by Mary Coalrik

In our fast-paced world of ever-changing digital trends and shortened attention spans, another new trend has appeared; apps that feature short films. These short films are produced with a vertical orientation instead of a horizontal one allowing viewers to experience two-to-three-minute episodes conveniently on a smartphone. Short film themes include young romance, vampires, billionaires, fantasy, cases of mistaken identity, athletes facing adversity, elements of intrigue and melodramatic narratives reminiscent of classic and serial comic strips such as Apartment 3G and Judge Parker. 

Back in the heyday of newspapers readers had to wait for the next day’s paper to follow ongoing corny plots. Now, viewers can finish an entire micro film during a lunch break, while the kiddos are napping, or before bedtime. 

Clicking through MiniShorts, ReelShort, or SnackShort apps one comes across titles like, ‘Surrogate For My Ex’s Billionaire Uncle,’ ‘Falling for My Call-Boy CEO,’ ‘Moonlit Alpha Prince,’ or ‘Breaking the Ice.’ After downloading a Vertical Films app, an account can be created, choosing different subscriptions with or without advertisements. An annual ad-free subscription is priced at approximately $200, or users may pay $1.50 to $3 to access a complete show consisting of 50-100 three-minute chapters. Vertical film catalogs are also available, offering a range of genres for different interests or mood preferences. 

 

I first learned about this new film application when my neighbor and book club member, Allison Regen Schumacher shared her experience filming ‘My Flash Hubby Billionaire’ in China. She had our book club laughing out loud and asking a lot of questions about her week-long adventure in China as she described her role as the matriarch of a billionaire in a vertical film. Her background is in classical acting with extensive stage experience with many repertory productions, so the filming in China offered a fun, alternative venture for her. 

Born and raised in Nashville, Allison attended an all-girls prep school and public high school. She began acting at age 12, performing in community productions and attending theatre camps in Tennessee. Although she wanted to go to New York after high school graduation, her parents said, “no” to supporting a move to the Big Apple. Disappointed, she auditioned for the North Carolina School of the Arts located in Winston-Salem. As an elite institution admitting only 32 students into the program, 18 students were ultimately cut from her original class, resulting in a graduating class of 14.  NCSA was not too far from home and provided an interesting experience. She toured for one quarter of her senior year, performing three shows in repertory, ‘The Mousetrap,’ ‘The Diviners’ and ‘The School for Scandal.’ Allison said it was, “a fabulous experience with her classmates!”  

 

After graduation from NCSA, she did some more touring and regional theatre. Finally, at age 25 she moved to New York where she had “a million jobs” while she auditioned for acting roles. She got her union card and began working with agents. Her first professional role was Becky Boone in the play ‘The Legend of Daniel Boone’ in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. She had a blast! 
 

Like most aspiring artists her side hustles included a wide range of jobs, modeling, working as a fit model for 17 different companies, a hostess at a restaurant, an assistant teaching position at Park Avenue Methodist Pre-School – all these part-time jobs “kept her alive” discovering as most young people that relocating to New York is not an easy transition. 

When Schumacher worked in the South, she got roles from people who saw her performance and then cast her in another play. She secured a recurring role as Dr. Sarah Ridgeway as an ‘under-5’ actress on the soap opera, ‘Guiding Light.’ Under-5s refers to actors who have five lines or less of dialogue in a soap opera. The person who regularly cast her in the under-fives selected her to play Lady Percy in a production of ‘Henry IV’ in Louisville, where he was directing Shakespeare in the Park. She also held leading lady roles in various productions, such as Rosalind in ‘As You Like It’ in New Orleans and Anna in ‘Burn This’ at the equity theatre in Port Jefferson, NY. She portrayed the Ghost of Christmas Past while touring with the Nebraska Theatre Caravan’s production of ‘A Christmas Carol.’ 

At thirty-two, she moved to LA with plans to marry a man she had been dating in New York. After a difficult breakup, she decided to focus on a more secure career path, even though she was always more drawn to the arts. She enrolled in a graduate program, earned a master’s degree in psychology, and began working for the Department of Children’s Services in Los Angeles. Life intervened once again when an actor friend suggested that she meet with his matchmaker. The matchmaker only worked with men, but said she had two men she would like Allison to meet; one located in Santa Barbara the other in San Clemente. Bob, the gentleman from San Clemente, flew up to Burbank in his private plane to meet Allison. Stepping out of the aircraft dressed in a suit, he handed her a rose, (long before the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise aired). Allison thought, “what a class act.” He won her over. 

After a stunning southern-style wedding in Nashville, featuring several tiny flower girls, she and Bob established their home on T-Street where they raised their boys, Oliver and Robert. Due to Bob’s work travel schedule and two decades of being pregnant, a few miscarriages and raising their sons, Allison rarely did any acting although she did appear in ‘On Golden Pond’ and ‘Steel Magnolia’ at the Cabrillo Theatre in town. 

In the last three years since their youngest son went off to college Allison started acting again. she did 12 films, primarily in Orange County and LA and appeared in a play at The Blue Door in Culver City. She also does ads, commercials and print work. She is a union actor who usually auditions with self-tapes with a basic background and a reader. She appeared in ‘The Rose Crown,’ a vertical filmed in a Beverly Hills Mansion and another production filmed in a beautiful home in Corona Del Mar. So when China came calling to cast her as the Billionaire’s matriarch in a MiniShort. she said “yes!” She left for China on a week’s notice. 

China currently has a lock on the Vertical Films market. Smart Source International for MiniShorts hired Allison. The company produces vertical films in Chinese and English. This is an international production; the woman who hired Allison is from Auckland, while the younger actors in the film were flown in from Los Angeles, New York, and Beijing. One young man who played Allison’s son has appeared in 33 of these MiniShorts. The company flew her to China, put her up in a hotel, provided van transportation to the shooting locales and two helpful handlers to help with logistics and bringing her food. She also enjoyed a hot pot meal one evening with the enticing young actors at a large mall in Zhangzhou. Her pay scale was on par with her USA union pay scale. She has an offer to return China for a couple of months of filming which she is considering. If she goes back, she will request local sightseeing guides as she would like to see more of the region, learn a bit of Mandarin and become more familiar with the Chinese translator app as the crew on the sets did not speak English. 

Allison actively participates in the San Clemente Presbyterian Church, Democratic Women of South Orange County and the I-5 Network. Her interests include reading and traveling. A few years ago she installed one of the Little Free Libraries in a corner of her yard with a charming fairy garden sharing the spot. She and Bob have traveled to Europe, Africa, the Panama Canal, New Zealand, Fiji, Australia and Peru. Last year while in London with their sons she finally saw Agatha Christie’s play, ‘The Mousetrap’ from the Queen’s Box. She was delighted that her family could share the experience with her. 

Kudos to Allison for resuming her acting career in her 60s – it’s never too late to pursue one’s passions.