Mike welcomes guest Allison Strong to the show at Bravery Studios in Garfield, New Jersey. Allison talks about her recent endeavors in music and acting, highlighting her album release in July and opening for Jesse and Joy at the Palladium shortly after. She reflects on her journey from Broadway to television and film, emphasizing the importance of constantly evolving as an artist. Despite facing challenges and rejection in the industry, Allison remains resilient and grateful for the support she receives, especially from her home state of New Jersey.
During the conversation, Allison also shares insights into her experience working with Adam Sandler, particularly mentioning her roles in his projects. She mentions playing Adam Sandler's daughter in the movie "The Week Of" and voicing a character in his animated film. These experiences underscore her diverse talents and contributions to the entertainment industry. Mike and Allison discuss their respective artistic journeys, acknowledging the role of luck and supportive networks in their successes. They share experiences of unexpected opportunities and connections that have propelled their careers forward, emphasizing the significance of genuine relationships and community in the entertainment industry.
This adds a compelling dimension to her career trajectory, showcasing her versatility as an actor. As the interview draws to a close, both Allison and Mike express gratitude for the engaging conversation and the opportunity to share their insights with listeners. They emphasize the importance of authenticity, perseverance, and collaboration in pursuing artistic endeavors, leaving audiences inspired by their discussion. For those interested in learning more about Allison's work, they can visit her website and follow her on social media for updates on her upcoming projects and performances.
allisonstrong.com
Listen to Allison's music HERE
Check Allison out on Instagram
https://www.youtube.com/@allisonstrongvevo
GET YOUR JERSEY FEST TICKETS NOW! https://www.seetickets.us/event/jersey-fest/588283
Music: "Ride" by Jackson Pines
jacksonpines.com
Thank you to our sponsors:
New Jersey Lottery: njlottery.com
Make Cool Sh*t: makecoolshit.co
Albert & Whitney CPAs: awcpasllc.com
Mayo Performing Arts Center: mayoarts.org/events-calendar
Contact the show: mike@greetingsfromthegardenstate.com
Mike welcomes guest Allison Strong to the show at Bravery Studios in Garfield, New Jersey. Allison talks about her recent endeavors in music and acting, highlighting her album release in July and opening for Jesse and Joy at the Palladium shortly after. She reflects on her journey from Broadway to television and film, emphasizing the importance of constantly evolving as an artist. Despite facing challenges and rejection in the industry, Allison remains resilient and grateful for the support she receives, especially from her home state of New Jersey.
During the conversation, Allison also shares insights into her experience working with Adam Sandler, particularly mentioning her roles in his projects. She mentions playing Adam Sandler's daughter in the movie "The Week Of" and voicing a character in his animated film. These experiences underscore her diverse talents and contributions to the entertainment industry. Mike and Allison discuss their respective artistic journeys, acknowledging the role of luck and supportive networks in their successes. They share experiences of unexpected opportunities and connections that have propelled their careers forward, emphasizing the significance of genuine relationships and community in the entertainment industry.
This adds a compelling dimension to her career trajectory, showcasing her versatility as an actor. As the interview draws to a close, both Allison and Mike express gratitude for the engaging conversation and the opportunity to share their insights with listeners. They emphasize the importance of authenticity, perseverance, and collaboration in pursuing artistic endeavors, leaving audiences inspired by their discussion. For those interested in learning more about Allison's work, they can visit her website and follow her on social media for updates on her upcoming projects and performances.
allisonstrong.com
Listen to Allison's music HERE
Check Allison out on Instagram
https://www.youtube.com/@allisonstrongvevo
GET YOUR JERSEY FEST TICKETS NOW! https://www.seetickets.us/event/jersey-fest/588283
Music: "Ride" by Jackson Pines
jacksonpines.com
Thank you to our sponsors:
New Jersey Lottery: njlottery.com
Make Cool Sh*t: makecoolshit.co
Albert & Whitney CPAs: awcpasllc.com
Mayo Performing Arts Center: mayoarts.org/events-calendar
Contact the show: mike@greetingsfromthegardenstate.com
0:23
of bra all right what's up everybody welcome back to another episode of greetings from the Garden State powered by the New Jersey Lottery I'm Mike cam
0:29
uh we are here at bravery studios in Garfield New Jersey with Allison strong Allison welcome to the show hi thank you
0:34
so much thank you m great to have you uh rocking out with the pink today love it you know making it pop the poor pop it's
0:41
Barbie pink yeah and we're very grateful that Marvin and the team here are letting us use this space which is
0:48
awesome like I wish like we were talking off mic before so we all wish we had a studio like this like I mean all the
0:54
time I'm so jealous they even have asteroids Deluxe so like if we get into a position I even notic that this was
1:01
here if we run out of stuff to talk about we'll just start playing but do you have a coin I don't have any on me
1:07
oh no I don't to I don't think anybody has coins anymore I do you do my person
1:13
do you often find the need to use coins I don't know I have a piggy bank and probably the coins are from like the
1:19
'90s just use them up you take them to like a coin star and you get real actual money yeah I I last time I saw a coin
1:26
star I think it was like at a shop right like maybe a couple years ago yeah they have them at Walmarts and all sorts of
1:31
stuff but anyway wow uh so you uh I think you reached out to me and then I
1:37
started looking up some of your stuff and it was kind of like a no-brainer I was like we got to get yond the show and
1:44
it took a while you know cuz we were waiting on some other spes and it was the holidays um but uh you've been busy
1:52
the last few months yeah so let's talk about that a little bit like what the most recent stuff you have going on and
1:58
