Boulder Shakespeare Freak Premiers Rom Com in Hollywood

BOULDER, CO – Boulder County native Allison Volk is a Shakespeare superfan who once brought an entire film team and some of Colorado's best actors to Niwot, Colorado to shoot a feature adaptation of MacBeth titled Innocent Sleep. She grew up in the shadow of Boulder's Shakespeare Festival (now in its 61st year) graduating from Alexander Dawson School in Lafayette. She even started her own Shakespeare theater company in Santa Monica when she moved to Los Angeles, called The City Shakespeare Company.

While the Bard's influence is everywhere in Volk's work, her new feature film Deany Bean is Dead is a dark comedy "rom com." Deany Bean premiers June 16 at the 2018 Dances With Films festival at the famed TCL Chinese Theaters in Hollywood.

Volk has been building her reputation in Hollywood as an award-winning writer, film producer and actress. Most recently, Volk won ‘Best Screenplay’ at the 2018 Utah Film Awards for her dark action comedy feature script, Tiger Woman. Innocent Sleep, the Macbeth interpretation, earned ‘Best Lead Actress’ at the 2017 Utah Film Awards.

Deany Bean was written by Volk and features her as "30-something hopelessly hung-up on her ex-boyfriend." She's out to sabotage her old flame's new engagement party, but her plan is "hampered by the fact that she has the dead body of her abusive boss hidden in her car out front..." the publicity blurb states. Along with Volk, the film stars Sarah Siadat (Veep, Grimm), Paul Tigue (20th Century Women) and Paulina Bugembe (Scandal).

Volk's partner in the 82-minute film is Mikael Kreuzriegler, a director and cinematographer, who chairs the Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and Television. With Kreuzriegler, Volk produced a short film version of Othello, with Volk playing the iconic role of Iago -- as a woman. The film made an appearance at Kenneth Branagh's Shakespeare in Film Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.

For Volk's next project, What Katy Did, she's returning to Lafayette, and even to Alexander Dawson HS.

"The short fantasy/drama is about an entomology professor turned high school teacher who is overcome by guilt after accidentally hitting, but not seriously injuring, a student with her car," a synopsis said.

And this time, the new project seems to draw more from Kafka than the Bard.

"Gradually, she transforms into the very subject of her study: a human-sized leaf bug."

Deany Bean took two years to make, and for Volk it may be a transition to her next opportunities in Lala land.

"It is such a thrill to watch a project evolve from script to screen; every individual contribution is important and makes the project better," Volk said in a statement.

Watch the trailer of Deany Bean is Dead here.