Actress of Character: UNC alum creates laughter, stays true to herself

Credit: Journal Photo by Bruce Chapman

Debra Terry didn’t start to perform until after college. Her first time in front of a crowd she placed third out of 17 contestants.

By: Tim Clodfelter | JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: October 13, 2009

As a child growing up in High Point, Debra Terry knew she wanted to be a comedian.

"I grew up watching Carol Burnett," said Terry, 45, a comedian and actress who lives in Kernersville. "I thought she had the coolest job in the world. I thought, gosh, everybody must really like her… I want people to love me like that."

There was a problem, though.

She didn't really like it when fellow students told her that she was funny.

"At High Point Central High School, I was chosen as ‘Most Humorous,' and I was really offended by that," she said.

"Not the National Honor Society, not the National Beta Club, not for being homecoming queen or the first African-American drum major, but ‘Most Humorous?' Years later, I realized they saw what I didn't see."

After graduating from high school in 1982, she went on to college at UNC Chapel Hill, getting a bachelor's degree in industrial relations with a concentration in psychology. She entered the work force as a mortgage banker and left the thoughts of comedy behind.

"Then I was up watching television one night," she said. "It was Comedy Central, but I don't even remember the comedian I was watching. They weren't especially funny, and I thought ‘They're on television? I can do that!'"

She worked up an act and took part in a contest at a comedy club in downtown Winston-Salem.

"My first time on stage, ever ever ever, and I placed third out of 17," she said. "It felt good. A few months later, they had another contest, and I won that one."

She made her professional stage debut in 1989 in Durham, opening for comedian Kim Coles, a star of In Living Color and the situation comedy Living Single.

Terry describes her comedy as "observations on life, things I thought were funny that most people could relate to…. I talk about growing up as a kid with a single parent, about my brothers, being a tomboy, dating and how treacherous that was, getting married, having children …"

She does not, however, do raunchy comedy.

"It's not who I am, I guess," she said. "However, my favorite comedian of all time is Richard Pryor. What I take from him is that he was true to himself, and I try to be true to myself."

She doesn't tour as much as she used to, since she has a 10-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter at home. "I pick and choose and work a little more on the weekends," she said.

Terry often performs at churches.

"She has performed here twice," said Cheryl Harry, the program director for Union Baptist Church. "Debra is excellent. Her comedy is great, and she ties it in with the worship experience, and does that very well. She pulls out the humor."

In November, Terry will open for singer Jennifer Holliday at the Carolina Theatre in Greensboro, then fly to New York to audition for a "stand-up for diversity comedy showcase" on NBC.

She has also branched out into acting, appearing in such TV movies as Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and an episode of the show One Tree Hill, which is filmed in Wilmington.

She did voice-over work for The Magistical, a long-awaited feature-length animated film produced by Winston-Salem's Out of Our Minds animation studio.

She also starred in, co-wrote and co-produced the film Mr. Bones with director and screenwriter Nathan Ross Freeman. The movie, which was shot in and around Winston-Salem, has played at 12 film festivals, winning awards at five of them, including three for best feature.

"She is a person of absolutely true heart," Freeman said. He also worked with Terry on several plays before they shot Mr. Bones, and he praised "her energy as an actor. She's vivacious and provocative. Many moments startled me. She is a true character actor." He said he looks forward to working with her again.

Terry has many other projects, appearing in corporate-training videos and commercials; running her own production company, Mustard Seed Entertainment; and acting as a stage manager and host for such events as a recent gospel fest at this year's Dixie Classic Fair.

As if that's not enough, she is also a licensed minister. She preached her first sermon in 2007.

"Some people enjoy the regularity of knowing how the day will start and end, but I enjoy knowing anything is possible this week," she said.

"I love it. It keeps it interesting, and I love to meet a challenge."

tclodfelter@wsjournal.com.

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