We had the good fortune of connecting with Ray Sharp and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ray, looking back, what do you think was the most difficult decision you’ve had to make?
I had to make the difficult decision to quit college after putting in 4 long years to pursue a musical theatre job. Thankfully the job turned into a career.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I started off in show business playing the piano for restaurants, churches and weddings. I really enjoyed the personal connection you could make when performing that close to the audience. I received a fateful phone call from Troy Grant, founding member of Four Day Weekend, one random Saturday afternoon. He had heard me perform at one of the restaurants I played at and invited me to come see his show and see if it was something I would be interested in pursuing. Before I could talk myself out of it I said, “YES!”. That Saturday was 23 years ago and I haven’t turned back since.

During Four Day Weekend’s live show I always wear two hats. First and foremost I play the transition music between scenes live on the piano. This part of the show cannot be missed. There is nothing worse than a blackout with silence in live theatre. The other hat I wear is improvising along with the actors. It is my job to set the mood through music , atmosphere, sound effects or anything else that might arise during a completely made-up scene. Imagine playing charades but having to score the action in real-time. Not an easy task! If you name it, I’ve made that sound on stage many times.

As you can imagine, live theatre took a hit during Covid. We had to pivot and figure out how to continue to entertain in new and inventive ways. We used our smaller theatre in Dallas and turned it into a TV production set, hosted events online and even broadcast our New Years Eve extravaganza live on Facebook.

Looking back on these 23 years I am most proud of the happiness and laughter we have brought to North Texas.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Obviously any trip to the metroplex would not be complete without visiting the Four Day Weekend show. Why not Start in our new Dallas theatre on lower Greenville and make your way down I30 to our flagship theatre in downtown Fort Worth? After the shows we usually hit up the speakeasy Thompson’s Bookstore or catch a set of live jazz at the Scat Jazz Lounge.

For the best cuisine we like to hit up privately owned restaurants like Saviano’s Italian Kitchen in Euless or Beto’s Tex Mex in Grand Prairie. Saviano’s has some of the best pasta dishes and the garlic knots are to die for!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Without a doubt, I would not be where I am today if it was not for the encouragement and out pouring of love from the cast and crew of Four Day Weekend. The original members, David Wilk, Frank Ford and David Ahearn all took me under their wing and taught me the ins and outs of show business. Not only did they help me with my on-stage performance they taught me how to present myself in a professional manner. Now, along side longtime members Josh Roberts and Oliver Tull, it is my hope that we are continuing on in that tradition and putting on the highest quality live theatre our audience has grown accustom to.

Website: www.raysharp.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raysharpproductions/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ray-sharp-24922876/

Image Credits
Amy Zumwalt

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