Meet Audree Stephens of Grand Rapids

Today we’d like to introduce you to Audree Stephens.

Hi Audree, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in a family completely surrounded and embraced by music. My mom was a professional Big Band singer and my dad has been a professional Dj and performer as well. They both met at a karaoke contest and then suddenly my sister came along who is also a professional performer and then myself!

I grew up in Greenville, MI, participating in the local community plays. My family then moved up to Big Rapids, MI, through my high school years where I completely fell in love with the arts through my teachers, especially my theatre teacher, Lori Hathaway. Her confidence in me pushed me to pursue musical theatre as a career where I attended Northern Michigan University in 2016-2020.

While in school, I not only performed in every production, but was also the head scenic painter for the department. Before graduating with my undergrad degree, I was cast in the Camden Shakespeare Festival in Maine through UPTA. Covid unfortunately and fortunately redirected me to pursue screenwriting where I applied and was accepted into the David Lynch MFA program in Screenwriting at Maharishi University spring of 2021. I was not only the youngest in my class but was one of the 15 selected out of many submissions.

Shortly after acceptance, I received the opportunity to spend the summer in Maine with the Camden Shakespeare Festival in 2021 where we performed an original production titled “Aquitania”. The day after the festival ended, I flew from Maine to Iowa where I began my Transcendental Meditation journey training with Maggie Ventsias, the Dean of Students and mentee of Maharishi himself, at Maharishi University.

Alongside studying TM, I was mentored amongst several film industry professionals such as J.V. Hart (writer of “Hook”, “August Rush”, and “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”) where I was later asked on to the team to be his personal TA, Dara Marks (International script consultant), Ellen Sandler (writer of “Taxi” and “Everybody Loves Raymond”), Kate Purdy (writer of “BoJack Horseman” and creator and writer of the Amazon series “Undone”), Bob Roth (CEO of the David Lynch Foundation), and of course, David Lynch.

While attending graduate school, I became proficient in writing, producing, and directing short films and music videos and would eventually incorporate the skills in with my band Iridescence. I wrote and directed two music videos for the band and have also served as the band leader, songwriter, keyboardist, and co-singer alongside Gracie Fries Brock. Other members include Kent Brock on drums and Jason Ocasio on guitar. One music video is from a track off our self-titled EP called “Oh Look, I’m Saved” and the more recent video that features all NMU current theatre and dance students or alumni is titled “The End”.

Since the band first began back in Marquette, MI, summer of 2022, we made our first appearances at the Ore Dock, Black Rocks, and Digs City Beach. We have recently expanded outside of Marquette and have played across the Midwest at local bars and venues such as Mulligans in Grand Rapids, MI, and headlined The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids, MI, as well. We also opened for Noah Richardson at NMU in the fall of 2024 and was on the lineup for Camp Cannabis amongst Afroman, The Floozies, Sublime with Rome, and many more!

Since the EP, we have released multiple singles and a full-length debut album titled “Welcome to the Cinema”, with major help from NMU’s Dan Zini and Mark Shevy. The album explores and is inspired by an array of film scores. We plan to record and release several new tracks soon!

As for actually creating and producing films of my own, I wrote and directed a micro-budget short film titled “COME ON” in the summer of 2022 that also featured current NMU students and alumni in the cast and crew. The film was accepted into Motor City Nightmares Film Festival in Detroit and Sick Chick Flicks Film Festival in North Carolina. I was a finalist at the Scream Queen Film Festival and was nominated out of hundreds of submissions for Best Female written/directed film.

In the fall of 2023, I was able to put my acting skills to use by co-starring in the short film “Color Theories” in Portland, OR, with a professional production company, Dessert Island Studios. The film was accepted into BUFF film fest, TFF, New Filmmakers Los Angeles, Local Sightings, Portland Film Fest, Filmfort, and many more!

I just recently returned back to Michigan after performing with the Camden Shakespeare Festival once more for the summer of 2025 to appear in the classic Shakespeare production “Two Gentleman of Verona”.

Shortly after graduating with my MFA in screenwriting, I received praise for my thesis, dark comedy/apocalyptic, full-length screenplay titled “But I’m a Virgin” and was offered representation and an 18-month option agreement with Tj Mancini at Crossroads Entertainment LLC (former representative of Drew Barrymore, Vin Diesel, and many more stars).

I consider myself to be a self starter and a supporter of the arts and other like-minded individuals. My goal is to take on a teaching position in a high school or college theatre program. I would love to mentor students the art of performance, but also from a technical perspective too! I only ever want to create opportunities for everyone in any art form! I support the industry and strive to make it supportive, collaborative, and fun!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Going into the arts can be a risk in itself. The amount of people that put down my decision to pursue theatre performance was pretty intense, especially for a 17-year-old just trying to find her way and dive into her interests! I have certainly been rejected from many schools, roles in shows, everything under the sun, my skin is the thickest it has ever been! With the rejections comes hard work, and I am thankful for what I have and where I have gotten. I was raised to believe that my journey should be a little bumpy. That is just how life is!

My biggest obstacle was certainly during 2020-2021 when covid was pretty prominent. I was just a fresh undergrad who was planning to move to NYC, I had an acting contract set up, and was pumped for what was in store for me. That crashed pretty quickly and I had to redirect. I am extremely thankful for that opportunity to redirect though. I was able to find that screenwriting was a passion that had been hidden away for some time and I had the pleasure to bring it back out finally after applying for David Lynch’s program in screenwriting with Maharishi University. When I got in, I was very surprised and didn’t realize that maybe this is something I could pursue.

I am so thankful everything kind of came together for me performance wise and writing wise! I feel so lucky!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am several things! I am a script consultant, screenwriter, actor, professional singer, director, and more! I feel like because I have taken on so many different paths, that has made me a well rounded individual in the arts. I feel confident in being able to pass on my experiences to others and mentor in my specific strengths!

I feel I am most proud of how I just stick through things. I am certainly not a quitter and I work really hard through everything! I care about everything I create, sometimes a little too much, but I believe that to be a good quality. When you care about your work, other people see that and feel it too.

What matters most to you? Why?
Outcome and commitment matter to me the most. When I am hired on a project, for example: writing a script for a producer, I will put my everything into that script! I aim to please and strive to give a good finished product because it is so important. Or, if I am giving someone an acting exercise for a personal project, I want the student to feel good about what they have learned and the outcome in their project so that their confidence boosts and maybe one day they can pass along that helpful exercise to someone else who may need it!

Pricing:

• Script Consultation: Varies (250.00-500.00 per script)
• Private Acting Lesson: 75.00/hr
• Private Vocal Lesson: 60.00/hr
• Script Development: 300.00 per class

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.audreestephens.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/otay.audree/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/audree-stephens-077903232/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@iridescencetheband?si=eKHLs-S9h4ul8N0W
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2tkaKoslM95ae3uyKApObl?si=HJXNiYmQSNinwJ58B5L1Pg