BIO

Darnell Rhea Williams

It's a common question:

 “Why the name Darnell? That's usually a boy's name."  

Well, the doctor said ‘Mr. and Mrs. Williams, you're having a BOY’. They told their two other children ‘You're getting a baby BROTHER!’. But to everyone's surprise, on February 18th in New Orleans, LA, unto them a baby GIRL was born. It was at that moment when Mr. and Mrs. Williams’ son attempted to run away from home. His 5-year-old brain couldn't handle the idea of having ANOTHER SISTER! 

Either way, the name had been decided long before the baby's arrival. The couple had already planned to name their child Darnell Williams. ‘Honestly, changing her name wasn't even on our minds.’ There had been complications during the birth. The parents were happy to just have a healthy mom and baby.  

Yes, Darnell was born and raised in New Orleans, LA. Before your mind starts wandering, the answer is YES.

YES to residing in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. YES to evacuating before the ruthless hurricane made landfall. YES her home flooded. YES it was ‘bad’. YES she lost just about everything she owned. YES she relocated. YES August 29, 2005 changed her entire life.

 But one thing never changed: Darnell remained committed to her passion for performing.

Starting in middle school, she had always chosen theater as her elective. Well, there was that one time she auditioned for the dance department at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. Turns out, a new pair of ballet slippers does not make an untrained teenager a good enough dancer to get into the best arts school in town. After being irrevocably rejected from the dance discipline, she tried her luck at the same school's theater department. It was there where she felt at home and discovered her natural knack for storytelling. Three years later, she graduated with a class of just five others. The VHS tape documenting their senior recital was one of the three things she was able to retrieve from her flooded home in New Orleans.

Darnell rebuilt her life in Houston, TX. She became a part of the improv community and performed weekly shows with Massive Improv.

Then New York City was home, a playground, and a dream. In Brooklyn with the American Candy performance group, sketch comedy was added to her toolbox. The live variety show goes down as one of her favorite jobs.  

Darnell currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.

L.A. has become my home away from home. I've had remarkable growth since being here. My creativity has expanded beyond the boundaries of the self constructed box in which I once allowed myself to exist. I'm doing things I've never done before, and it feels RIGHT!

-Darnell Rhea