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Ashley Mellinger

Ashley Mellinger is a biracial actor/producer and co-founder of Desert Island Studios. After receiving her bachelor’s degree from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, she worked as a professional actress for over a decade before relocating to Portland, Oregon. She prioritizes work for and about BIPOC and other marginalized voices, and is especially interested in telling stories that investigate trauma, mental illness, and prejudicial biases. She has written and produced for commercials, music videos, and short films, and is currently working on producing her second feature.

Ashley was a classically trained pianist before she decided to pursue filmmaking. She lives with her partner and co-founder, Joe Bowden. Her most recent short films include Private Chat and Vent.

Studio

Work

Commercial

Web video for Portland Spirit. Director: Brandon Blackwood. DP: Jesse Bettis.

Series of 30 second spots for Leavenworth. Director: Alex Huebsch. DP: Sean Conley.

Narrative

A fresh, contemporary adaptation of Sophokles' tragedy from T.S. Eliot Prize-winning poet Anne Carson. Find out more about Antigone here.

Actor
Producer
Writer
Assistant Director

Vent (2020 / 4:55)
ACTOR, CO-WRITER

L'Ortolan (2020 / 4:20)
ACTOR, WRITER

Current Projects

Ashley is currently co-producing her second feature, written and directed by Dawn Jones Redstone, set to go into production in 2021 pending pandemic. She helped produce the proof of concept in Summer 2020. Keep a lookout for more details and the fundraising campaign!
In Fall 2020, Ashley Line Produced a new narrative short film for Artist Repertory Theatre's "Mercury Company II" entitled See Me. As part of same artistic initiative, Ashley workshopped a role in Ken Yoshikawa's verse play, The Simple Truth.
Ashley was selected as one of the awardees for Regional Arts & Culture Council's Capturing the Moment collection. Her film Vent will be a part of the public display of art inspired by and created during the time of COVID-19.
Ashley wrote and acted in the short, Private Chat, commissioned by Portland Playhouse. It's an exploration of the cam modeling world starring two actors who used to be sex workers. It premiered as part of Portland Playhouse's "Wonderland" program.

An early still from Noelia by Dawn Jones Redstone. Click on image to learn more. Photo featuring Ana Del Rocío and shot by Sean Conley.

Antigone
Noelia
Color Theories short
Desert Island TV
Hand2Mouth's Our Town

Ashley Mellinger

Work

Commercial

Narrative

Current Projects

​Ashley is also the co-founder of Desert Island Studios, an independent film studio.

Ashley is also the co-founder of Desert Island Studios, an independent film studio.