".

(they/them/theirs)

I am a Black, Queer artist from Southwest Philadelphia. I am committed to the transformative power of storytelling. Provocation with purpose makes for dynamic, socially conscious, and challenging work. I create to ignite decolonization and radical healing within myself & within the world. It is our divine duty to strive for the Utopia we may not live to see.

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co-artistic director of Shoe Box Theatre Collective and the new Wings of Paper Theatre Co.

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in residency with The Strides Collective.

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proud member of Ring of Keys and Director's Gathering

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former member of Jouska PlayWorks

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contact:

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Artistic resume here. Administrative resume here.

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"Bey navigates nuances seamlessly in their performance as Zoe, a Black woman who has been told to be “patient” and “tolerant” by her (white) counterparts—counterparts who don’t offer her any solicitude. Bey strikes balance, never leaning into any extremes to get the point across. Bey's anger, their joy, their weariness are all tempered, much to Zoe’s own chagrin. This, too, is frustrating: Black women (and nonbinary Black folks) are always muted in reality and in fiction. While Zoe’s decisions are invigorating, the compassion in me was rooting for her to kick Janine out of her chair."

-Kyle V. Hiller, Broad Street Review of The Niceties

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"...The issue here is whether tenured professor Janine (Dardaris – just brilliant in a play with LOTS of

dialogue) has called her student Zoe (an also amazing Bey) a racist term and could possibly lose her job. I don’t want to give anything away here but urge you to see this duo (who, remember, are in different locations as they interact) work their acting magic."

-Steve Ramm, Next Door Philly Review of The Niceties 

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"As a fresh face in the industry, I was not ready for this frank dialogue about intersectionality in theatre. But it needs to be had. We want so badly to be diverse and to create diverse stories, but we don’t want to listen to the voices that make them. Ang Bey has done a wonderful job calling out the double standards through the story of Meddie, and her journey creating a devised piece about the Greek Medusa Myth."

-Kelly Hayes, Captive Audience Review of The Medusa Play

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"All of the actors put in strong performances, but Bey is the strongest, their soulful eyes and magnetic voice making it clear why director Bi Jean Ngo would have wanted such a performer in so central a role. But just as Bey is able to break your heart with a single glance, the rest of the cast shows the hard work of mending after a tragedy."

-Jillian Ashley Blair Ivey, Broad Street Review of Candles

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"Ang Bey stuns in all three of their roles in To the Stars With Love, The Nerd, and S.C.R.I., bringing crisp focus and definition to characters who are similar in their drive and confidence, but are tonally distinct as firm but gentle, righteously outraged, or overeager and overwhelmed in turn."

-Mina Reinckens, Broad Street Review of The Days of Recreation

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"In this streamed performance from a cast of four, all of the actors had to nail their performances to sell the intense, stressful, and desperate feel of the show, and they did. As an avid gamer in love with visual storytelling and choice-based narratives, I felt Alex’s passion for the medium and her outrage when describing the misogyny and objectification targeting female characters. Bey’s Alex conveyed enthusiasm and exasperation as well as visceral rage, sickening fear, and dead-eyed exhaustion: the harassment Alex experiences felt both personal and real..." 

-Mina Reinckens, Broad Street Review of D-Pad

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"Walk The Line was visceral, timely & so moving. No fat, all substance, lean and fierce with piercing moments of silence, that spoke volumes. Brilliant!"

 -Brian Anthony Wilson, on Walk the Line

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"I thought your work tonight highlighted a very important conversation Black people are having right now. This work will be something to look back on as it examines the nuance in the lives and decisions of Black people as well as their fight for liberation. The play creates space for the fears we hold onto on a daily basis and rather than stay in a place of scarcity this play ignites us to start thinking from a place of abundance. It challenges us to think about what changes really means and how willing are we to start imagining the lives we deserve as Black folks."

 -Deja Morgan, on Walk the Line

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contact:

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Artistic resume here. Administrative resume here.

"Whatcha Been Up To?"

More Upcoming:

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HATCH at Schoolhouse Summer  2022

Next year, I'll be completing a residency at HATCH.

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Rockland Woods January 2022

I'm in the Winter Cohort of this prestigious, Washington-based residency.​

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Frontline Stories Project December 2021

In collaboration with University of Pennsylvania's School of Nursing and Elevate Theatre Company, I am writing a play about

the lives of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The production is directed by Elevate's Artistic Director, Christina Eskridge. 

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Twelfth Night November 2021

I'll be directing a high-school production of this Shakespeare classic. 

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Nearest Neighbors Summer 2021

I'm performing in this ongoing, Queer research project created by Jamison Edgar & Philip Wesley Gates.

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Completed:

A Song for June June 19th to July 5th, 2021

I performed in this virtual show produced by Philadelphia Artists' Collective.​ Click here for the trailer.

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Staying Power June 26th, 2021

In collaboration with Theatre in the X, I performed an original monologue for this outdoor art-exhibition and program series at The Village of Art and Humanities.

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SHEESH! June 19th, 2021

I'm performed and modeled in this Black-ity Black Joy Fest celebrating Juneteenth. Click here to learn more about the event.

