Age: 32
female
Ayana started acting as a side interest in July 2016 while working as a 3M corporate sales rep in snowy Minnesota. During this time, she starred in short films, featured in local and national commercials, and appeared in music videos and other projects. As she began deepening her independent study of the craft, she eventually took a Meisner Intensive class that inspired her to leave the North Star state and set course for Los Angeles to commit to acting full-time. After making the journey in October 2018, Ayana began establishing her network, going out for/booking roles, and training at Playhouse West. Applying what she has learned from the school, Ayana recently starred in two plays, Dolores and North of Providence. This is also where she found her love to write and took a screenwriting class to hone her skills. Her first co-written short film, Acceptance, was nominated for Best Film at the Playhouse West 120 Hour Film Festival. She was nominated for Best Actress as well. Ayana plans to write and act in her own YouTube web-series coming soon. To view her reel and other work, click the button below. When Ayana isn't acting or writing, she loves to play tennis, model, read, and interview actors for her segment on YouTube called "Actor Talks."
New York City, 1928. RUBY SALT is the most celebrated jazz vocalist in Harlem — and she has just received a letter from the Mississippi town she fled at 18, telling her that the man who raped her at 14 is now running for state Senate. SALT & LIGHTNING tracks Ruby over seven weeks: her decision about whether to return and testify, the friendships that sustain her, the lover she has been hiding, and the music she pours all of it into. Intimate and devastating, the show has a 12-piece live jazz orchestra onstage throughout.