then we'll kind of get more into kind of your uh so I released an album in July and
2:03
from there you know I got sort of I guess discovered on Instagram by my
2:09
favorite band and they like a day after I released my album I opened for them at the Palladium and it's a Grammy winning
2:15
band or called Jesse and joy um I've been doing music uh my entire life but
2:21
mostly there's been a real focus on acting yeah um I'm probably best known for playing uh Adam Sandler's daughter
2:27
in a movie called the week of um and also so for Leo Adam Sandler's animated
2:32
film yeah uh I play Mrs Selenas in that uh but that's pretty recent and also I
2:39
opened for lean rymes at Bergen pack um in November so I'm am an actor I started
2:46
on Broadway when I was 18 years old um but I've been you know constantly
2:52
metamorphosizing because that's what I think being an artist requires of us to constantly be changing and and pivoting
3:00
so I started on Broadway ended up in television and film um I'm since the pandemic I've been really reconnecting
3:06
with my musical roots and it's only been like about six or seven months since I released that album and um it's
3:13
amazing how far the music and the videos and you know the support that I've also received from the state yeah in that
3:19
time and it's just sort of marrying really beautifully with the rest of myself as an artist as an actor um so uh
3:27
I guess what I'm saying is I'm here from Jersey I'm very grateful to be from Jersey and I'm grateful to be supported
3:33
as a multifaceted artist in the state yeah for sure and we love I mean we're
3:38
as a show overall like we're very supportive or we try to be very supportive of like artists that are just
3:45
trying to you know figure it out make it all that kind of stuff kind of Brave to be an artist I see what you're doing
3:51
this is Art I mean this is podcasting is an art also like I one of the main
3:56
things that I've done since the pandemic that we all had to sort of readjust I created a voiceover booth in my in my
4:03
apartment and it's become my like such a huge part of my life and it's amazing
4:10
how you know out of necessity like amazing things can happen so like I I I
4:16
think that podcasting hands down is an art you're an artist too thank you I appreciate
4:22
that well I mean it's one of those things where it initially started as kind of like a a outlet during Co during
4:30
my old full-time job where I was like I need something to do I need to talk to people tot and then I was like this is
4:36
awesome and then I just started kind of making it my own over time and then like two and a half years ago now started
4:42
this show and you know then to kind of see it grow and really have something to be proud of at this point you know
4:48
absolutely that people can listen to and it's also that people were I mean from listening to your podcast I'm learning
4:53
about people from this state that I never probably would have known about and it's like it's fascinating the profiles that you do yeah so it's also
5:00
incredible you know like because sometimes as an artist you're going to like in this little bubble you know and
5:06
like you think that no one's listening and it could be frustrating at times but then sometimes when you take a step back
5:11
and you have kind of these Pinch Me moments and I'm sure like you just mentioned a couple like you've had
5:17
plenty of Pinch Me moments you know it's been a year yeah um early on though when you were uh
5:24
kind of like getting started and all that kind of stuff and finding out like what you were interested in going down
5:30
Road uh were there any Pinch Me moments like the things that kind of like fueled you to kind of get to the next the next
5:37
thing you know when I was so I was a pretty shy kid
5:43
um but you know this sort of like weird dichotomy of you know at 3 years old I
5:48
was singing on the table with a plastic Dollar Store microphone and I don't remember this really well but my mom
5:55
talks to everybody about it um and you know going from that to being
6:01
like the kid that didn't talk to anybody at school so my mom put me in musical theater classes yeah and from the moment
6:07
that I sang I kind of knew that um that that was what my Persona that's
6:15
who I really was I I wasn't this person that was shy um and I I started saying
6:21
from the time I was nine you know I'm going to be on Broadway on one day I'm going to be on Broadway one day um and
6:26
then when I was a freshman at Monclair state yeah there was an open call and like all of
6:32
my classmates went and I went to but I showed up like maybe 4 hours before
6:37
everyone did and I fell asleep on in a sleeping bag on the street really for uh
6:42
for for the John Stamos bye-bye birdie at the roundabout which you did right
6:48
which I did um but I showed up there and I was like Mom I you know I'm going to I'm going to do this and so she waited
6:54
in the car and it was cold it was like around this month March yeah um and I
6:59
had a sleeping bag to save my space in line because I had a matina of like a community theater performance in Glenn
7:05
Ridge of like no no not Glen Ridge Montclair at the Montclair Studio plays I was doing like uh Little Women and uh
7:14
I just remember being there like 4:00 in the morning it was like raining yeah and you know like everyone that their like
7:20
crazy stage mom was like there and I got my spot and um my mom said Bel Alison
7:27
you've waited all this time just sing you you have to go sing do your matina now anyway so I like sang and like the
7:33
casting director didn't even look me in the face like they were like like my first big audition you know what I mean
7:39
and then uh I I got called back and and that turned into my first Broadway show
7:44
and you know one other classmate who was a a guy but he got in through an agent
7:50
appointment I didn't even have an agent I you know um we both ended up getting it and it's sort of like a pinch me
7:56
moment you know where you know when I was nine I started saying I'm going to be Broadway one day and I didn't even talk to people and it seems to a little
8:03
bit of a disconnect and and then in my teens you know like you know for that to become a reality it was wild and then
8:09
looking at these you know these stage lights and You Know It uh I I can never
8:15
get enough I mean there's stage lights here right now I can't get enough right right yeah sometimes too we don't even
8:20
use lights but sometimes too bright but um isn't it crazy too that like you know
