Billy's Resumes:
Resume.
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Billy Angel was born in Amsterdam, where he studied music and drama, and where he ran his own children’s theatre company during the 1970s. Still in his twenties, Billy moved to London, UK, early 1980, where he lived until the spring of 2000, when he and his family moved to South Wales, UK.
In London Billy met Marcia, who is from Michigan, USA, and who had been spending a gap-year in Europe. Her last stop, before flying back to the USA, was London, where she hoped to spend a couple of weeks. Little did she know that she would meet Billy and marry him the next year, and settle with him in London for the following 20 years.
At the invitation of a London based pastor/ evangelist, Billy founded and ran a full-time Gospel Theater Company. FLAMES consisted of 7 young performers from 5 different countries all of whom attended the same church.
This Theater Company saw many people turn to Christ, as the group toured the UK almost continuously for 2 years. The work included street theater, children’s theater, and a full-scale theater production. After 2 years FLAMES was disbanded.
Billy and Marcia married in 1980 in Detroit, Marcia’s hometown, but continued to live in London, UK. They have one son, Daniel, who was born in London 1988 and adopted by Billy & Marcia in 1990.
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In the years following FLAMES, Billy continued the same work, running his own theater-work (mostly solo), based on his testimony story and on biblical themes. Billy performed a solo-mime show and a solo children's theatre production (doing 12 characters in the story of Joseph). He toured the UK as a singer/ entertainer with his own band.
Over the years Billy produced several elaborate evening productions, with a cast (and crew) specially formed for each particular show, and with Billy taking one of the main parts.
Billy toured the UK many times; he also toured solo in many European countries and occasionally in the USA.
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In London, UK, Billy worked as a voice-over artist in recording studios, and acted in TV commercials, as well as in several West-End Theater Productions.
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In 1992 Billy released his first CD album, Adam’s Dance.
In the late 1980s - early 90s, Billy taught mime, mask & improvisation at Webber Douglas, Academy for Drama & Music in London, for a period of 4 years.
In the mid 1990s, while continuing to live in the UK, Billy was invited by a national broadcaster in the Netherlands, to participate in a weekly children’s Television show. The show ran for 5 seasons with great success, with Billy as one of the main three characters.
Billy begun his career in the theater as an actor, gradually moving into writing, directing and producing his own theater productions. So when Billy became involved as an actor in the (Dutch) children’s TV show, he naturally took an interest in writing and directing Television drama, hoping the opportunity would, some day, come his way. He began to develop a concept for a TV series.
When some years later the kids show came to an end, Billy was invited to create a new TV show of which Billy became the writer/ director and eventually also the producer. Jacob’s Ladder, television drama series based on stories from the Old Testament, became a popular national TV show in the Netherlands. Billy appears on screen in the program as the Story-Teller.
Three seasons of the Jacob’s Ladder series were produced and televised (in the Netherlands), dramatizing the stories of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob & Esau, Joseph, and Moses (32 half-hour episodes in all).
In 1999 the EO allowed Billy to transfer the production base of the series from the Netherlands to Wales, in the UK, in order to co-produce the next series together with Welsh broadcaster HTV and change the language to English.
The 4th series of Jacob’s Ladder was filmed in 2001 in the hills of South Wales, involving a Welsh cast & crew.
In order to produce this new mountain of work, the Angel Family moved from London to South Wales, where they bought a large house in the hills north of Cardiff; the house included their new production offices.
The resulting 13 half-hour episodes, all filmed on location, are based on the stories of Gideon, Naomi & Ruth, Samuel, Saul, and young David. Continuing his role as Story Teller, Billy is the lighthouse keeper, meeting up with 6 teenagers who appear in all 13 episodes.
The Welsh series of Jacob’s Ladder (the Gideon Series) has been broadcast in Wales by ITV1Wales, and in the UK nationally through UCB Television. The program is being shown in the USA, and internationally, on TBN (cable).
Jacob’s Ladder is being distributed worldwide through Vision Video based in Philadelphia, USA. ( HYPERLINK "http://www.vision-video.com/" www.vision-video.com)
At the ICVM (Int. Christian Visual Media Conference) in the USA, Jacob’s Ladder was awarded best drama series on two occasions. Jacob’s Ladder continues to be broadcast in various countries around the globe.
The TV company in the Netherlands that commissioned the production of Jacob's Ladder, ran into severe financial trouble early on in the new millenium, and as a result they announced that Jacob's Ladder would not be given a new budget (for a new series). This, in spite of the fact that the Biblical drama series had been one of the leading programs of the company.
