Meet Allison Powell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison Powell.

Allison, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started acting from a very young age and grew up doing community theater. I went on to major in Drama at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro and moved out to LA shortly after graduating.

My intention was always to act in films, and although I was lucky enough to be part of some incredible student films and independent shorts, I wasn’t acting as much as I wanted, so I began to make some of my own projects and fell into producing as a way to cast myself and get more work as an actor. But I found that I loved producing as much as acting!

Producing has given me a huge confidence and career boost. I’m now able to work full time in the industry and have a much deeper understanding of what it takes to get movies made.

From my first “big” project (Black Widow: Origins, an MCU fan film) I learned that I had been giving away so much of my power when I was “just” an actor. I was always waiting for others to cast me, hoping others liked me, needing approval from everyone. Once I saw that I could be the one making those decisions I completely fell in love with the process.

I was lucky enough to take all of my skills and make my first feature film (Banging Lanie) which was amazing. I learned how to direct on the project and discovered I enjoyed that aspect of filmmaking as well. I’m constantly discovering new ways to tell stories that aren’t limited to a single character’s point of view, as it is when you’re acting.

The whole industry and all of production feels like a place I can play now. Sometimes I’m happy to sit back and be “just” an actor, but sometimes it’s thrilling to watch great actors give you amazing performances, or see a crew come together to problem solve on set.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Is it ever a smooth road?!

One of the biggest challenges was coming to terms with the fact that being a talented actor wasn’t enough to get noticed. This town is chock full of incredible performers and there are too many of us to all become A-list celebrities. But again, that’s what I love about my career now. I can be involved in more projects and still feel a sense of creative accomplishment without having to sit through hundreds of co-star auditions.

Two of my biggest challenges were from the production side. On my short Black Widow a crew member dropped out two hours before we were supposed to start filming in the toughest location to book in LA–a bar. I had to let go of all my shame and start calling everyone in my phone and ask if they could come work on set that day. That was when I learned that producing means you have to be ok asking for help from anyone at any time.

On Banging Lanie we lost a location in the middle of the day filming–our location contact got the flu so badly he drove himself to the ER! It felt like a Coen Brothers movie, but not as funny because it was in real life. We had to scramble to find somewhere to film the next five days and that night I went through the script and started re-writing scenes to take place in locations we had access to–a parking lot, an auditorium, etc. It was quite the challenge!

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’ve just created a curriculum that guides new filmmakers through the process of making their first few projects step-by-step. There is a lot of great information on how to make an indie feature, or even how to make a high budget short film or web series, but when I started out there was no one teaching me what I should spend my $100 on to make a comedy sketch. (Hint, it’s probably sound and food)

So I wanted to help other aspiring filmmakers, particularly those coming from the acting side, and show them how to make their first few projects a reality. The business is changing so much and most everyone needs to be a multi-hyphenate now. Actors are told all the time to create their own work, but no one is teaching them how. I hope to be able to give actors the same sense of confidence I now have, and I credit all of that with my ability to produce my own work.

In addition to my own projects and consulting, I produce short films and web series that I connect with and that I think the world will be a better place for them having been made. That might sound cheesy, but I read a lot of dark scripts and concepts that deal with rape, murder, revenge, and at the moment I rarely find them compelling enough to give my time and energy to. We have enough darkness in the world right now as it is, so I’m trying to focus on pieces with a positive aspect.

In the fall I’ll be producing a web series about stay at home dads, an important and overlooked group in our society. My feature, Banging Lanie, is essentially the movie I wish I had seen as a teenager, letting young women know it’s ok to be curious about their sexuality and also that it’s totally fine if you have no experience exploring it!

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I think the real opportunities come when luck meets hard work. You have to get up and write, or network, or do something to be pro-active in your career so that when an opportunity comes along you’ll be ready to grab it.

The first project I produced that wasn’t written by me I wasn’t initially supposed to be a producer. I was merely asked to be liaison between the production and the company making it (The Collaborative, an awesome actors co-op I’m part of). I worked hard, went to every meeting, even though I wasn’t required to attend, and helped out without asking for anything in return.

Because of this I was asked to join the producing team and from that one project I was asked to produce two other shorts that same year based on the work people saw me doing on set.

So if you work hard (and work smart!), you can create your own luck.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.allisonhardingpowell.com
• Email: allisonhardingpowell@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allisonhpowell/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allisonhardingpowell/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/allisonhpowell
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/allisonhpowell/

Image Credit:
Foster Wilson, Kevan Barsky, Yves Bright, Max Kirkham, Josh Andersen

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