8:26
no matter what it is like when you find that thing it's like you find like your actual voice you know I was very similar
8:33
in that way where like I was shy and I was in sales like when I started podcasting but when I started do sh yeah
8:39
and I just you know wasn't good at it but um you know like it just was a thing where I was you know just kind of
8:45
figuring it out and then I started doing this and then I was like oh there here I am you know I figured figured myself out
8:51
so to speak um you know and similarly with you kind of being shy in front of people but put you on a stage under
8:56
lights and it's like it's absolutely like a different and then at some point the two
9:01
personalities sort of M and um I just I found that who I was on stage I think
9:08
that was the true embodiment of who I was I was just you know I just needed to step up and and and realize it yeah and
9:15
I'm lucky that I I've known that since I was really young and um I think it's so interesting though but as a child
9:22
there's like this just this unhindered confidence and shess yeah and then as we
9:29
get older I think the world sort of you know tries to tell us no and you know what I mean it tries to tell us no no no
9:35
and then that's where the doubting sort of comes through and you know I've experienced my fair share of that of you
9:41
know being told oh uh you're you're not a pop singer so you're not really uh
9:46
you're not you're since you're not going to be a pop artist you're really not a singer so why don't you just go into the acting and like you know it always feel
9:53
has felt a little bit like a battle between those two sides of my Artistry and I think since the p mic and and I
10:01
also you know the way you picked up like the podcasting and stuff like that I for me I started a songwriting group during
10:08
the pandemic that turned into the album I just released and the album I started recording yesterday oh
10:14
cool afternoon yeah my third one I started yesterday well congratulations
10:19
we're obviously very excited about that now no totally totally it's um it's amazing you know I I recognize acting is
10:26
probably what I'm most known for yeah um but now that I've been performing live
10:31
and you know opening for all these cool artists there's some people that actually don't know me for my acting at all they only see me as a as a singer so
10:39
it's kind of weird when you know I've had people message me like I had no idea you were an
10:45
actor yeah but I think it's like what you said before too like how it kind of evolves you know like the acting wouldn't have come if not for the music
10:53
and you know exactly because musical theater is like that is so the musical theater and then that turned into an agency that turned into doing lots of
10:59
commercials and then they turned into oh Allison but if you're an actor you have to be on TV you know and then and then
11:05
oh well there's this movie that's auditioning and then you know I probably auditioned thousands of times and you
11:13
don't get I would say 98% of the work you audition for that is just a reality of my industry sure is that like
11:19
something that you had to kind of maybe early on was like this sucks you know
11:24
and then kind of get used to that rejection and failure or was it kind of go always been really brigh eyed and
11:30
bushy tailed like I really have been and and I try there were a couple of years
11:35
where I would say that the things that have hurt more are the moments when you are promised a job and you've been with
11:43
a project for years and they don't take you forward and that's happened to me for really high-profile projects that
11:49
and that really hurts or you come out in the press release as being part of this TV show and then you know um it's a very
11:56
common thing they give it to somebody else or or you know what I mean so it's uh those
12:02
are the moments that hurt more I think I I approach H auditioning as this is my
12:08
one chance to play this role yeah and I'm really excited about it and you know it's I've screen tested for things that
12:16
I've really wanted I've you know I've played roles that eventually have gone to other actors after a couple of
12:22
iterations of project and I yeah it's it's rough which is why I think
12:30
why I think I find making my own work so incredibly satisfying right because it's
12:36
yours absolutely your own on it you have control I started doing my own and directing and and conceptualizing my own
12:43
music videos um which I'm so happy so my my record Bronte which I released in
12:48
June um I did it was six songs two music videos one in English one in Spanish I
12:54
do all my music videos uh with uh inate here in New Jersey
13:00
amaz artist aming to film um my one
13:06
video brought really really proud of and we did that at georgean court University in Lakewood it's an actual Victorian
13:12
Mansion and I was able to fully sort of realize this sort of Gothic fantasy with
13:18
like a waltz and costumes and it was amazing the the artists that want to
13:24
support that that you know that respond to passion and is um you know it it was
13:30
truly incredible so to answer your question are there moments where I'm like yeah this sucks totally right yeah
13:37
but I don't I don't think that it's a deterrent but I mean to be it's not a deterrent and I don't think it's like
13:43
the most I I don't like to be in that head space that you know it's not the most attractive place for me I I think uh it
13:52
makes more sense to just sort of detach from the expectations of things cuz
13:57
after I mean after 15 years of doing this professionally there's like this recognition like I'm not in Community
14:03
Theater anymore um there are way more people and now with the pandemic there's
14:08
and this is a positive thing the opportunities are broadening and opening up for people all over the country and
14:15
that's the reason why I think for me you know I'm so grateful for voiceover because I'm now and like animation and
14:21
things like that because now opportunities that would have only been available to La actors because of Zoom
14:28
because of the the the connections that I have great from before the pandemic thank god um you
14:35
know and because I literally bought a microphone that they had in all
14:40
voiceover Studios I was working in like I got that mental messaging do that get that microphone um it's sort of changed
