Aria Avena grew up in Apex, North Carolina in a vibrant, mixed Filipino and African-American household that always overflowed with good food and even better music. She started her performance career at family gatherings, usually singing the entire Disney Princess canon to anyone who would listen. Although she began her artistic life as a singer, playing Annie on her elementary school cafeteria stage opened her eyes to the pursuit of an acting career. Her life was built with love as the foundation, and it bleeds into everything she does.
Aria aspires to foster a sense of hope in others by sharing the light and joy she expresses through her art. In spite of the world we live in, the effort must be made to shine light in the darkest corners of the world in order to reveal the beauty and truth that exists all around us. She also wants to bring the telling of stories of those who are underrepresented to the mainstream media, with this passion being rooted in the stories her Lola and grandmother would recount to her as a child. When outside of school, you can usually find Aria snagging a record from an antique store, sketching faces in the margins of her notebook, or writing another one of her unfinished songs. She is endlessly grateful to everyone who has supported her from the beginning, and is constantly in awe that she gets to call herself a student of this program.
Aria’s recent credits at UNCSA include Daphne Stillington in “Present Laughter” and Fredrika Armfeldt in “A Little Night Music.” This Fall, you can find her ascending into the role of The Angel in “Angels In America, Part One: Millennium Approaches!”