Tramaine Montell Ford
- Actor
- Writer
- Manager
Tramaine Montell Ford is an American actor, comedian, playwright, author, dancer, choreographer, singer/songwriter, recording artist, animation voice-over artist, teaching artist, coach, improviser, speaker, artistic director, creative collaborator, producer, youth advocate, mentor, activist, and award-winning solo performer. He holds an (M.F.A.) Masters of Fine Arts in Acting from the American Repertory Theatre/Moscow Art Theatre School Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University and a (B.F.A.) Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts, Department of Drama.
Ford's credits include; Hairspray (Feature Film) starring John Travolta and Queen Latifah, One Life To Live (ABC), The Oprah Winfrey Show, Saturday Night Live (NBC), MTV VMA's, NBC's The Today Show (Live), Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Shakespeare's Hamlet and The Wizard of Oz at Syracuse Stage, The Ballad of Emmet Till at Black Repertory Theatre, the National Tour and International Tour of Dreamgirls in Japan, the National Tour and International Tour of Elton John & Tim Rice's AIDA, College Humor, Odyssey: The Epic Musical, A Christmas Carol at Princeton University's McCarter Theatre, Young Jean Lee's The Shipment and Diane Paulus' The Donkey Show at American Repertory Theatre at Harvard, Anniversa Happary at Manhattan Repertory Theatre, The Fred Astaire Awards, and has danced for American singer Lady Gaga during her first Live TV performance at the NewNowNext Awards. Ford has toured and performed in various theaters and Television Production Studios throughout the United States, Norway, Germany, Denmark, Poland, China, Japan, Russia, Taiwan, Inner Mongolia, The Bahamas, Canada, and the US Virgin Islands.
Born and raised in Chicago's notorious Cabrini Green Housing Projects, Ford was featured on WNG-9 News as the first individual from the Chicago Housing Project to win at the Chicago Children's Alt Film Festival, taking home 1st Place for Best Narrative, "The Potion," which he wrote and starred in as a pre-teen through the Cabrini Connections Tutor/Mentor Program, and on NBC News as an up & coming rising star. Before that, Ford had won 2nd place at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre's Youth Monologue and Sonnet Contest and began working with the Duncan YMCA's Chernin Center for the Arts Youth Theatre Workshop. In 1999, he starred in FreeStreet Theatre's CoTingle, representing the USA at the 13th Annual A.S.S.I.T.E.J. Theatre Festival in Norway, and at the Bremen International Theatre Festival in Germany.
Notably, Ford is the creative force behind "The Tramaine Experience: An Urban Dramedy," a self-penned one-man show that premiered Off-Broadway with critical acclaim. The show has garnered recognition, including the "Outstanding Performance in a Solo Show" award at the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity Awards. The Tramaine Experience: An Urban Dramedy premiered Off-Broadway on September 22nd, 2011 at The American Theatre of Actors fostered by the producers of Broadway's Wicked and Urinetown, The Araca Group, Through The Inaugural Araca Project, with favorable reviews from critics at Broadway World and The New York Times. The production first began with several sold-out and standing-room-only Developmental Workshops at Off-Broadway's Theatre Row Studio Theatre in Times Square New York City where Ford was Co-Executive Producer. Later, winner of the "Outstanding Performance In A Solo Show" Award during the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity after Limited Engagements at The Gene Frankel Theatre and Robert Moss Theatre, benefiting charity United Way NYC. The production has also seen several sold-out Limited Engagements at Chicago's Gorilla Tango Theatre and The Greenhouse Theatre Center. He's also performed it at both his Alma maters, Syracuse University, and Harvard University. The Tramaine Experience: An Urban Dramedy has been featured on NY1 News, NYTimes.com, and Broadway World.
Ford's professional training also includes Chicago's FreeStreet Theatre, The New York Tepper Semester with Rebecca Guy from The Juilliard School, Daryl Quintin from The Juilliard School, Kristen Linklater of Columbia University, Aaron Sorkin at Warner Bro Studios for the Inaugural Aaron Sorkin Practicum, JoAnna Beckson Studios, Alexander Technique Center in Cambridge, The Joel Hall Dance Center in Chicago on full scholarship, The Ailey School: The Official School of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre as a recipient of the Oprah Winfrey Scholarship, daily study and nightly repertory performance residencies at Russia's Moscow Art Theatre School, and PWST Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts in Krakow, Poland. Ford has worked as the production choreographer for music videos for the band Galactic and artist Kid Sister through Ghost Robot. and for the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Ford appears in The Nassau, Bahamas televised production of The Legend of Sammie Swain annually as part of Shakespeare In Paradise. Ford studied Shakespeare with expert David Hammond.
