About Coach Ray Thomas

Ray began his acting career in Philadelphia at the Franklin Learning Center high school in 1986 under the tutelage of Mel Williams. That summer, Ray was accepted to the Pennsylvania Governor’s School of the Arts and the following year won Best Actor at the Bucks County Theatre Festival in

Philadelphia.

In 1989 Ray performed in Freedom Theatre’s production of Under Pressure, directed by John Allen that was selected to perform at the 1989 Black National Theatre Festival in North Carolina. In 1990 Ray became a member of the Actors Equity Association after being cast in August Wilsons’ award-winning play, Fences that premiered at the Philadelphia Drama Guild. That year Ray appeared in James Baldwin last written play, The Welcome Table at The University of the Arts. In 1992 Ray earned a BFA in Theatre from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

In 1993, Ellen Stewart of the La Ma Ma Theatre invited Ray to be an Artist in Residence in New York where he performed the critically acclaimed one-man show, Keep Back 200 FT. Under the tutelage of Mel Williams and Ellen Stewart, Ray began turning his attention to coaching actors and producing plays throughout New York City. For over 30 years, Ray has performed and produced numerous showcases in venues such as: Lincoln Performing Arts Center, Theatre For The Forgotten, Ripley Grier Studios, The Producers Club, La Ma Ma Theatre, The Billie Holiday Theatre, The Paul Robeson Theatre, Theatre In The X, Theatre For A New Generation, The Harold Clurman Theatre, Theatre For the New City, The Frank Silvera Workshop, Point Breeze Theatre, The Round About Theatre, The People Light & Theatre Company to name a few. From 2015 - 2018 Ray worked as an acting consultant with Richard Lyons for STAR featuring Queen Latifah and Benjamin Bratt. He coached Michael Kenneth Williams in the role of Jack Gee in HBO’s production of BESSIE, leading to a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor. Rays’ final acting work with the late Michael K Williams led to a Critics Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2022. Ray resides in Philadelphia and works out of New York where he teaches advanced acting courses and produces acting showcases. Currently he is working with Cam Newton, Erika Alexander, and Eric Carter.

Ray is grateful to have been able to create this website, which allows him to connect with newer students and continue training actors on a larger scale.

Ray Thomas

To act, means to do!