Check Out Allison Volk’s Story

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

Hi Allison, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
When I first moved to Los Angeles, my dream was to be an actress. I’d had such great experiences in high school and college with theater and film projects and wanted to be part of the entertainment industry as a career.

Although I made some good progress in my acting career, I started to notice that the roles I was being offered just didn’t feel creatively fulfilling. With a friend, I started a Shakespeare theater company in Santa Monica, and eventually, we branched into filmmaking.

I’ve always been a writer. In college, I studied playwriting, and it was an easy transition from stage to screen. At first, I started writing scripts for myself to act in, but I finally realized that I felt most excited by the idea of writing and directing my work, bringing in actors I loved and respected to bring the roles to life on screen.

After moving back to the Denver area in 2022, I quickly connected with some awesome film people here. In the last year, I’ve shot two short films, one of which is currently on the film festival circuit and doing quite well. It premiered at Aspen Shortsfest and went on to play at Palm Springs Shortsfest, Odense Film Festival, Catalina Island Film Festival, Indy Shorts International, Edmonton International, and many more.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As an artist, there’s always the danger of falling into the trap of wondering if your work is “good enough.” Then, there’s also the feeling of intense vulnerability when you do put yourself out there.

The trick is to connect with people who love and support your work and understand that part of the job is to be vulnerable. People connect with vulnerable work. It’s a beautiful thing.

Thanks – So what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m known for writing darkly comedic scripts, often with women in the leading roles but not always.

The last feature film I wrote and produced, Deany Bean is Dead, is currently available on Amazon Prime. It’s about a woman who tries to win back her ex-boyfriend at his engagement party without revealing that her boss’ dead body is in the trunk of her car outside. A very dark comedy!

I love writing humor, and I love poking fun at how weird we all are. I mean, everyone is so weird! We all have these quirky, annoying habits that we kind of forgive each other for, but it’s really fun to look at those things and put them in perspective. Life is so strange, and we are all so strange. It’s fun to tease it out.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Perseverance. The opera singer and director, Ashraf Sewailam, once said that the secret is to “outlast them all,” and it’s true! I spent 15 years in Los Angeles and saw many artists arrive, try their hand, give up, and get a job at Nordstrom, move away to be a teacher, or go back to college.  There’s nothing wrong with that at all, and it’s perfectly understandable, especially when someone is being called to something else.

At the same time, when you stick around for a long while, the work starts getting good — really good. I’ve been making films since 2012 and the stuff I’m making now is far better than what I made in the beginning. Deeper and more interesting. I also have a calmer approach to everything. Once you’ve been rejected x amount of times, you start to realize that it’s a lot more about the internal journey than the external success.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allisonvolk/