A committed advocate for the arts and education, Ford actively engages with disadvantaged youth through school tours, bringing programs like "My Plate: The New Food Guide Musical" to communities in need. His involvement with organizations like The Adolescent Aids Program and teaching positions at Boston Arts Academy and City On A Hill Charter School showcase his dedication to arts education. Since 2010, Ford has toured to disadvantaged youth in elementary schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods. He visits and performs for and with hundreds of youth every year in Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and Los Angeles, performing My Plate: The New Food Guide Musical program through "The Nutrition & Fitness Education Initiative". The program and Ford have been featured on The Huffington Post, New York Times, ABC News Los Angeles, and ABC Staten Island. Ford has also been involved as an actor with The Adolescent Aids Program, performing educational videos that train doctors and counselors to work with youth patients.
Tramaine began working with Boston Arts Academy as an Adjunct Professor in the Dept. of Theatre teaching the 12th-Grade Advanced Actor's Studio Course and the 9/10th-Grade Movement for Actors. This followed a special guest faculty residency at City On A Hill Charter School teaching General Theatre Arts, as seen on CBS-Boston News, and as a panelist at the Harvard Law School's panel discussion and performance event, The Drama of Lynching, as part of The A.R.T. Of Human Rights Series. Ford began collaborating and working as a teaching artist with The Town Hall NYC Arts in Education, traveling to teach in New York Public Schools including Civic Leadership Academy, Excel Charter Schools, and many more. With Caceras Collective, Ford has taught at Bronx Academy for the Performing Arts and with Broadway's Babies at Urban Assembly School of Law & Justice. Lastly, Ford provides private lessons as one of the top coaches on Lessons.com and teaches Masterclasses in many places including Mind Your Body.
In addition to his creative endeavors, Ford is a Creative Consultant and Media/Web Director for Blakeman Entertainment, which invests in major Broadway productions including the hit Dear Evan Hansen and Ain't Too Proud, as well as shows on the West End. Ford is a featured member of, and contributes to community initiatives like Mastermind Connect and works closely with the Young Mastermind Initiative, and participates in Syracuse University's VPA Alumni Mentor Program.
Beyond the stage and screen, Ford has extended his talents to the music industry, earning recognition as an independent experimental pop/hip-hop and dance artist. His popular track "Beast (Can't Do Me)" reflects his unique sound and lyrical prowess. Tramaine Montell's EP single Beast (Can't Do Me) was released internationally on Apple iTunes / Apple Music on Jan 31, 2011. On ReverbNation, the single was available with proceeds benefiting the "Keep A Child Alive" charity through Music For Good. Tramaine Montell is a Chicago-born and raised songwriter/musician and dynamic musical and theatrical performer known for his unique style and killer dance moves- Tramaine Montell has danced back-up for the likes of Lady Gaga & Shakira and contributed to movies like Get On Up - The James Brown Story and Hairspray (Soundtrack To The Motion Picture). Collaborating with some of the best underground Chicago artists/producers like The David Way, a 2011 2-single self-titled EP by the dynamic musical performer is a tease, to say the least. The swag-heavy yet sultry mid-tempo anthem Beast (Can't Do Me) featuring Chicago rapper Dame Dilla is followed by the Mike Snugg-produced techno-rap electronic dance club track that is Exclusive. You may catch some feature collaborations like the hilarious feature on 999 Grams by Dame Dilla or House Club banger Yes No by the20fours. Tramaine Montell is the father of emerging rapper Prince Louis who's dropping a 2021 LP entitled "Heartbreaker". After almost 10 years of focusing on acting, teaching, coaching, and artist development, fans are eager for brand new music by Tramaine Montell rumored for a 2024 LP release.
Recently, Ford founded TM Creative Productions(TM) (TMCP), a dynamic platform that includes subsidiaries such as The Tramaine Experience(TM) and FORD Coaching. Under TMCP, Ford manages Tramaine Montell Records and mentors emerging artist/musician Prince Louis. Looking ahead, 2024 promises exciting projects from TMCP, including a streaming special for "The Tramaine Experience: An Urban Dramedy," an arts education toolkit, a memoir titled "Cambridge to Cambridge," a comedy special titled "Can I Be Myself for a Minute?!" and more.
Ford is in early development and pre-production for "The Tramaine Experience: An Urban Dramedy," "Can I Be Myself for a Minute?!," "Let Me Finish," "The Family Reunion," and "Tramaine TV".
