Today we’d like to introduce you to Ray Buffer.
Hi Ray, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in West Palm Beach, Florida. At 29 days of age, I was adopted. My adoptive parents made me the center of their universe, and I was an only child. They had limited means, but within their abilities they spoiled me. Both of them were salt-of-the-earth, genuine, loving souls. Growing up with no siblings was a bit lonely. I read a lot – mostly comic books and Science Fiction (favoring Star Trek). I used to imagine myself as a Vulcan, and like Spock I would act stoic and aloof most of the time. I also identified with Superman – the ultimate adoptee. Sometimes I felt like a “strange visitor from another planet.” I began my “creative” journey in Kindergarten playing the role of the “town crier” in a play at Victory Baptist Kindergarten. I still remember my first role – the feel of the brass bell in my hand and the first few words I said: “Hear ye, hear ye, Caesar Augustus has declared to all the world…”
After that touch of the theatre, I then began Violin lessons in 5th grade, eventually moving through middle school and high school, on to String Bass, Guitar, Piano, Viola, French Horn, and Voice. It was in 8th and 9th grades that I first encountered musical theatre, and I fell in love with it. The idea that a story could stir up emotions that had to be expressed in song and dance – that also furthered the story was magical to me. So much so that it became my college major – earning my BFA in musical theatre. From there, I found many opportunities for a 6’4” bass-baritone in the world of concerts, opera, community theatre, dinner theatre, regional theatre, and even though I was in my mid-twenties, I was playing roles twice my age or older. This propelled me on a course to being a character actor. I moved from South Florida to Central Florida in the mid-90’s where I had a nice balance of work at Disney’s Epcot, Sea World, Universal Studios, and the now defunct Skull Kingdom and Mark Two Dinner Theatre as an actor. At the Mark Two, I also worked as a professional Stage Manager, and that kept me employed when acting gigs weren’t as plentiful. My time in Orlando lasted five years and then I made the move to Los Angeles in 1999. I started over when I first arrived, living for a while in Huntington Beach while I tried to graduate from working as an film and TV extra to other jobs, like photo double and stand in – and eventually principal actor.
Around that time, my adoptive mother in Florida passed away from cancer. I had searched in my teens for my birth mother but kept hitting dead ends. I even became a private investigator myself for a short time hoping to learn the skills I’d need to find my birth parents. Finally after my adoptive mother’s passing, I resolved to hire a private investigator that specialized in locating biological parents and children. In 2003 they found her, and I reunited with her and met her sisters and other family. It completed a part of the puzzle of my life that I wanted solved. However, she either could not (or would not) identify my birth father. I had a role on Curb Your Enthusiasm and a few other projects in 2004, but then when I thought I was gaining momentum, things dried up – and the pressures of life convinced me to return to other survival jobs. I worked in marketing and development for The Laguna Playhouse as a General Manager for The Long Beach Opera, and as I progressed through these jobs, I began to crave creating my own arts company. In 2007 The Relevant Stage was born in San Pedro – and with the important assistance of the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and the business community, I set up shop in the Warner Grand Theatre – going on to produce live musical theatre productions, plays, family movie festivals, burlesque shows, stand up comedy events, original musicals and operas, and musical theatre summer camps for youth, for nearly five years running. Again the tides changed and as I moved to Long Beach in 2012, I again transitioned to non-arts related survival jobs, working in retail and as a brand ambassador.
After a couple of years, the craving to build a new arts company tickled me again, and with my business partner Jonas Sills, we began Art-In-Relation (AIR) in Downtown Long Beach, based out of the Scottish Rite, in the Ernest Borgnine Theatre, from 2014 until – frankly – the pandemic – we produced shows either there or at other locations in Koreatown and Hollywood. A year before the pandemic, my adoptive father who had been living with me for the last four years of his life passed away. Again, I began to think about whether my birth father, whomever he was, was still alive out there somewhere. A few months after my adoptive father’s passing, I got an email from 23 & Me (DNA test) informing me that two half-sisters had been identified. Through them, I learned who my birth father is. Unfortunately, I do not have a relationship with him because he is concerned of how his current wife of 50 years – the mother of his two daughters – would react. But knowing his identity has at least completed the puzzle for me and my origins. As I approached the age of 50 a little less than a couple of years ago, I began to realize that I was now the age of the roles I began my career playing. I had “grown into myself.”. And so, in recent years, I have renewed my career efforts in the world of TV. film and video – and to my surprise, and with thanks to my manager and agent, I have had a decent amount of work in commercials and comedy roles. The next part of my focus as I turn 52 this September will be to develop and increase my experience in theatrical roles.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
In the past burnout has been an issue. I can fire all thrusters in my right brain for a while doing the survival jobs for the reliable paycheck, but then after a couple of years I must do some left brain work and maybe go into a little debt while I feed the artistic beast. At least that has been the pattern. Recently, and now, I seem to have found a balance of flexible survival jobs and the ability to accept film/TV work when it comes while also doing self-tapes and auditions as needed.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
In 2019, I was fortunate to be cast in a national Capital One commercial. That really got things rolling. Since then, I have worked for Yankee Candle, AT&T, The American Red Cross, State of Survival, Sony Headphones, California Walnuts, Vroom, Oxford Gold, and other commercials – and I’ve also filmed a few pilots and episodes. I will appear in the upcoming features, Bullet Train and Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story. I have also had a fair amount of voice-over work. My manager, Clayton Music Management and agent, The Stander Group work diligently to get me “into the room”.
I made the decision a while ago to request SAG/AFTRA to grant me Financial Core status. I realized that I still had some development to do in increasing the diversity of roles I was getting and gaining exposure while paying my bills. The only way to do that (for me) was to allow myself to take advantage of California being a right-to-work state and become Fi-Core so that I could still work under SAG/AFTRA contracts when they are available, but also – at my discretion – accept non-union work when it pays well or allows me to expand my resume in a worthwhile way. I figure that – for instance – when the time comes that I am offered a season-regular gig on an episodic show, I can then decide to no longer be Fi-Core, and petition SAG/AFTRA to re-admit me, once I again pay my initiation fee.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I find happiness in everyday things. My girlfriend, my two dogs, traveling, the hot tub at my condo, hiking, collecting comics, and seeing live theatre – or just vegging on the sofa bingeing Netflix. My voice has always been my strength. Professionally, I think I am happiest when I am able to use my voice in some way – whether singing, voice-overs or speaking really well-written dialogue.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://raybuffer.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealraybuffer/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raybuffer
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/raybuffer?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmMQ8uulGFgEP25tUoPg_9Q
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1338528/