14:48
uh the landscape and I I'm just sort of following the flow and whatever is
14:53
working right now you know yeah when you're talking about these opportunities that are kind of presenting themselves
14:58
now now uh and then opportunities that you had you know kind of early on yeah
15:04
and were there there were ones like different opportunities that maybe like on the surface you're just like what but
15:09
then they wound up actually being like a significant thing for you it's wild you know you you only hope that like a
15:16
relationship um that that you know the work that you do will turn into a
15:23
continuing relationships so when I did buy by Birdie on Broadway I met the music director for mam Mia on Broadway
15:28
and you know we were doing John Stamos likes to have a lot of fun backstage so we did
15:34
a talent show one day and I was like well I want to sing a solo so I asked them and I was you know I was in The
15:40
Ensemble because that's how you start right um so I talked to the music director and I said I want to sing Randy
15:45
Newman's I Got a Friend in Me right yeah and a class yeah I mean we grew up on
15:51
Toy Story got a friend in me you know and so I was like David Hollenberg
15:56
please can you rehearse this song with me backstage he's hearing me sing by myself and he goes I really want you to audition for Mama Mia Alison and I go
16:04
okay and audition the first time you know Mama bye-bye birdie lasted six months only on Broadway I auditioned for
16:10
Mama Mia didn't get it went back to M Clair state to do my sophomore year yeah
16:15
because I missed a semester and then I jumped right back in um because our show closed in January wanted to do the show
16:22
um and then the following year Alison we want you to audition for m m again like
16:29
whatever yeah I've seen this movie before I'm like yeah whatever and I like and but that sort of surrendered sort of
16:36
energy of not really putting too much expectation on it sure I got the job the next day or something like that and then
16:43
you know had the coolest summer job ever's college and and you know um was
16:51
sort of like the little sister in the show CU I was about like I don't know maybe seven eight nine or more years younger than everybody else was you know
16:58
went from my junior year of college to you know taking the bus every day and
17:04
like going and doing the show at night and singing Abba which is I mean how can
17:09
you not be happy singing and dancing to Abba every night and it was Full Houses
17:15
every day yeah um and it was summer it was awesome so I've had many moments
17:22
where people have sort of recognized something in me that maybe I didn't sort
17:28
of recognize him myself and they and they've brought me on and you know recommended me for other things I would
17:34
say that it's a mixture of luck and that so um in 20 what was it 2017 right now I
17:43
just went in for an audition to for the week of which was the Happy Madison movie with Adam Sandler to play his
17:49
daughter and uh to she marries Chris Rock's son in this movie you know there are some moments
17:56
where you know you're just right for something I had a feeling about it and in my mind I was like I'm blocking out
18:01
the next three months and I'd never been in a feature before sure you know what I mean but like for some reason I just kind of just knew it turned into a call
18:08
back with Robert Smigel who's also a Jersey Boy you know Triumph the comic insult dog you know uh it's was his
18:16
movie that he directed and he wrote with Adam um I had a call back with him and
18:22
then it just turned into the job and then you know the movie came out in 2018 that was awesome late 2018 the pandemic
18:29
happened in 2020 and you know Robert writes to me in 2020 hey I have you in mind for this animated film that I'm
18:35
doing about a lizard sounds great where we I me people
18:41
are saying it's not a lizard it's it's like a different type of reptile um uh looks like an iguana no not well I I
18:48
have to look it up but he's a I'm I'm let's just say lizard okay because it says because there's a song called
18:54
lizard's lament so I'm just going to go lizard um but he's like yeah writing this movie have you in mind think you'd
19:00
be perfect for it are you interested it's like are you kidding me of course I'm interested you know like and and I
19:07
love working with them they're they're just the nicest people so you know that turned into a scratch record and then
19:13
you know hoping hoping you know that it would turn into the actual gig which thankfully it did but that was like a
19:19
threeyear process like animating that that film um so there are a couple Pinch
19:25
Me moments they're like wow like you liked me enough that you want to work with with me a couple of times and like I hope I guess you know the energy that
19:32
I bring into the room is good and you know I I hope that that continues and that I get to continue working with my
19:38
friends and people that I like yeah for sure you mentioned in that answer too about you know people kind of put like
19:44
helping put you in the right spots absolutely you know so and I think as
19:50
artists I think one of the big things is while we're doing all the work in a lot
19:57
of cases there is a lot of support oh you know that has to happen or else it can't work I'm totally in state here too
20:04
like um the Garden State Film Festival out in Asbury they've been such
20:09
supporters of my work not just as an actor but as an artist and I think
20:15
like so I got an award for for for my acting there and then when they heard
20:20
that I wanted to do music they're like you want to do a music video let's talk about locations they helped me get a
20:25
location that I would have never been able to get a Victorian Mansion at no
20:31
cost to me yeah do you know what like I have IDE do I mean that I I have no
20:37
words it was literally like a fantasy they they helped me get my costume designer Olga Turka from the terrifier
20:42
movies yeah who did incredible work like we found beautiful Victorian costumes
20:49
like the support here in state um I I have a I'm very fortunate I got a grant
20:55
through the New Jersey state Council on the arts for music composition in 2023 and that's what's funding my next album
21:02
awesome that I just started yesterday yeah and because of a performance I did for them in Trenton this summer Bergen
21:09
