






For a February 2008 interview with Ashley, please click here.
"Collins (is) polished and natural."
—nytheatre.com on the NYC premiere of Living with Betty
"Watching (Collins) on the high wire of romance truly satisfies."
—Backstage on the NYC premiere of Some Unfortunate Hour
"Collins is glorious as the lovely, tortured Diana."
—Gay City News on the NYC premiere of Die, Die, Diana: A Musical
"Collins is adept at facial expressions that reinforce what's going on in the text. (Collins & Mahoney) make these characters their own—no small achievement if you're familiar with the original version."
—Show Business Weekly on Parallel Lives, a NYC version of
The Kathy and Mo Show for which Collins co-starred and co-directed
"Blonde and strikingly tall...Collins succeeds beautifully. Collins visibly shows the audience Billie's thought processes as she drinks in more and more information and computes what it all means and what her life has become...Originally portrayed by Judy Holliday, for which the actress won an Oscar, (it's) a tough act to follow and sure to draw comparisons; but Ashley Wren Collins makes the role her own."
—CC Chronicle on the 2006 revival of Born Yesterday
Ashley Wren Collins is an energetic, evocative, and highly versatile actress who can tackle both comedy and drama with ease; and in addition is a skilled dancer, singer, and choreographer.
Ashley's impressive range is evident in her stage roles, which have included the hilarious portrayal of Billie Dawn in a revival of Born Yesterday, to a singing and dancing Princess Diana in Die, Die, Diana: A Musical, to a heartbreaking portrayal of a woman in a bar yearning to make a simple human connection in the world premiere of the NYC play Some Unfortunate Hour. In a review of the latter, I wrote:
What gives this tale its heart is the thoughtful, feeling performance of Ashley Wren Collins...whose expressive face, intonation, and body language make us understand Charity's deep loneliness and longing to feel alive with more eloquence than any scripted words.
Ashley's other NYC theatre credits include Is There a Comic in the House? (Tribeca Performing Arts Center), The Heart is a Fist (as the lead, at the American Theatre of Actors), and Parallel Lives: Kathy and Mo Show (which Ashley produced, directed, and performed in at the Duplex Cabaret).
In addition, Ashley has appeared on such TV shows as Sex and the City (HBO), 10! (recurring guest host and model, NBC), and Balance Your Body, Balance Your Life (panelist, PBS).
Ashley has also acted in the feature films Kate and Leopold (2001, Miramax), Every Move You Make (2002 indie thriller), and Silver Night (2005 indie vampire film); and was the lead in such indie shorts as Black Lace and The Panther Project.
Further, Ashley has consistently wowed NYScreenwriters.org with her brilliant acting for the workshop's screenplay cold readings. Quickly adapting to any genre, Ashley's performances have run the gamut from the hair-raising, as a dead woman for a horror film; to smouldering, as a young rock goddess for a pop music feature; to laugh-out-loud funny, as an anti-social force of nature for a hip comedy. No matter what parts she's handed, Ashley creates exceptionally memorable characters.
For example, Ashley starred in the NYC play My Life As You, acting opposite Emmy award nominee Jeff Branson—and she took the audience on an emotional journey that transcended the script, alternately sexy, funny, and touching. Ashley's breathtaking performance led to her getting work on As the World Turns, and opposite Susan Lucci on All My Children.
Coming up for Ashley is a staged reading of George Bernard Shaw's Great Catherine with Tyne Daly and John Cullum (with Ashley as Varinka) at NYC's The Players Club on Monday June 23rd, 2008 at 7:00 pm. The reading is produced and directed by David Staller. To learn more and/or to purchase tickets, please visit projectshaw.com.
In addition, Ashley is starring in a comedy video series for the Web, Suzy & Duddy, which is slated to go live later this summer.
Ashley Wren Collins is a brilliantly talented and skilled professional. If you're seeking a superb leading actress for stage or screen, please give this one a close look. Ashley's representation is Jerry Rudes of Mistral Artist Management at email address jhr2001@aol.com.
