From her kindergarten stage debut as a bovine to performingone-woman pieces with Women of Faith, Allison Allen has always relished the power of story, the thrill of walking in the shoes of others, and, most importantly, spot-lighting the Ultimate Story-teller.
After graduating as an Andrew Carnegie Scholar from the prestigious acting program at Carnegie Mellon University, Allison (Metcalf) Allen landed on Broadway in the revival of “Grease”, and stayed there for almost two years. Following her tenure of 650 performances with the show, the hand-jive from Rydell High still returns to grace her dreams.
For three years (2007-2009), Allison experienced the joy of being Women of Faith’s dramatist, performing her original one-woman pieces for over 200,000 women in arenas around the country. She counts walking the same platform as the Women of Faith “porch-pals” among one of the profound honors of her life.
Currently, she loves weaving Biblical teaching and acting pieces together in unexpected ways, and has been honored to appear at conferences around the country, including Saddleback Church and Campus Crusade’s National Women’s Conference. She got her start speaking by believing that God is a better door-opener than she ever could hope to be. As He opened doors, large or small, she responded by saying “yes”. Exploring themes of purpose, value, and identity in original and sometimes unexpected ways, Allison hopes to lead women on a rare journey toward the fullness of Christ’s redemption.
Off-stage, Allison has spent a good deal of time writing the stories of characters who find themselves between a rock and a hard place spiritually, and the Christ who specializes in just such tight spots; Allison began writing “Magdalene”, a musical theatre piece, while still a student at Carnegie Mellon University. It was picked up again for completion in 2005 with Michele Pillar and Chris Eaton. The musical’s inaugural, Tennessee production featured American Idol, Jordin Sparks. Her first co-written feature movie, The Griddle House, is set to be released in 2015.
On a personal note, Allison gardens at mid-night and is married to a good and handsome man – a man with whom she can wear heels. This is no small feat, as Allison resides somewhere around 5’12”. Jonathan is the Worship Pastor at Grace Chapel. They have one son, Levi, and a toddler, Luke.