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Come to PAPA: The Prophecy Plays June 15th, 2021

I'm directed a staged-reading of this new play by Crys Clemente, produced by Philadelphia Asian American Performing Artists. 

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The Niceties April 2021

I played "Zoe" in the regional, virtual premiere of The Niceties by Eleanor Burgess at InterAct Theatre Company. 

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Spotlight Artist March 2021

I was New Light Theatre Company's Spotlight Artist for the month of March. 

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D-Pad November 2020

I played"Alex" in the world premiere of this original play by Jeremy Gable, virtually-produced by Theatre Exile. Click here to read my article in Philadelphia Gay News. Click here to read my article in the Philadelphia Tribune. Click here to read the Broad Street Review. Buy tickets to D-Pad

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Walk the Line September 2020

My short play Walk the Line debuted virtually in "Untold Voices in Voting" produced by the Philadelphia Women's Theatre Festival. Click here to watch.

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Bracelet October 2020

I star in a film called "Bracelet" which premiered in the San Fransisco Independent Short Film Festival. Out of 159 films, we won 1st Place or "Best of the Fest". Click here to watch.

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Every Everyman October 2020

 I was the lead writer and co-director of Shakespeare in Clark Park's Pageant Wagon show, based on Everyman. Click here to watch.

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exxx...stasis, exxx...hale...October 2020

 I performed in this original Zoom play by Alexandra Espinoza and directed by Cat Ramirez for Villanova Theatre's Bakkhai Variations. 

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Days of Re-Creation September 2020

I performed in Live & In Color's rolling premiere of The Days of Re-Creation: A Virtual Play by Masi Asare, AriDy Nox, Erlina Ortiz, SEVAN, Nandita Shenoy, BD Wong, and Lauren Yee with Philadelphia Theatre Company.

Playwriting 

UPCOMING COMMISSONS

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• "Frontline Stories Project" (Elevate Theatre Company)

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• Germantown Plays Pericles (Shakespeare in Clark Park)

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COMPLETED

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• Every Everyman (One-Act) - a devised, socially-distant, live adaptation of Everyman with contemporary emphasis on Black liberation.

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• Walk the Line (One-Act)-  Run. Don't walk. Who decides how we pursue our legacy? Who decides how we fight for liberation? Who draws the line? A hood-angel Zoom-bombs Hudda's final moments. They are both in crisis. They argue over what it means to live and die in a world that'd rather you be erased. Hudda won't live to be erased.

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• Dandelion (One-Act; 154 Revisited with Revolution Shakespeare) - Adaptation of sonnets 46, 85, & 98.

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• Coruscatum (One- Act) - a devised, multimedia performance piece/time capsule//machine with the Upper School students of Friends Select.

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• The Medusa Play (Full-Length; Barrymore Recommended) - Who is the Black artist? Who is Medusa? ​

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• The White Feather Project (One-Act) -  devised from interviews of the Ursinus community concerning cowardice under racial stress. Accompanying the final performances and script, a website including a reading list, video diaries (of the process), and original blog posts are available for public and academic use

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• Little Dancer (One-Act) - A solo show about a toxic, Black/White interracial relationship

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• Com[promising] Freedom (One- Act; produced at The National Constitution Center) -  "What will we do with all this freedom?"- Elizabeth Powell​ and her peers ask themselves this question in studying for their final history exam about The Declaration of Independence. Click here to read an article.

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• Pedestals (Monologue) - ​​After assaulting a peer due to a racially charged incident, an African-American star student is confronted by her principal and her future. Click here to watch a recording of Pedestals. Listen to the Philadelphia Young Playwright's podcast series "Mouthful" here!​

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• Editorial for Grid Magazine about my experience as a young artist of color.

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IN-DEVELOPMENT ​

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• Twenty-Six (Full-Length)

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• Rice & Em Fight a Lion (Full-Length) - On-going, world-building exercise exploring the intersections of (non-binary) gender and race in the digital age.

For more information (commissions, writing samples, inquiries), please email

Directing 

UPCOMING

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• 23: The Tale of An Exoneree (film)

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• Twelfth Night at Friends Select School.

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COMPLETED

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 NEW WORK:

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• The Prophecy Plays by Crys Clemente - staged-reading produced by Philadelphia Asian American Performing Artists.

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• WHISPER - presented at DG Jam 2021 and available to watch here.

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• Every Everyman - produced by Shakespeare in Clark Park, assistant-directed with Kittson O'Neil

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• The Medusa Play - produced by Shoe Box Theatre Collective, co-directed with Ryan Rebel 

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•  The White Feather Project - produced by Ang Bey at Ursinus College & Shoe Box Short Theatre Festival, co-collaborated with Raychel Ceciro

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• Little Dancer - produced by Ang Bey at Ursinus College

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• Daffodil by Arthur Robinson - produced by Ang Bey at Ursinus College

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• Coruscatum - produced by Friends Select Upper School Theatre Department

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Click here to watch a full, live recording of Every Everyman

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