pack saw me and that turned into the lean rymes opener opportunity so it's just sort of like these moments where
21:15
like maybe it's luck or you know I think we put ourselves into we I'm I'm going
21:21
to use baseball terms I know you you coach baseball right so you we we throw the ball we hit the ball we hope that
21:27
it'll land somewhere right and then somebody you know continues like it's
21:33
like play ball it's like it just continues so I maybe I applied for the grant they gave me the grant maybe I
21:39
emailed them that I have an album coming out they had me performing for for all of the theaters in state it turned into
21:45
me opening for lean ryes like absolutely wild the connections and the people that you meet you never know who you're
21:50
talking to right ever yeah um and who they may become one day you're right
21:56
that's the other thing too is like how you know like you get someone on you're like this is a great conversation and you don't even know like what the next
22:02
thing is that they're going to do ab you know or like who they you a lot of times you don't even know who they know you
22:08
know and I think one of the big things for me too has been a lot of times some of my best guests that I've ever had on
22:15
this show have been referrals from other guests that I've had on the show and like that's it just kind of how the
22:20
wheel starts spinning and it's a lot of fun for that and it it's I think and it's not look I know that networking is
22:27
like a huge business term I don't know that I necessarily love the word I think Community is something that
22:34
I respond more to and also coming at it from like a genuine place like I'm genuinely excited to be talking to you
22:40
right now I listen to you like uh I've watched my friends be interviewed by you
22:46
like you know it's so it's it's amazing how the world works and and but I I just
22:52
say like come at it from your authentic and genuine way and I think people respond to that and it turns into you
22:58
know beautiful continued relationships yeah for sure the male Performing Art Center is the heart of arts and
23:04
entertainment in Morristown New Jersey empac presents over 200 events annually and is home to an Innovative Children's
23:10
Arts education program to see impac's upcoming schedule of world-class concert standup comedy family shows and more
23:16
head to mayoarts.org or just click the link in our show notes hey folks I want to tell you about
23:22
the crew over at make cool [ __ ] these are The Magicians who recently gave our podcast a jaw-dropping makeover you know
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how we all your at greens with the Garden State podcast right we're all about that Garden State attitude well make cool [ __ ] shares that same Vibe and
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[ __ ] or visit their website we makecool shit.com remember that's Co notc um when we're talking about also
24:10
kind of like support you know obviously like you've had a lot of support uh in state absolutely like personal
24:15
relationships I mean I know you talked about your mom early on oh yeah my mom's huge you know like talk to me a little bit about a couple people maybe that
24:22
like your mom and whoever else that were kind of so important to kind of getting you to that excuse me next
24:29
yeah absolutely well you know I come from a Colombian immigrant family um my mom came to this country when she was
24:35
nine uh came through Houston my grandma was a a nurse from Colombia and she the
24:42
Red Cross was looking for what they said uh good strong Colombian women to be in
24:48
the Red Cross yeah that's what they put on the poster and she's like reading it in Colombia
24:54
and she's like I'm a good strong Colombian woman like perfect recruiting so she goes to Texas with $200 in her
25:01
pocket by herself she had two kids by that point but she's like I'm going to try this I'm going to go on this
25:06
adventure and if it's good I'll call my kids and I'll call my husband and they can come over um she stayed at
25:12
YMCA uh she she didn't know that she'd be administering you know insulin to a
25:19
diabetic woman at like this like big mansion house in Texas that turned into like sort of like a prison for her you
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know but she was like not happy there sure but it was a start yeah and she called for my mom and you know they
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started in this country and um eventually she ended up leaving that job
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uh you know my my grandma was a very opinioned and strong woman she didn't like people lording over her right so uh
25:45
but once they were in Texas the whole family they decided to move to New York
25:50
um well what they thought was New York they're like what a great view it was Boulevard East it's actually New Jersey
25:56
right it's the best place yeah we could see the city they thought they were in
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New York they were actually in Hudson County and that's where our family sort of settled uh my mom became a school
26:08
psychologist um I'm named after a road outside of ruder's uh you know where she
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got her doctorate she was pregnant with me when she got her doctorate so I'm named after Allison Road where the
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psychology department is either that or a JY Blossom song I don't know um but um
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she sort of recognized me and she's a school psychologist I like I was a little shy so she put me in musical
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theater classes at Bergen pack yeah which was at the time John harm sent really weird full circles in my life um
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it's now called Bergen pack and Englewood and uh I wanted to get a solo they never
26:48
gave me a solo because I didn't talk yeah makes sense right begging my mom
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please ask the teacher please to give me a solo my mom mom's talking with sheach you're like I know she doesn't talk but
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can maybe she can sing something they gave me a song after that um after like
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the class presentation I sang this song much more from the Fantastics it starts like i' like to swim in a clear blue
