Ray Dooley (born 1953) is a company member at the

PlayMakers Repertory Company PlayMakers Repertory Company is the professional theater company in residence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. PlayMakers Repertory Company is the successor of the Carolina Playmakers and is named after the Historic Playmakers ...

Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, Orange, Durham County, North Carolina, Durham and Chatham County, North Carolina, Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 United States Ce ...

, and has performed on Broadway, film and television. He is currently the head of the Professional Actor Training Program (PATP) at the

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

(UNC) and is a drama faculty member.

Early life

Ray Dooley was raised on Long Island, New York. Dooley received his M.F.A. in Acting from the

American Conservatory Theater The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California, United States, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. It also has an attached acting school. History The Americ ...

in San Francisco, and his B.A. in English and Theatre & Drama (

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

) from

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, followi ...

in Clinton, New York.

PlayMakers

After tiring of what he described as a "nomadic lifestyle", Dooley came to UNC to re-establish his creative ties with PlayMakers artistic director David Hammond who was an instructor at American Conservatory Theater when Dooley was a student. While in Chapel Hill Dooley continued with other work, including plays, commercials, film and directing. At UNC, Professor Dooley primarily teaches acting in the Professional Actor Training Program. He was named Interim Chair of the Department in 1999, and became Chair in 2000. As a company member with PlayMakers Repertory Company, the professional theatre associated with the department, he has appeared in more than forty productions since coming to Chapel Hill in 1989.

Selected performances

Broadway

*''So Long on Lonely Street'' as Raymond Brown - Ran from April 3, 1986 - May 18, 1986 *''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' as Malcolm - Ran from January 28, 1982 - February 14, 1982 *''The Stitch in Time'' as Major Miller - Never officially opened - January 6, 1981

Off-Broadway

*'' Wild Oats'' as Harry Thunder at the CSC Theatre * ''

Henry IV, Part 1 ''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the battle at ...

'' as Actor at CSC Repertory Company

Filmography

*''The Trial of

Standing Bear Standing Bear (c. 1829–1908) (Ponca official orthography: Maⁿchú-Naⁿzhíⁿ/Macunajin;U.S. Indian Census Rolls, 1885 Ponca Indians of Dakota other spellings: Ma-chú-nu-zhe, Ma-chú-na-zhe or Mantcunanjin pronounced ) was a Ponca chief a ...

'' (1988) *''Stonebrook'' (1998)

Union memberships

Actors' Equity Association The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American trade union, labor union representing those who work in live theater, live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage ...

, Screen Actor's Guild, the

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording a ...

, Canadian Actor's Equity, the North Carolina Theatre Conference, and the National Association of Schools of Theatre.

Awards

*Ray won a ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' Obie Award for his 1981 Off-Broadway role in ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five-act (drama), act play (theatre), play in verse (poetry), verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen published in 1876. Written in Norwegian language, Norwegian, it is one of the most widely performed Norwegian pla ...

''. *Robert's Reviews’ 2003 Triangle Theater Award, Best Supporting Actor (''Uncle Vanya'' and ''Dinner With Friends'') *Robert's Reviews' 2004 Triangle Theater Award, Best Actor (''Not About Heroes'').

Recent (e.g. 2006) activities

Dooley returned from Austria, appearing as Father Flynn in the European premiere of

John Patrick Shanley John Patrick Shanley (born October 13, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film '' Moonstruck''. His play, '' Doubt: A Parable'', won the 2005 Pulitzer ...

's Pulitzer Prize and

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...

winner '' Doubt: A Parable'', directed by Martin L. Platt at Vienna's English Theatre. The ''

Wiener Zeitung ''Wiener Zeitung'' is an Austrian newspaper. It is one of the oldest, still published newspapers in the world. It is the official publication used by the Government of the Republic of Austria for legally-required announcements, such as company r ...

'' wrote, "Wendy Barrie-Wilson and Ray Dooley are very convincing as the stubborn nun and the helpless priest whose only channel of escape is through the male-dominated hierarchy of the Catholic Church." The ''

Kronenzeitung The ''Kronen Zeitung'' (), commonly known as the ''Krone'', is Austria's largest newspaper. It is known for being Eurosceptic. History The first issue of the ''Kronen Zeitung'' appeared on 2 January 1900. Gustav Davis, a former army officer, w ...

'' reported, "This is an impressive performance. Much applause." In 2006 he was Cyrano in ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th c ...

'' at the Playmakers Repertory Company .

References

External links

*
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill BiographyComplete Stage Resume PDA''Not About Heroes'' press release''News and Observer'' photographic retrospective on Ray' careerObie Award page

Reviews

production of ''

The Guardsman ''The Guardsman'' is a 1931 American pre-Code film based on the play '' Testőr'' by Ferenc Molnár. It stars Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne, Roland Young and ZaSu Pitts. It opens with a stage re-enactment of the final scene of Maxwell Anderson's ' ...

''
Spectator Online's Review of ''An O. Henry Christmas''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dooley, Ray 1953 births Living people American male actors Hamilton College (New York) alumni