Ashley's resume appears below; her email address is ashley@ashleywrencollins.com. Please also visit Ashley's Web site at ashleywrencollins.com,

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AEA/AFTRA/SAG-Eligible |
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Email: ashley@ashleywrencollins.com |
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Rep: J. Rudes, Mistral Artist Management; jhr2001@aol.com |
Stats: Height: 5'9, Hair: Blonde, Eyes: Blue; Weight: 125 |
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Film |
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Kate and Leopold |
Chloe |
Miramax |
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The Deed to Hell |
Chrissy |
Huntington Action Films |
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Silver Night |
Kim |
Huntington Action Films |
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Every Move You Make |
Roxanna |
Huntington Action Films |
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Roommate with Benefits |
Sabrina (lead) |
Reality Productions, Inc. |
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Black Lace |
Agnes (lead) |
Independent |
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The Panther Project |
Krista Patton (lead) |
Independent |
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9:27 |
Stranger |
Independent |
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Strutting Into Chaos |
Girl on boat |
Independent |
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Next Door |
Ginger |
Independent |
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Meh Booba |
Running Woman |
Apple Productions |
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Dark Roads |
Catherine |
Independent |
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Blindfold |
Bartender |
Independent |
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So Complicated |
Tonya |
Independent |
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Multiple feature screenplays (readings) |
Lead |
NYScreenwriters.org/Manhattan Theatre Club CC |
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Television |
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All My Children (three scenes with Susan Lucci) |
Party planner |
ABC |
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10! |
Guest Host & Model (recurring) |
NBC |
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Sex and the City |
Colleen |
HBO |
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As the World Turns |
Autograph hound |
CBS |
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As the World Turns |
Pool girl |
CBS |
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Balance Your Body, Balance Your Life |
Featured panelist |
PBS |
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Sugababes (music video) |
Featured |
VH1 and MTV |
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HYP |
Ranking Girl (lead) |
NY Public Access TV |
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NYC Theatre |
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My Life As You (with Jeff Branson) |
Stella (lead) |
Producers Club II |
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Some Unfortunate Hour (world premiere) |
Charity (lead) |
2005 New York International Fringe Festival, Tim Errickson dir. |
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Die, Die, Diana: A Musical |
Princess Diana (lead) |
2004 New York International Fringe Festival, Kelly McAllister dir. |
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Living with Betty |
Beverly, Alice, and Joan |
2003 New York International Fringe Festival, Mercedes Murphy dir. |
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Is There a Comic in the House? |
Gloria |
Tribeca Performing Arts Center |
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The Sons of Juan Perez |
Roberta |
Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre |
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Falling Awake |
Alisha Shire (lead) |
BDA, Domenica Cameron-Scorsese dir. |
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Parallel Lives: Kathy and Mo Show (acted, co-directed, and co-produced) |
Co-star of two-woman show |
Duplex Cabaret Theatre, Ashley Wren Collins co-dir. |
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Skin |
Ensemble |
Faux-Real Theatre Company |
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The Heart is a Fist |
Erin |
American Theatre of Actors |
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Foxy Ladies Love Boogie '70s Explosion |
Lady Joie; was also show's choreographer |
Duplex Cabaret Theatre, Tracy Stark musical dir., Ashley Wren Collins choreographer |
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Regional Theatre |
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Born Yesterday |
Billie Dawn (lead) |
Cape Rep Theatre (Brewster, MA), Richard Sullivan dir. |
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La Dispute |
Ensemble and u/s for lead Egle |
American Repertory Theatre (Cambridge, MA)/SITI Company, Anne Bogart dir. |
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Highway Ulysses (world premiere) |
Bride (lead u/s) |
American Repertory Theatre (Cambridge, MA), Robert Woodruff dir. |
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The Island of Anyplace |
Great Grandfooler |
American Repertory Theatre (Cambridge, MA), Thomas Derrah dir.
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The Winter's Tale |
Hermione |
American Repertory Theatre (Cambridge, MA), Jennie Ward dir. |
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The Merchant of Venice |
Portia |
American Repertory Theatre (Cambridge, MA), Scott Zigler dir. |
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The Storm |
Varvara |
American Repertory Theatre (Cambridge, MA), Jennie Ward dir. |
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Rhinoceros |
Mrs. Bouef |
American Repertory Theatre (Cambridge, MA), Roman Kozak dir. |
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Phaedra 4.48 |
Phaedra (lead) |
American Repertory Theatre (Cambridge, MA), Robert Woodruff dir. |
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Not I |
Mouth |
American Repertory Theatre (Cambridge, MA), Mercedes Murphy dir. |
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The Face-Lift |
Sharon |
American Repertory Theatre (Cambridge, MA), Yuri Yeremin dir. |
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The Festivities |
Tatyana |
American Repertory Theatre (Cambridge, MA), Yuri Yeremin dir. |
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As You Like It |
Rosalind |
Annenberg Center (Philadelphia, PA), Henry Gleitman dir. |
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Hotel Universe |
Lily Malone |
Annenberg Center (Philadelphia, PA), Jim Schlatter dir. |
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Three Sisters |
Olga |
Annenberg Center (Philadelphia, PA), Scott Schwartz dir. |
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The Dutchman |
Lula |
Annenberg Center (Philadelphia, PA), Henry Gleitman dir. |
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TV Commercials |
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Coca-Cola Light |
Hero Girl (principal) |
Europe |
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Coca-Cola Lemon |
Hero Girl (principal) |
Europe |
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Windowizards |
Genie (principal) |
Northeast/Tri-State Market |
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Maggie's |
Hostess (principal) |
Philadelphia Metro and Suburban Market |
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Game Time
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Bachelorette (principal) |
Nickelodeon
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USA Men's Soccer |
Principal |
Cable TV |
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Velocity Express |
Principal |
Internet |
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Voiceover |
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Optimum Online |
Principal voiceover |
National television spot |
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Ozoneny.org |
Principal voiceover |
The James Group |
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Clearlight Mortgage |
Principal voice-over (2 spots) |
The James Group |
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Maxim Radio |
Featured guest |
Sirius Satellite Radio |
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Various textbooks |
Principal reader |
Reading for the Blind & Dyslexic |
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Various |
Principal reader |
InTouch |
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Training |
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American Repertory Theatre/Moscow Art Theatre School Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University |
Master of Fine Arts (MFA) |
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Theatre Arts and English, University of Pennsylvania |
Bachelor of Arts (BA) |
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Walnut Street Theatre School
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Studied with Bill Raudebush in Philadelphia
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Scene and Monologue Study for Stage, Film |
Studied with Susan Grace Cohen, Liz Evert, Matt Marshall, Kurt Everhart, and Rosemary Harris in NYC |
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Commercial Technique |
Studied with Angela Montalbano in NYC |
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Special Skills |
Conversational Spanish and Russian, dialects/accents (British, Cockney, Southern, Irish, Scottish, German, French, Russian), Suzuki/Viewpoints training, dancing (ballet, tap, jazz, ballroom), singing, musical theatre choreography, yoga, long distance running, biking, ice skating, hiking, whitewater rafting, kickboxing, teaching, volunteer work, licensed driver, valid passport, Miss America impression.
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Copyright © 2008 Hy Bender
Email: hy@hyreviews.com