27:14
stream where the water is icy cold so it's like a very classic musical theater song about wanting for more for yourself
27:21
yeah um all these parents are like she's going to be on Broadway one day my mom
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didn't know what to do with that my mom Works in education sure uh you know but
27:32
she thought well they're saying she could be on Broadway one day I don't have the ear for it but I'm going to put
27:38
her in voice classes and uh really there
27:44
I mean other than choir no but there really not so many straight singing opportunities when you're in school it's
27:50
a lot of musical theater so that turned into musical theater classes yeah so voice lessons musical theater classes
27:56
started taking dance um um uh she found me an opportunity to
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audition for The Metropolitan Opera Children's Chorus in New York I auditioned singing Happy Birthday got
28:06
that so she was not a stage mom uh but she was so supportive and we learned so
28:13
much together what is a good head shot what is a bad head shot anyone listening is like what is head shot like what does
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that mean um those are pictures of your head that is literally what that is
28:25
and for actors the head shot is what open the do for you know auditions and
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stuff like that um and so we sort of learned everything together so if I'm
28:35
anywhere today it's because my mom was my partner in this journey she continues to be I also was you know volunteering
28:44
singing national anthems for like just just about every event in state like I think I've probably I've performed for
28:51
every single Governor since Christine Todd Whitman oh wow so like from the
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time I was like eight yeah nine so and you know that created a lot of stage
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presence for me so like that shy kid she probably lives somewhere in here sure
29:09
but she doesn't ex she's really not she's not who you're seeing today and that's because my mom had the you know
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the wherewithal and you know the inner knowledge that you know this could be something for my daughter did I don't think that she necessarily was like I
29:22
want my kid to be an actor sure uh I think she actually wanted me to be like a
29:28
I don't know someone at the UN like a foreign ambassador I mean most parents I guess right they want they want the best
29:35
or whatever they think is the best for their kids and all that totally yeah but at the end you know you want your kid to
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be happy and I think she recognized that for me and you know was supportive in every in every way and set me up for
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that and I also appreciate to the sort of Plucky you know you know um she
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always she believed that college is so important and and I agree with that you know and she's like as immigrants in
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this country as a daughter of an immigrant you you know college education will never serve you wrong this matters
30:07
and you know I actually had to leave school twice to do Broadway shows and the the appeal of not going back is
30:13
unbelievable sure when you're working yeah and she said no you're going back I could not be more grateful that she that
30:22
she really you know instilled the importance of that for me um and also
30:29
she she also brought home for me you know if you go to state school you're going to have the freedom in your life
30:34
to audition without you know debt on your shoulders and um I appreciate the honesty um because of that I've had so
30:42
much freedom and the ability to utilize my resources in different ways because like for passion projects like no one's
30:48
funding me yeah right this is me taking shots and bets on myself and it's turned into really cool opportunities and I'm
30:55
grateful that I've able to been able to have that freedom it's because she's guided me in that direction whether or not she knew about acting right or you
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know music or anything she's always been there so you know it's very satisfying those moments where like I'm on stage
31:08
and seeing my mom who's actually a very shy person sort of catatonic in the
31:14
audience freaking out like for me like at the lean rymes performance like my family told me that her head didn't move
31:21
once she's just like sitting there like yeah just Frozen you know but um yeah I
31:27
couldn't be more great grateful for her and I've also had really great teachers and she was smart enough to know that if
31:32
she didn't know something herself you know that she would find me
31:38
the right teachers so um I was rejected by an agent when I was 13 they saw me in
31:43
my high school um theater production uh that I was doing um so Papermill
31:51
Playhouse you probably know about paper play they have the rising star awards well we didn't get any of those uh in my little high school we were like
31:58
performing like in a um in a gymnasium a gymnatorium is what they called it you
32:03
know where we would get pelted by baseballs volleyballs basketballs while we were like rehearsing at school um but
32:09
they saw me in my show and they said she's going to be a professional actor we can tell were sending an agent so
32:15
they sent an agent to to see me and then I ended up meeting with this agent and
32:21
the agent said well teenagers will never be on Broadway ha not true um because that happened for me a couple years
32:27
after she said you know I'm not going to sign you you're not ready you need to take
32:32
class well it was like one of the greatest blessings it was painful as heck all hell I mean really um but uh
32:39
she said take class with Peter Miner and Peter was my mentor for like 15 years
32:45
until he passed away um and he became my TV and film
32:52
teacher and carried me through my first films um and I mean I talk about like the the
32:59
bigger films that I've done but I've also done smaller more Indie of films as well you know it's all relative right um
33:07
