Special Feature
Allison Allen has many roles in life- the former Broadway dancer is a wife, mother, speaker, and Bible teacher that is passionate about sharing Jesus with women everywhere. Allen will be in Birmingham on February 10 to speak at Samford University Legacy League’s Scholarship Luncheon.
From a young age, Allen remembers having an active imagination. Always a fan of musicals, she went to Carnegie Mellon University to work towards a degree in acting. “The only way I can fully explain my Broadway journey is that God is a better door opener than I could ever be,” Allen says. She originally auditioned for a show that was not a good fit for her. However, during that audition, “one of the producers thought I would be right for the Original Broadway Revival of Grease,” she explains, adding, “Through another round of topsy-turvy vocal, dancing and acting call-backs, against the odds, I found myself cast in the show.” Allen performed on Broadway for almost two years and “performed the hand-jive approximately 650 times.” During her time on Broadway, Allen played many parts- including the roles of Marty, Patty and Miss Lynch.
During one of her performances on Broadway, one of the executives of Women of Faith was in the audience. “He knew that Women of Faith had a position for one-woman dramas within their conference schedule and asked me to audition,” Allen says. For two years, she performed dramas written by Nicole Johnson and in her final year, she wrote and performed the one-woman piece on her own. “I grew so much by being able to be around such master communicators,” she adds. Soon after her time with Women of Faith, Allen began speaking at conferences and events around the country. “I count it among the great joys of my life to run alongside women as they get a clearer view of who they actually are in Christ.”
On February 10, you can hear from Allen when she speaks at Samford Legacy League’s Scholarship Luncheon. “So many women are crippled by hopelessness and shame all while Jesus is inviting us to step into the Story He is writing,” Allen says. She will share about her time on stage and “how God, in His great mercy, moved me from having to act my way through life, to being able to embrace authentic bravery.” Allen will also explore how to lean into the theme verse for the luncheon,“Be doers of the Word,” (James 1:22). To learn more about the Scholarship Luncheon and make reservations, visit www.samford.edu/legacyleague.
-Melissa Armstrong
