By Jaclyn C. Stevenson
Company Artist “ranney” has a very specific set of goals to meet this year.
His carefully curated “Bucket List 24” includes launching a one-man show, writing a stand-up headliner set, and playing Luke in James Baldwin’s The Amen Corner, among many others. The checking-off of items is well underway; “ranney” is working on two of his top bucket-list items, and has already completed three.
“I even got two in one week,” he reports.
A multi-faceted creative force, “ranney” has returned for his fourth season at Shakespeare & Company to feature in The Islanders by Carey Crim alongside Michelle Mountain. It’s his latest role in a technicolored career highlighted by near-countless appearances in August Wilson works – including as Troy in Shakespeare & Company’s award-winning production of Fences in 2023 – a headlining spot at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and a particularly intriguing stint as a judge at Disney Hollywood Studios’ American Idol Experience.
“It was just like the Idol stage, but cleaner and larger,” he remembers. “And there weren’t ‘Golden Tickets,’ there were ‘Dream Tickets’ that let winners try out for the big show at any audition in the country. So, those were very coveted; singers would come from all over the country for those tickets.”
It wasn’t always sunshine and Ryan Seacrest for “ranney” though; he recalls a time when he wasn’t so sure what his future held, or what direction he’d take to get there.
“Something I talk about often is how I took a hiatus from the stage between 2007 and 2012,” he says, recalling an interview he watched with Sir Anthony Hopkins that stuck with him. “He said it took a while to come to a place where he only did projects he cared about. It sounds simple, but it’s not.
“I sat on that idea for a long time,” he adds, ”and I came back, but with a different perspective of what this all is for me; what performing arts means to me. I learned I’m most passionate about great storytelling and great writing, and in the last 15 years or so I have felt blessed and grateful to experience that through the work that I do.”
Indeed, he said the decision to return to Shakespeare & Company was fueled largely by a desire to dive into Crim’s script, to work with Director Regge Life again (following their turn in Lolita Chakrabarti’s Hymn in 2022), and to rejoin a team of creatives he said he’s come to admire and respect.
“It’s a very interesting season, and this particular production has me excited to reunite with Regge,” he says. “He’s hyper-brilliant, and Carey Crim’s script is excellent. There are great pop-culture references that remind me of a Nancy Meyers film, like Something’s Gotta Give. Unapologetic, adult, and not overly serious.
“I love working with people who are also passionate about the craft,” he continues. “Every time I’ve come to Shakespeare & Company, the casts and crews have made me feel like I want to work here and help foster a creative environment.”
“ranney” says he’ll continue to chip away at Bucket List 24, and that further wishes await in years to come. As an actor and proud Wilsonian, he aims to finish Wilson’s Century Cycle of plays; it’s not an unattainable goal with only King Hedley II and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone left to go. And as for his comedic pursuits, he’s a self-described armchair historian of comedy with hopes of applying lessons he’s learned to future performances.
“My first comedy special would be killer,” he says, noting that the breadth of opportunities he’s chasing isn’t lost on him.
“To be an artist at this time in the world is a privilege. I tell people every once in a while: it gets hectic, but it’s what I wanted. This is what I asked for.”