but his belief in me and also his early knowledge he's like he came to so I
33:13
released my first album when I was you know when I was like 22 or 23 um and he
33:19
said you know if you bring the confidence that you bring to your music to your acting you're going to be unstoppable and like to have somebody
33:25
that believes in you like that major um it's it's really major so I've had
33:31
amazing teachers I think of my first grade teacher Mr conin who you know got
33:37
me involved in all the community theater Productions like that I started doing when I was a kid and um I think of my
33:44
High School drama director Jack O Conor who's no longer with us who you know I did all of the high school musicals I
33:50
did all of that like I all of this professional sort of acting stuff didn't happen until after the year after I left
33:57
High School know what I mean so um all those people were super integral for me
34:03
I had a bunch of like theater dads um you know and TV film you know uh sort of
34:09
dads and my mom yeah uh and my family doesn't you know we don't come from like
34:16
I don't come from an acting Dynasty yeah right everything that I've done is from just pulling up my bootstraps and just
34:21
having that sort of a can do mindset but maybe it's also like The Beginner's mindset of like not really knowing what
34:28
you're getting into but just going within it's kind of the best mindset just picking up rocks and seeing what's underneath exactly I think that that's
34:34
kind of the best way to come at it because if you know if you knew how difficult it would be you probably never
34:39
do it yeah if you knew there could be a snake under that rock you probably wouldn't pick it up I would say the same of like if I knew how hard it would
34:46
would be to do like a music video um like when I was started the process of releasing my EP and stuff like that uh I
34:54
don't know that I would have done it but I think that what we want is on the other side of the thing that we're most
34:59
scared of yeah in most cases totally so um I do want to shift gears like just
35:05
slightly yeah let's do it um because I know we're getting we're not like close to the end but we're getting closer to the end um which sucks cuz I feel like
35:12
this conversation can go on for another like four hours but um when like you grew up in the Union City uh so I was
35:20
born in Hoboken okay and raised in Union City what was that experience like cuz
35:26
that's obviously like my Christy's parents are from that same area Cuban immigrant Italian immigrant so like they
35:33
West New York Union City like that whole time count is just the coolest I don't think I even realized that none of my
35:38
friends and I we really realized how cool it was growing up because our parents were so scared I mean immigrant
35:44
parents are so scared to let their kids go to New York it's just the truth yeah I didn't take I didn't take the bus by
35:51
myself till I was forced to for my call back for byebye birdie and even then
35:58
my I mean this is a longer story but um my my grandmother was dying when I when
36:05
in Colombia when I got my final call back for bye-bye birdie so my family couldn't be with me but the joy of the
36:12
the Union City Community the Hudson County Community really tight-knit families of immigrants and in many cases
36:18
people's direct families can't be there so we become each other's family so my best friend I call him my brother his
36:25
mother I call my second mother she took me to my final call back for my first
36:31
Broadway show she doesn't even speak English she taught me how to take the
36:36
bus I'm like I could cry she um she taught me how to take the bus we talk about coins back in the day when we used
36:44
coins she's like okay the bus is 250 so this is what you do you go on Kennedy Boulevard you give the the guy 250 as
36:51
soon as you land and Port Authority at the at gate 51 anyone that's like Hudson
36:56
County listening to this like I know gate 51 that's pretty seedy basement okay um but that's where you land a port
37:02
authority and then you end up in sort of the Time Square area she she I mean this
37:08
woman she had work she walked she took me to New York on a dry run before my
37:13
call back yeah and then we went together after that for my final call back she's
37:19
waiting there with all these parents you know like K Broadway Kids stage kids with their stage moms who speak English
37:24
she doesn't speak English and I love hero um uh and you know she's waiting
37:30
for me and like I my grandma's dying my best friend's mom is there with
37:37
me I have no family I have no way to call my mom without a calling card yeah you
37:43
know the joy of Hudson County is like yeah it's all of my best friends were all
37:49
kids of immigrants so there's this shared Joy this shared
37:56
experience um that you don't really have to explain yourself right to them yeah um and also
38:02
this proximity to New York of like you know knowing that it's so close there
38:08
like I never really had to leave because Broadway was my Pinnacle that was what I
38:13
wanted from the time I was really really young and and I'm so grateful to be around that so many immigrants and not
38:20
just Latin immigrants there are so like the probably the best Italian delies I mean you could go for the best mozzarella and I mean these probably
38:27
fighting words everyone probably thinks they have the best mozzarella but we've got vetos we've got Fior we've got
38:33
amazing uh I think also an amazing artist Community like the Hoboken and Jersey
38:39
City Music Scene is having a real Revival I'm really grateful to be a part of that um and you know we have the best
38:49
view New York has the view of us which I have no idea if it's good but we have the view of them and without the noise
38:56
and it's great it was good to look at it so you know so I'm I'm grateful for that I'm grateful to be from this area um uh
39:04
I have the same group of friends that I had from the time I was in Middle School my best friend when I was five is still
39:10
my best friend now uh I'm grateful that I get to make music in this area because
39:15
there are so many artists here and that I didn't have to move from like North Carolina or like Florida or something to
39:22
to come to this amazing area and um Tru really very very fortunate to be
39:28
surrounded by an amazing support system yeah for sure so um what is I know you
39:35
