Hey there! :)

I'm an actor based in Ridgewood, New York. I've had a pretty wild path as a performer and New Yorker, just passing my 9th year here in the city.
I'll have a bunch of information about me here down below, but if you want the elevator pitch:

I'm a born-again actor looking to find representation and get re-acquainted with all of the incredible folks in casting in New York City!

I specialize in theatre, musical theatre, and television

(you might recognize me from my co-star role in Broad City where I sold Ilana her Matrix suit)

with an aspiration to work with emerging artists.

Please get in touch if you'd like to work together or want a versatile, grounded, and unique performer on your project or roster!

a.lee.smith.nyc@gmail.com

With all that business out of the way -

Who am I?

If we've never met: Hello! I'm an actor, artist, web developer, server, bartender, barista, teacher, curriculum crafter, and needing a coffee just listing all of that out.
I love movies, music, art of any kind honestly, especially if it's with friends. It's said that it's difficult to make friends in NYC but I can assure you that if you look hard enough and follow who you are,
I know you'll be able to find some absolutely incredible folks like the people in my close community.
Outside of work, acting, and consuming I've also managed to make some music, make some websites, and create some short films for myself.
Still exploring the absolutely darling neighborhood of Ridgewood as the summer season makes the streets come alive again. :)

Where have I been?

If you've known me at any point in my life, you know that I've been an actor at heart even if not in practice.
After an pretty good run in the industry from 2017-2020, lockdown presented a wild choice for me.
I knew I'd be starting from the very beginning, looking for agents and finding my voice as an artist. Would there even be any gigs?
I decided to fill my days with mindfulness, spiritual practices, and teasing out my long-burried curiosity of coding.
The goal was potentially to become a software engineer, get some money to funnel into my art later on.
Of course, life being life, a crazy drag bingo night somehow led to my first ever teaching gig, which started four incredible summers teaching coding to some of the greatest kids I've ever met through All Star Code.

I spent a good amount of time working in a world I was so unfamiliar with,
learning more about myself while teaching while chasing a mirage of financial
security in tech as the empire of tech suddenly self-destructed.
Each year was another lesson in how to live, what it was like to be a person.
I had many interviews that went nowhere. I coded an entire game for my students to experience how failure necessary for growing.
The sky turned orange for a whole day. I deleted Instagram for a year.
AI infected everything in sight. I rebuilt my highschool iPod.
As each year passed I missed what made me feel whole, wondering how much more I'd be able to give to the craft after so many lessons learned and so much time away.
When my time came to a close with All Star Code, I decided to make the plunge back into acting once more.
Gone is pure stability, our time is one of tapestries weaving in work, opportunities, decisions. Best to ride that wave with more experience.

I also played Persona 5 Royal and that was crraaaaaaazyyyyy.