We recently connected with The Abbey Stories and have shared our conversation below.

The Abbey Stories, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

For both of us, the project that changed everything was The Fix. We started out in the industry as actors, and for a long time that was our entire world. But we reached a point where we wanted to stop waiting to be given opportunities and start creating them ourselves. That’s really how The Abbey Stories was born; out of wanting to tell our own stories and step into roles that challenged us in ways we weren’t traditionally cast.

The idea for The Fix actually came to us on a set where we were playing housewives in a dark comedy. In between takes, we were talking about what we wanted to do next, and we both felt this pull toward something darker, grittier, more raw. Not “ugly” in a derogatory sense, but human in a way that strips you down to the bone. And right there on that set, we decided we wanted to play drug addicts and dive into a story that felt dangerous and truthful. With that, Amanda brought up a dream she once had for a script about two female addicts chained to a chair in a seedy motel room, trapped in a loop of their addiction and trying to figure out how to survive and escape. The moment she described it, we all felt the spark. That became the seed of The Fix.

From there, the project became our crash course in becoming actual filmmakers. We learned how to build a production from scratch: how to fund it, cast it, hire a crew, secure locations… everything. We did a live immersive performance at the Producers Club in Manhattan as a fundraiser, performing one of the scenes on stage, and that night changed the trajectory of the project. We met our executive producer, Matt Thompson, and our DP approached us wanting to shoot the film. Suddenly, we weren’t just talking about making a movie, we were actually doing it.

And then our world premiere at the Golden Door International Film Festival made the whole journey hit home. Winning the awards for Best Film and Best Actress was surreal, not because of the accolades themselves, but because it proved that two actors who decided to bet on themselves could actually build something real. Now we’re submitting to Tribeca and other major festivals.

What makes The Fix so meaningful is that it was full of firsts for us. Our first casting as a production company, our first hired crew, our first time directing together, our first real test in trusting our instincts. It forced us to grow as artists, as leaders, and as partners. It set the tone for what The Abbey Stories is becoming and what we want to create next. And trust us, there is a LOT!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

The Abbey Stories is exactly what our name says: stories worth telling by women, for women. That’s the heartbeat of everything we do. We came into this industry as actors, and after years of working within a system where women’s voices so often get minimized or filtered through someone else’s lens, we realized we wanted to build our own space. A space where women’s experiences from joyful and triumphant, messy and painful, to everything in between could be told without being filtered through the male lens, no apologies.

This year we launched our first Female Filmmaker Forum, and the turnout blew us away. It made it clear how hungry women in this industry are for community, mentorship, and spaces where they can workshop ideas, share resources, and uplift each other. Our goal is to make it a monthly gathering for women in all corners of the arts.

Beyond film, we’re developing stage work, new media projects, and ultimately an entire platform dedicated to female-driven stories. We aspire to be something like a female-led A24; a household name that takes the industry by storm. We’re taking a page out of the Reese Witherspoon Bookclub and building up from there. We plan to create our own film festival, expand into podcasting, an contributing to a shift in the industry that is lead by WOMEN.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

When we needed to raise funding to make The Fix, we honestly had no idea what we were doing yet. We just knew we wanted to be bold. So we decided to throw a live pop-up fundraiser for friends and family.

We booked a theater we loved and went all in. We sent out video invitations, made complimentary popcorn from scratch, served wine with custom labels, and turned the space into a full experience. Guests walked into music, dimmed lights, and us already on stage. Without even having the script written yet, we performed a visceral live scene from The Fix that was raw and uncomfortable.

We even created themed goodie bags with a QR code to donate through a 501(c)(3), tying directly into the film’s subject matter. We played a pre-recorded video of us as addicts at different stages of addiction, “asking” for money in a darkly comedic way, then came out as ourselves and turned the night into a playful, interactive performance. The place was packed—so packed people were standing.

And here’s the twist: almost no one donated! We even forgot to hit record for our performance. We walked away thinking the night had been a creative success but a financial flop.

Except for one person in the room. That night, we met our executive producer, who invested $10,000 into The Fix. That single yes became the foundation for our first real production budget, allowing us to hire a crew, pay artists, and fully step into being producers for the first time.

It was a lesson we’ll never forget: sometimes it only takes one person believing in you to change everything.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

We both started as actress/models in NYC represented by the same agency. We would run into each other at castings, auditioning for the same roles and eventually became great friends. We went on to work together on a play, then a film, then to producing our own film together which was the launching pad for starting our own production company. Suffice it to say, why compete when we could conquer, TOGETHER!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://m.imdb.com/search/title/?companies=co0444703
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theabbeystories/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554882700282
• Youtube: https://vimeo.com/theabbeystories?fl=pl&fe=po
• Soundcloud: https://open.spotify.com/album/3NTMKgwTAlh6GuWpnutsAZ?si=VTPWKRenToOXuturww0OCA
• Other: https://www.helloitsdenise.com

  http://www.amandagreer.com

Image Credits

Mathew Quitney, Nico Amatullo, Aley Seoudy, Byron Huart.