Tramaine Montell Ford is a proud member of (SAG-AFTRA) Screen Actor's Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, (ASCAP) American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, and (AEA) Actor's Equity Association, showcasing his commitment to the professional arts community.
Ford's credits include; Hairspray (Feature Film) starring John Travolta and Queen Latifah, One Life To Live (ABC), The Oprah Winfrey Show, Saturday Night Live (NBC), MTV VMA's, NBC's The Today Show (Live), Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Shakespeare's Hamlet and The Wizard of Oz at Syracuse Stage, The Ballad of Emmet Till at Black Repertory Theatre, the National Tour and International Tour of Dreamgirls in Japan, the National Tour and International Tour of Elton John & Tim Rice's AIDA, College Humor, Odyssey: The Epic Musical, A Christmas Carol at Princeton University's McCarter Theatre, Young Jean Lee's The Shipment and Diane Paulus' The Donkey Show at American Repertory Theatre at Harvard, Anniversa Happary at Manhattan Repertory Theatre, The Fred Astaire Awards, and has danced for American singer Lady Gaga during her first Live TV performance at the NewNowNext Awards. Ford has toured and performed in various theaters and Television Production Studios throughout the United States, Norway, Germany, Denmark, Poland, China, Japan, Russia, Taiwan, Inner Mongolia, The Bahamas, Canada, and the US Virgin Islands.
Born and raised in Chicago's notorious Cabrini Green Housing Projects, Ford was featured on WNG-9 News as the first individual from the Chicago Housing Project to win at the Chicago Children's Alt Film Festival, taking home 1st Place for Best Narrative, "The Potion," which he wrote and starred in as a pre-teen through the Cabrini Connections Tutor/Mentor Program, and on NBC News as an up & coming rising star. Before that, Ford had won 2nd place at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre's Youth Monologue and Sonnet Contest and began working with the Duncan YMCA's Chernin Center for the Arts Youth Theatre Workshop. In 1999, he starred in FreeStreet Theatre's CoTingle, representing the USA at the 13th Annual A.S.S.I.T.E.J. Theatre Festival in Norway, and at the Bremen International Theatre Festival in Germany.
Notably, Ford is the creative force behind "The Tramaine Experience: An Urban Dramedy," a self-penned one-man show that premiered Off-Broadway with critical acclaim. The show has garnered recognition, including the "Outstanding Performance in a Solo Show" award at the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity Awards. The Tramaine Experience: An Urban Dramedy premiered Off-Broadway on September 22nd, 2011 at The American Theatre of Actors fostered by the producers of Broadway's Wicked and Urinetown, The Araca Group, Through The Inaugural Araca Project, with favorable reviews from critics at Broadway World and The New York Times. The production first began with several sold-out and standing-room-only Developmental Workshops at Off-Broadway's Theatre Row Studio Theatre in Times Square New York City where Ford was Co-Executive Producer. Later, winner of the "Outstanding Performance In A Solo Show" Award during the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity after Limited Engagements at The Gene Frankel Theatre and Robert Moss Theatre, benefiting charity United Way NYC. The production has also seen several sold-out Limited Engagements at Chicago's Gorilla Tango Theatre and The Greenhouse Theatre Center. He's also performed it at both his Alma maters, Syracuse University, and Harvard University. The Tramaine Experience: An Urban Dramedy has been featured on NY1 News, NYTimes.com, and Broadway World.
Ford's professional training also includes Chicago's FreeStreet Theatre, The New York Tepper Semester with Rebecca Guy from The Juilliard School, Daryl Quintin from The Juilliard School, Kristen Linklater of Columbia University, Aaron Sorkin at Warner Bro Studios for the Inaugural Aaron Sorkin Practicum, JoAnna Beckson Studios, Alexander Technique Center in Cambridge, The Joel Hall Dance Center in Chicago on full scholarship, The Ailey School: The Official School of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre as a recipient of the Oprah Winfrey Scholarship, daily study and nightly repertory performance residencies at Russia's Moscow Art Theatre School, and PWST Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts in Krakow, Poland. Ford has worked as the production choreographer for music videos for the band Galactic and artist Kid Sister through Ghost Robot. and for the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Ford appears in The Nassau, Bahamas televised production of The Legend of Sammie Swain annually as part of Shakespeare In Paradise. Ford studied Shakespeare with expert David Hammond.
