Soara-Joye Ross
Encyclopedia
Soara-Joye Ross, previously known as Joy Ross, Joye Ross, Joy E. T. Ross, and also known as Soara-Joyce Ross (because of her name being misspelled) is a notable American actress and singer. Soara-Joye attended Nassau Community College majoring in Vocal Performance but after falling in love with doing musicals with Nassau's Theater Department she transferred after one year to The American Musical and Dramatic Academy with a scholarship where she completed the program. She did began working professionally in theater but wasn't getting the roles she wanted so she decided to continue her studies mastering The Meisner Technique at The J. Beckson Studio in New York City. It was after that that her career began to flourish.
Her Broadway credits include Les Misérables the Revival and Dance Of The Vampires, where she made her Broadway debut. She starred in the Off-Broadway productions of Single Black Female at Playwrights Horizons and then The Duke on 42nd, Dessa Rose at Lincoln Center, where she was the second cover for La Chanze when she wasn't playing the role of Annabel. Jerry Springer: The Opera at Carnegie Hall, and was in "The Tin Pan Alley Rag" at The Laura Pels Theatre with The Roundabout Theatre Company as a cover for the roles of Treemonisha and Monisha, where she performed the role Monisha. Miss Ross has worked overseas as a soloist in the popular European show Palazzo Colombino, done a tour of Ain't Misbehavin playing the role of "Charlayne" and Smokey Joe's Cafe, where she was a swing for the roles "B.J.", "Patti" and "Brenda", and a U.S. tour of Smokey Joe's Cafe with Gladys Knight. Ms. Ross played the role of "Mama Lila" in the 2009 New York Music Theatre Festival where she worked with Donna McKechnie and won the "Best of Fest" Outstanding Individual Performance Award in the show written by Allan Harris entitled Cross That River.
Regionally she has been in Aida (Aida) at The Arvada Center For The Performing Arts, where she was nominated By the Colorado Guild: Outstanding Performance by and Actress in a musical, Tick Tick Boom (Susan) at The Tony Award winning Alliance Theater, From the Mississippi Delta, Ragtime (Sarah) at Gateway Playhouse
and Weston Playhouse, Ain't Misbehavin (Armelia) at The Huntington Theatre Company and Once On This Island (Asaka/Andrea) at Sacramento Music Circus and The Bay Street Theatre/Mill Mountain Theater. Ross has done numerous readings and workshops and continues to flourish in "The entertainment business" moving up the ladder of success one step at a time. You can also see her in the feature film Garden State with Zach Braff and Natalie Portman as the Handi-World Cashier.
Ross started a support group called "OFF-STAGE" in 2006, where actors, singers and all other artsy folk would get together to brainstorm ideas and genuinely share, love, support and empower each other during the ups and especially the downs of "the business" in a respectful environment.
Ross was born in Queens
, New York
. She was adopted by Rita T. Ross (now Rita Soares) and Joseph Ross at a very young age. In 2005 she hired a private investigator to search for her birth family and was reunited with her birth mother Lavonne Patterson. Upon finding her mother she reunited with her paternal grandmother, maternal grandfather and years later her birth father Oric Sweetwine.
In September 2007, Ross was in rehearsals for a show in New York and after weeks of not feeling well was hospitalized the day before Opening Night where she was diagnosed as a Type 1 Diabetic,or "Divabetic" as she likes to be called. In 2010 she became a member of the not-for-profit organization ACT1 Diabetes. Since then she's been extremely active in the organization as Co Facilitator for the Young Women with Diabetes Support Group and Donations Coordinator for the Supply Exchange Program.
Ms. Ross now resides in Brooklyn, New York with her Pomeranian, Lyric. She is working alongside a handful of talented artists on a new musical written by Jay Kuo. Ross is also working on her own solo piece about her own life.
SOARA-JOYE ROSS is a member of The Actor's Equity Association and The Screen Actor's Guild.
Her Broadway credits include Les Misérables the Revival and Dance Of The Vampires, where she made her Broadway debut. She starred in the Off-Broadway productions of Single Black Female at Playwrights Horizons and then The Duke on 42nd, Dessa Rose at Lincoln Center, where she was the second cover for La Chanze when she wasn't playing the role of Annabel. Jerry Springer: The Opera at Carnegie Hall, and was in "The Tin Pan Alley Rag" at The Laura Pels Theatre with The Roundabout Theatre Company as a cover for the roles of Treemonisha and Monisha, where she performed the role Monisha. Miss Ross has worked overseas as a soloist in the popular European show Palazzo Colombino, done a tour of Ain't Misbehavin playing the role of "Charlayne" and Smokey Joe's Cafe, where she was a swing for the roles "B.J.", "Patti" and "Brenda", and a U.S. tour of Smokey Joe's Cafe with Gladys Knight. Ms. Ross played the role of "Mama Lila" in the 2009 New York Music Theatre Festival where she worked with Donna McKechnie and won the "Best of Fest" Outstanding Individual Performance Award in the show written by Allan Harris entitled Cross That River.
Regionally she has been in Aida (Aida) at The Arvada Center For The Performing Arts, where she was nominated By the Colorado Guild: Outstanding Performance by and Actress in a musical, Tick Tick Boom (Susan) at The Tony Award winning Alliance Theater, From the Mississippi Delta, Ragtime (Sarah) at Gateway Playhouse
Gateway Playhouse
Gateway Playhouse is a summer theatre located on the eastern edge of Bellport, Long Island. The street address is 215 South Country Road. It's the oldest of three professional theatres on the island and nationally recognized as one of the top ten summer theatres in the nation. Gateway Playhouse...
and Weston Playhouse, Ain't Misbehavin (Armelia) at The Huntington Theatre Company and Once On This Island (Asaka/Andrea) at Sacramento Music Circus and The Bay Street Theatre/Mill Mountain Theater. Ross has done numerous readings and workshops and continues to flourish in "The entertainment business" moving up the ladder of success one step at a time. You can also see her in the feature film Garden State with Zach Braff and Natalie Portman as the Handi-World Cashier.
