We recently connected with Alison Mullings and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Alison, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

One of my favorite memories was when I finally got an agent I got my first audition with her and I booked it. It wasn’t a huge, life changing role or anything but she called me saying I booked the job and I was so excited. I thanked her, hung up the phone and then just cried in the Uber. I took a picture because I never wanted to forget the moment that I became a paid actor.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am an actor & comedian in Toronto. I’ve always wanted to be an actor. I launched a podcast last November called “Creative Full Time” where I interview people in the Canadian entertainment industry and find out how they’re doing the damn thing in Canada because there’s no one way to be an actor/creative. I find the life of an actor can feel pretty lonely so I enjoy talking to people and finding out a lot of us feel the same way.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I wasn’t afraid to ask questions. I think those of us who are afraid to ask questions are scared they won’t want to help or think we’re dumb or are so stuck up they can’t be bothered. In my experience, that isn’t true at all, people are happy to help or direct you to a something or someone that can help. If you have a question just ask.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

This is a silly story. But I had booked headshots with one of the best photographers in the city. You have to book months in advance. Headshots aren’t cheap and I saved all my pennies for this. I had thrown my clothes in the wash the night before, prepared everything, I was ready for the next day. The morning of, I realized my clothes dryer has died, it didn’t dry anything. To make matters worse when I went to blow dry my hair, my blow dryer also died. So I have wet hair, wet clothes and headshots in a couple hours. I asked my neighbor for a blow dryer, nope. I messaged my friend who lived near by, not home. So I have a full emotional breakdown, I really want to go, I can’t afford to lose the deposit or wait months for another appointment. I also have it in my mind if I cancel they’ll think I’m so unprofessional. So I’m crying trying to figure out if I should cancel or not. I realize that I feel worse at the thought of cancelling than at the thought of showing up with damp hair, damp clothes. They’re photos no one will know the clothes are damp but me. So I drive to the headshots with my clothes hanging in the back and all the windows down – it’s not summer, it’s cold outside. But in the car on the way I had such a huge moment of realization that I was so incredibly proud of myself for not crumpling in a ball and letting the circumstances win. I pushed through I solved problems the best I could and I wasn’t going to let anything get in my way of what I wanted. It was a moment where I knew I was going to be okay. By the time I get there my hair is dry enough to be styled my clothes are pretty much dry. I told the photographer the whole story they were surprised I didn’t cancel, they’ve had people cancel because they couldn’t find close enough parking the day of.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.alisonmullings.com
• Instagram: @alisonmullings
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@CreativeFullTime?si=o0rTu4UA7Fi4trKT

Image Credits
Abhishek Raina Brian Whitmore Anastasia Ladyhina