Ramona King

Ramona King is the former Radio Host of "The Spoken Word Hour" for NPR affiliate KUNM. Here she's interviewed spoken word artists along with musical storytellers like folksinger, John McCutcheon, and Bluesman Guy Davis. Rainbow Tales Too is her first appearance on award-winning CD produced by Rounder Records with performance alongside national storytellers including radio celebrity Garrison Keillor. Coyote Song is her newest storytelling DVD with Samoan beat box artist Zack Freeman in a live performance at The Word of South Festival of Literature and Music. In film she's performed alongside Matthew McConaughey and opposite Morgan Freeman working under award-winning director Ron Shelton, with credits under Peter Chelsom, Michael Slovis, and Robert B. Weide. She's the cover story for the May 2006 issue of the Abq Arts Magazine and was featured in Houston's International Guardian and Parenting Magazine (May 2000). Her bio and story as Albuquerque's storyteller are found in Albuquerque: Three Centuries to Remember (A La Harencia Publications, 2005). She co-produced _Searching(2016)_ directed by Albert Fry, the official selection of three festivals and won the Southern Shorts Award. She is the recipient of the Southern Shorts Merit Award for Acting. Ramona grew up in Queens, New York during the 70's and attended Andrew Jackson High School. She is the oldest of five. Her mother worked for a Toy Factory which provided special moments between mother and children --when Mom wasn't worn out from work at the factory. Ramona's first introduction to the theater was when her mother stayed home full-time after layoffs. Her Mom spread a blanket on the floor and told her and her siblings' stories...stories they would later perform in the basement on a makeshift stage behind a rolled up bamboo curtain. Her father was a trucker who fell upon hard times during union strikes. Her Solo Show "On My Own", from her Maternal Dreamer Series is based on these events. Eventually, she and her siblings were placed in New York's foster care system. The school was a safe haven for her where she scored high grades and eventually earned acceptance to Cornell University where she studied Human Development and Family Studies. There she met her husband-to-be, Tony King during her first college stage performance of Godspell. They married and moved to New Mexico where she continued to perform live theater at the University of New Mexico of which included Antigone in South Africa (Adaptation of Sophocles Play), Boesman and Lena by Athol Fugard, and Young Gifted and Black by Lorraine Hansberry. After giving birth to her first child she began her solo performance career on stage as Storyteller and Personal Griot. Her two son's were born soon after. In 1999 she performed at the White House for the Annual Easter at the White House Event. She's performed across the country sometimes with a child strapped to her back on school stages, in conferences, and festivals. She's come full circle to continue her acting career in film and television.