Ayanna began her early career on a small island in Washington State. Among the madrona trees and lilac bushes she discovered dance and made her performance debut, playing fairy #12, in an outdoor performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare. She was 5.

“I’ve always been that kid. I’m odd, have a weird sense of humor and seem to excel at making people feel…things. I love a good story and I find that the best way to share a story with someone is to create a world that surrounds them, draws them in. Then we’re in it together and that is a great feeling. So full and immersive and anything can happen.”

Through dance Ayanna learned to explore the emotional language of art. Through acting she learned the differences between manufactured and authentic truth. Her father, a musician and performer, taught her about stage presence and her grandmother, a watercolorist, taught her to develop her eye and ask questions. “How do we use our senses to understand a scene?” or, “How can we capture an essence and share it in a way that others can experience?“.

Exploration took Ayanna to Paris at the age of 18, where she worked as a nanny and attended school for French language. A roommate, at the time, brought her into the world of fashion photography where she modeled, styled and finally became an art director for fashion photo shoots. She worked with many young creatives; photographers, models and designers, each of whom shared their own influences and inspirations, helping further her artistic world view.

From Paris to Hawai’i, Los Angeles to Portland, over her career Ayanna has worn many creative hats: professional dancer, art director, model, agent, producer, teacher, writer and even optician! Each hat contributing to her strength as an actor. She continues to dig into the depths of her creativity and reach for the edges of her ability.

She has found success with her colorful background, not only as a performer, but also as an advocate and mentor to actors of many backgrounds. With the help of Artists Repertory Theatre, of Portland, Oregon, the Theatre Communications Group and Fox Fellowship Foundation, Ayanna has been able to expand her focus to include exciting new work in educational programming and collaborative endeavors. She leans into the techniques of Meisner and Stanislavsky, movement from Anne Bogart and Jacques LeCoq.

Ayanna works steadily in stage, film, TV and voice work.   She splits her time between Los Angeles, Portland and the San Juan Islands.