One of our newest actors at Cross Purposes Productions is hardly new to acting. Parker Gray has been working on stage professionally since he was nine. And while most kids discover acting while participating in their school play or in a church Christmas pageant as a shepherd or a wise-man, Parker started off as Michael Banks in a massive production of the musical, “Mary Poppins” at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia. With Bright costumes, huge production numbers and Mary Poppins, herself, flying off the stage and out over the audience’s heads to the back of the theater eight times a week, it was not your typical introduction to theatre. But Parker was bitten by the stage bug and continued on for several more productions including “The Music Man”, “Big Fish”, “Christmas Carol”, and “Elf: The Musical”.
Royal Ashes Director, David Alford, explains, “ I’ve known and worked with Parker since his first run as Michael Banks. And the amazing thing about him is he’s unflappable. That production was a circus. There were actors flying everywhere and special effects in nearly every scene. And Parker just smiled and took it all in like it was normal. I’m sure he was nervous, but he never let it show. Part of it comes from the fact that for a very young man, Parker is very grounded and knows who he is. That translates into his acting and what you get is not a lot of “performance” but a great deal of “being”. That translate very well on film. So when I needed a youth actor to play a character who struggles deeply with letting go of his feelings and connecting with others, I needed a young man who would be in touch with himself enough to make that believable. Parker was one of the first young actors that came to mind, and I was excited when he auditioned for the part.”
“Royal Ashes” is Parker’s transition from the stage to film. It’s a big change in that acting techniques are always similar, but the method of delivery is VERY different. Learning to act for a camera rather than a live audience has a huge learning curve and Parker is one of the newest and youngest actors on set. But as evidenced in his role as Jordan Royal, the youngest and most emotionally isolated sibling in the family, Parker is up for the task.
You can see Parker in “Royal Ashes” when it is released in 2022. Until then follow us on Facebook or Instagram to keep up with the latest news and information. You can click on the upper left hand corner of this screen to go to our home page to see photos and cast bios from both “Royal Ashes” or our current release, “Found.” now available on most major streaming platforms. Be sure to visit out shop and help support the production of faith-based films.