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Billy had many work connections back in London, but he & Marcia didn't feel right about moving back there. Instead, and while still living in South Wales, UK, Billy and Marcia Angel developed a Performing & Healing Arts Ministry under the name 'REVOLUTION'.
During the same time period Billy went back to singing and performing. He recorded a triple CD album, ‘GREATER LOVE’, with songs based on scripture and Biblical themes.
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Billy also recorded ‘The THREE LIVES of MOSES’, a double CD album with the telling of the Moses story, including a number of songs (script and narration by Billy Angel).
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The Angels organized many Special Events in their home, in local churches and in local venues, and for three consecutive years they produced a summer-time Performing Arts Weekend Event:
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The REVOLUTION Festival! This Festival took place, 3 years running, in the Pop Factory in Porth, South Wales.
Billy and Marcia worked with many young people, training, directing and coaching them into their individual (performance) career/ ministry.
Billy set up a FILM Unit (multi-camera portable studio-system) to film events in their home-studio and elsewhere, including the Revolution Festival.
Marcia set up PLAYBACK Theater Company ‘REVELATIONS’ which performed all over South Wales in the period 2004-2006.
In the summer of 2005 Billy was invited to travel the USA extensively in search of a new co-producer for the next Jacob’s Ladder TV series.
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Interesting and promising contacts were made, and as a result, the Angel family moved to Florida, USA, in 2006, where Billy began to develop ideas for the next Jacob’s Ladder series, based on the Gospel & The Book of Acts.
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In Florida Billy focussed for several years on performing in Retirement Homes, churches and prisons, story-telling the many amazing stories from scripture, and singing songs from his triple album ‘Greater Love’. See the Story & Song page on this web-site.
While in Florida, Billy wrote and filmed a series of short-films: ‘Psalms Alive’, 22 psalms spoken by-heart, by Billy, on various locations in Florida. The series is distributed by Vision Video in Pennsylvania.
In 2011 Billy & Marcia, together with their son Daniel (in his mid twenties), moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, where they set-up Story Cafe. Visit www.storycafe.org to learn more. This community center ran from 2012 - 2019.
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In the summer of 2019 The Angels rebranded Story Cafe into Story Trio and moved location to the Harris Building on 111 Division Ave. South, Grand Rapids, MI 49503. This is where they have set-up the STORY LAB.
Billy and Marcia manage Story Cafe and Story Church together. Marcia runs Story Circus. (see StoryCafe.org)
Billy continues to perform & minister through STORY & SONG, and Scripture-(spoken) by-Heart, in local venues and at the STORY LAB (through Story Church). For more info see storytrio.org
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Apart from performing, Billy also SPEAKS on human issues including ‘faith’, ‘film-making’, and several subjects taken from the many Biblical stories that he has filmed for TV as part of the Jacob’s Ladder series. See the ‘Walk-the-Talk’ page on this web-site.
Billy is preparing to write a new season of Jacob's Ladder TV series, based on Biblical stories. This new season is based on the Gospel and the book of Acts; to be filmed in LA.
For more information on these 2 projects: www.entertainingangels.biz ‘projects in development’ page.
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What colleagues and leaders have said about Billy and his work:
“Billy has a passion for Jesus, a passion to serve the body of Christ here in Wales, a compassion for young people, and a gift to share the good news creatively- what more could you ask for?”
-Nigel James, Director of Ignite, Cardiff, UK.
“Billy Angel combines creativity and pathos to offer a powerful message of redemption in his musical presentation of the David and Bathsheba story. St. Lukan’s were deeply impacted by this profound work. Billy's combination of singing & acting is unique and powefull. I highly commend it!”
-The Rev’d. Dr. John Roddam Rector: St. Luke’s, Seattle
“Communication is an art and Billy Angel is most definitely an artist. Be it in acting, mime, singing, Scripture Speaking, Billy is one of those rare people who has worked hard enough to be an expert at several things. He is an accomplished musician and he can communicate the gospel to all ages through the performing arts in a unique manner.
Billy has the ability to minister the life of Christ in a way that few people can - first class, his ministry is life-changing!”
-Rev. John Bullock, Senior Pastor of Porth Christian Centre, South Wales, UK.
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View Billy's Resume in 12-points
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The photos in the gallery below were taken recently at a Playback Improv show at Story Cafe, Grand Rapids, MI.