Ross started a support group called "OFF-STAGE" in 2006, where actors, singers and all other artsy folk would get together to brainstorm ideas and genuinely share, love, support and empower each other during the ups and especially the downs of "the business" in a respectful environment.
Ross was born in Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. She was adopted by Rita T. Ross (now Rita Soares) and Joseph Ross at a very young age. In 2005 she hired a private investigator to search for her birth family and was reunited with her birth mother Lavonne Patterson. Upon finding her mother she reunited with her paternal grandmother, maternal grandfather and years later her birth father Oric Sweetwine.
In September 2007, Ross was in rehearsals for a show in New York and after weeks of not feeling well was hospitalized the day before Opening Night where she was diagnosed as a Type 1 Diabetic,or "Divabetic" as she likes to be called. In 2010 she became a member of the not-for-profit organization ACT1 Diabetes. Since then she's been extremely active in the organization as Co Facilitator for the Young Women with Diabetes Support Group and Donations Coordinator for the Supply Exchange Program.
Ms. Ross now resides in Brooklyn, New York with her Pomeranian, Lyric. She is working alongside a handful of talented artists on a new musical written by Jay Kuo. Ross is also working on her own solo piece about her own life.
SOARA-JOYE ROSS is a member of The Actor's Equity Association and The Screen Actor's Guild.
Broadway
- Les Misérables (Revival) Chorus Specialty Roles Directed by John Caird
- Dance of the Vampires Featured Ensemble Directed by John Rando
Off-Broadway
- Trav'lin* NYMF Ros Directed by Paul Stancato
- Cross That River* NYMF Mama Lila Directed by Andrew Wilk, TBG Theater
- The Tin Pan Alley Rag u/s Tremonisha/Monisha The Laura Pels Theatre w/ The Roundabout Theater Co. Directed by Stafford Arima
- Single Black Female SBF #2 -Lead The Duke/Playwrights Horizons Directed by Colman Domingo
- Dessa Rose Annabel/Dessa Rose u/s Directed by Graciela Daniele Original Cast Recording (performed) Lincoln Center
- Langston In Harlem * Namt Festival Ex-Harlemite Dodgers Stages
National and European tours
- Smokey Joe’s Café with Gladys Knight BJ/Patti/Brenda (Swing)Directed by Joey McNealy
- Ain’t Misbehavin’ Joy (Charlayne) Directed by Jim Weaver
Workshops and concerts
- Jerry Springer the Opera at Carnegie Hall Audience/Ensemble Jason Moore, Stephen Oremus
- Dessa Rose (La Chanze & Donna Murphy) Annabel Graciela Daniele
- Ball (LL Cool J, Anika Noni Rose, Shoshana Bean) Muse/Skankette Charles Randolph Wright
- Palazzo Colombino Diva Basel Switzerland
Film
- Garden State (Zach Braff & Natalie Portman) Handi-World Cashier Zach Braff Camelot Pictures
Readings
- Invisible Life (Lillias White & Chuck Cooper) Nicole Springer Sugar Bar, Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj
- Barnstormer (Natasha Williams & David St, Louis) Bessie Coleman Hartford Stage, Jerry Dixon
- On, Girl (Jennifer Holliday & Sharon Wilkins) Soara-Joye Ars Nova, Lewis Flinn & Steven Sater
- Deadlines (Brandon Victor Dixon & Darius De Haas) Franchesca Charles Randolph Wright
- Bare Tonya Westbank Café, Kristin Hanggi
- A Good Man Lettie York Theater
- Langston in Harlem (Adriane Lenox & Billy Porter) Ex- Harlemite Kent Gash
- The Funkentine Rapture Simone Funk Lee Summers
- Adam Allegra Maurice Brandon Curry
- Do*rian Gray (Christiane Noll) Sybil Vane Lynne-Taylor Corbett
- My Name is Alice Soara-Joye (Charlayne) Adam Muller
- The Gospel…Fishman (Michele Pawk) Jolene Eric Shaeffer
- Starmites (Alaina Reed-Hall) Banshee Don’t Tell Mama
- Taking Step 313 Tonia Joe’s Pub
Regional
- From the Mississippi Delta Woman 1 Triad Stage/Donna Bradby
- Aida Aida Arvada Center
- Tick, Tick…Boom! Susan/Karessa Alliance/Kent Gash
- Once on this Island Asaka Sacramento M C & Bay Street
- Ain’t Misbehavin’ Soara-Joye (Armelia) Huntington Theatre
- Ragtime Sarah Gateway & Weston
- Beehive Joye Cincinnati Playhouse
- Once on this Island Andrea Mill Mountain Theatre
- She Loves Me Amalia Balash NCC/Robert Einenkel
- Ceremonies in Dark Old Men Adele Parker NCC/Bruce Jenkins
Training
- Meisner Technique & Sitcom Workshop: J. Beckson Studio
- Film Audition Workshop: Heidi Marshall
- The American Musical and Dramatic Academy
- Nassau Community College: Classical Voice
- Vocal Coach/Technicians: Scott Conner, Dr. Anat Keidar, Jack Waddell, Dorothy Stone
Awards
- 2009 New York Music Theatre Festival's "Best of Fest" Outstanding Individual Performance Award Winner(Cross That River)
- 2006 Henry Award Nominee for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Aida)
- Best Actress in a Musical (Aida) -Dreamwell.com