Ritual: a play in two acts

Stanley Bennett Clay, born in Chicago IL and reared in Los Angeles CA won three NAACP Theatre Awards and three Drama-logue Awards for writing, directing and co-producing the original Los Angeles production of Ritual. He made his film writing and directing debut with the feature film production of Ritual which won the Pan African Film Festival’s Audience Award. He also wrote and directed the award-winning documentary You Are Not alone, an examination of depression among black gay men. As an actor he starred and/or guest-starred in more than 30 films and TV programs, including Minstrel Man, Good Times, James Michener’s Dynasty, Cannonball and Cheers. He won an NAACP Best Actor Image Award for his performance in Anna Lucasta, one of over a dozen stage shows he starred and/or was featured in in various Los Angeles and Off-Broadway productions. Clay is also the author of 6 novels, including the NY Hotep Award-winning In Search of Pretty Young Black Men (Atria/Simon & Schuster). He currently resides in New York City with his husband Reny.