A committed advocate for the arts and education, Ford actively engages with disadvantaged youth through school tours, bringing programs like "My Plate: The New Food Guide Musical" to communities in need. His involvement with organizations like The Adolescent Aids Program and teaching positions at Boston Arts Academy and City On A Hill Charter School showcase his dedication to arts education. Since 2010, Ford has toured to disadvantaged youth in elementary schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods. He visits and performs for and with hundreds of youth every year in Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and Los Angeles, performing My Plate: The New Food Guide Musical program through "The Nutrition & Fitness Education Initiative". The program and Ford have been featured on The Huffington Post, New York Times, ABC News Los Angeles, and ABC Staten Island. Ford has also been involved as an actor with The Adolescent Aids Program, performing educational videos that train doctors and counselors to work with youth patients.
Tramaine began working with Boston Arts Academy as an Adjunct Professor in the Dept. of Theatre teaching the 12th-Grade Advanced Actor's Studio Course and the 9/10th-Grade Movement for Actors. This followed a special guest faculty residency at City On A Hill Charter School teaching General Theatre Arts, as seen on CBS-Boston News, and as a panelist at the Harvard Law School's panel discussion and performance event, The Drama of Lynching, as part of The A.R.T. Of Human Rights Series. Ford began collaborating and working as a teaching artist with The Town Hall NYC Arts in Education, traveling to teach in New York Public Schools including Civic Leadership Academy, Excel Charter Schools, and many more. With Caceras Collective, Ford has taught at Bronx Academy for the Performing Arts and with Broadway's Babies at Urban Assembly School of Law & Justice. Lastly, Ford provides private lessons as one of the top coaches on Lessons.com and teaches Masterclasses in many places including Mind Your Body.
In addition to his creative endeavors, Ford is a Creative Consultant and Media/Web Director for Blakeman Entertainment, which invests in major Broadway productions including the hit Dear Evan Hansen and Ain't Too Proud, as well as shows on the West End. Ford is a featured member of, and contributes to community initiatives like Mastermind Connect and works closely with the Young Mastermind Initiative, and participates in Syracuse University's VPA Alumni Mentor Program.
Beyond the stage and screen, Ford has extended his talents to the music industry, earning recognition as an independent experimental pop/hip-hop and dance artist. His popular track "Beast (Can't Do Me)" reflects his unique sound and lyrical prowess. Tramaine Montell's EP single Beast (Can't Do Me) was released internationally on Apple iTunes / Apple Music on Jan 31, 2011. On ReverbNation, the single was available with proceeds benefiting the "Keep A Child Alive" charity through Music For Good. Tramaine Montell is a Chicago-born and raised songwriter/musician and dynamic musical and theatrical performer known for his unique style and killer dance moves- Tramaine Montell has danced back-up for the likes of Lady Gaga & Shakira and contributed to movies like Get On Up - The James Brown Story and Hairspray (Soundtrack To The Motion Picture). Collaborating with some of the best underground Chicago artists/producers like The David Way, a 2011 2-single self-titled EP by the dynamic musical performer is a tease, to say the least. The swag-heavy yet sultry mid-tempo anthem Beast (Can't Do Me) featuring Chicago rapper Dame Dilla is followed by the Mike Snugg-produced techno-rap electronic dance club track that is Exclusive. You may catch some feature collaborations like the hilarious feature on 999 Grams by Dame Dilla or House Club banger Yes No by the20fours. Tramaine Montell is the father of emerging rapper Prince Louis who's dropping a 2021 LP entitled "Heartbreaker". After almost 10 years of focusing on acting, teaching, coaching, and artist development, fans are eager for brand new music by Tramaine Montell rumored for a 2024 LP release.
Recently, Ford founded TM Creative Productions(TM) (TMCP), a dynamic platform that includes subsidiaries such as The Tramaine Experience(TM) and FORD Coaching. Under TMCP, Ford manages Tramaine Montell Records and mentors emerging artist/musician Prince Louis. Looking ahead, 2024 promises exciting projects from TMCP, including a streaming special for "The Tramaine Experience: An Urban Dramedy," an arts education toolkit, a memoir titled "Cambridge to Cambridge," a comedy special titled "Can I Be Myself for a Minute?!" and more.
Ford is in early development and pre-production for "The Tramaine Experience: An Urban Dramedy," "Can I Be Myself for a Minute?!," "Let Me Finish," "The Family Reunion," and "Tramaine TV".
Tramaine Montell Ford is a proud member of (SAG-AFTRA) Screen Actor's Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, (ASCAP) American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, and (AEA) Actor's Equity Association, showcasing his commitment to the professional arts community.