mentioned you started recording a new album yesterday yeah I did uh like what are some things that people should start
39:41
to expect to see from you soon well it's interesting you
39:47
know obviously there's more acting coming from from me in the next coming
39:52
months but for this album I'm sort of exploring way weightlessness and weight the weight we
40:00
carry um whether that be from you know painful experiences relationships um or
40:08
and then also the weightlessness that we feel like with love and like with happier experiences so it's going to be a six song project I'm uh people are
40:19
responding more to singles these days than fully realized projects so I'm
40:25
probably going to start rolling those out I'm not not sure if sum I think summer feels a little soon but maybe in
40:30
the fall or winter um of 2025
40:35
um so right now for the next month I'm going to be recording and then during the summer I'm probably going to be making some music videos yeah and then
40:43
rolling that out it's it's such a slow process because it's basically just me doing it and um not just me I'm very
40:50
lucky to have like because of my film experience I know a lot of directors of
40:56
photography S I know you know Gaffers and stuff like that so I it's almost
41:01
it's gorgeous like to to know that my life experience is helping and form this
41:06
music sort of era that I'm in right now right and uh yeah so I would definitely
41:13
expect new music I have uh concerts rolling back in in the Tri State
41:19
starting in May um but I'm also branching out and like going to like Connecticut this summer and other places
41:25
you know what I mean like going out yeah um but performances in the New York and New Jersey area again starting in May
41:31
once I'm done with this recording process it's pretty intense uh um and so
41:36
I'm definitely in a writing mode right now but that would be really hard for me to start a project like now and then not
41:43
have it come out for like another yeah year and a half it's totally rough I have like a like a mental block of like
41:50
I can't hang on to this for too long like here you go I think that's po look I think that's a great I think that's a
41:55
great attitude to have about it like my last EP that I released Bronte um which
42:01
yes it's um after Emily Bronte the author um my first the my single off of
42:06
that record is based off of weathering Heights which is a book I loved very much um when I was younger um
42:15
but you know that project I started that project in 2020 and it didn't release until 2020 three
42:23
yeah I mean it's a it's a I also like put it on myself everything's a production like if you watch my music
42:30
video it looks like a Hollywood film which is you know it's gorgeous
42:38
it's it's like a real Feast for the eyes so I I don't know that I I wanted be more like you and like I want to be more
42:45
like you stri I think it's striking that balance and like letting it go a little bit but let's see what happens when I'm
42:52
done recording I think I want to mix it quicker and then mask cuz like when you record you you record you do the
42:59
harmonies you mix you master also I'm hiring more instrumentalists and more
43:05
people than just myself you know I employ a lot of other people um and then after that I have to choose the singles
43:13
that I want to make videos and find the team to do that um you know find the
43:18
funding for it and you know find places hopefully in the state of New Jersey
43:23
where I can make my sure where make my videos cuz I love doing stuff in state CU our Film Community is so strong here
43:29
yeah uh but it's a it is a bit of a long process and then you have to promote it I know yeah so that it doesn't just fall
43:36
on like deaf ears you know what I mean do all these cool things and then you actually have to tell people about it it's like well come on yeah and also
43:43
like live performances like trying to find the right places there's so many places I want to play like we have an amazing venue in Jersey City called
43:49
White Eagle Hall like that's like one place like that's like dreams uh Jersey Fest at White Eagle Hall in I heard that
43:55
that's awesome it's going to cool yeah but we're hope that one is going to wind up being like an annual thing that's so
44:02
great uh as long as we pull it off which we're on track to I'm sure um but yeah
44:07
like when I pitched that idea to them they were like we love it like let's do it it's an incredible venue I watched some really cool stuff I saw a wrestling
44:14
musical there Co like in the last couple months I like that is awesome yeah um
44:20
very very cool yeah for sure um okay so cool people are watching this yeah
44:26
they're they've heard your story I mean I there's way more to the story obviously um you know that we didn't
44:33
even get to but I'm sure that they can go find it but where should people be going to go learn more about you awesome
44:40
uh well you can visit me at www. Allison strong.com and the place I'm most active
44:45
is on Instagram so you can follow me at Allison Tong so that's a l l i s o n t s
44:51
r o n g um my music is on Spotify Apple music pretty much anywhere you can listen to music my music videos are on
44:58
Vivo so Alison strong Vivo and um I'd love to connect with you so please
45:03
connect with me yeah awesome well uh Allison thank you so much for doing this
45:08
with us today this was incredible so much fun um and it is way better to like not actually have to be like like the
45:15
producer on this while recording and checking cameras and yeah this is great like I got a comfy chair you know it's
45:22
like a whole a whole thing but again thank you so much for doing this thank you to bravery Studios for having us uh
45:28
so this has been the greetings from the guard say oh I'll put your stuff in the in the show notes before I do my sign off your stuff will be in the show notes
45:33
people just go click check it out obviously greetings from the gate.com will be in the show notes as well so you can go check that out all of our other
45:39
episodes um because this year has been honestly crazy with like how great the
45:45
episodes that we put together have been uh so again this has been the green smooth G State podcast powered by the
45:50
New Jersey Lottery I'm Mye cam she was Alison strong thank you for listening and we will catch you next time
45:57
do you want to
46:03
you do you are right oh tell me before you go all the
46:11
way do
46:25
you