Comic and Storyteller
Ash is a multiple Moth StorySLAM winner, 2026 Willamette Week’s Funniest Five, and 2025 Best of Portland Comedy finalist, known for her tall-yet-true stories shared on stages across the country.
Originally from Mississippi, Ash grew up as a critter-obsessed barefoot tomboy running through the woods. Her comedy and immersive storytelling are rooted in the red clay hills, kudzu-lined highways, and squirrel-infested thickets that she called home.
Ash’s work is both tender and feral, blending sharp comedy with emotional honesty.
She hosts Porch Hang, a weekly storytelling radio show with a killer soundtrack, and cohosts the monthly show ROY G BIV, highlighting the best queer comedy Portland—and beyond—has to offer.
Her first solo(ish) show, BACKFENCE Presents: Big Feelings Baby, premiered in March 2026 with three sold-out shows, and will next be performed at the 2026 Ashland Fringe Festival.
Big Feelings Baby
solo show
Big Feelings Baby is a one-hour solo (ish) storytelling show written and performed by Ash Allen about finding your inner howl and the courage to let it out.
Set in the Mississippi woods, the story follows a shirtless, barefoot tomboy whose first companions are squirrels and her loud, feral grandmother who lives up the road.
Through love, life, and loss, she learns that big feelings must be released—one howl at a time.
Only then can you find not just your pack, but yourself.
UPDATE: Opening Weekend sold out! Next chance to catch Big Feelings Baby is at the Ashland Fringe Festival, Saturday May 16.
WW’s Funniest 5
“In a city of transplants, Allen stands out as someone so uniquely Portland-coded it’s almost uncanny. It’s as if a caricature of a Portland lesbian walked off a page and onto a stage. But that twang is authentic, as is Allen’s simple folding of story and comedy to produce sets that are at once moving, revelatory and pants-pissingly hilarious.
Allen has a universal appeal disarming enough to cradle audiences large and small across the gender spectrum.” - Brianna Wheeler, Willamette Week, Feb 2026
KING TIDES 2027 COMING SOON
2026 KING TIDES
SOLD OUT
Kick off 2026 with Ash Allen and friends for a weekend of creativity and renewal at the Sou’wester Historic Lodge in Seaview, WA. The King’s Tide Storytelling Retreat (January 1–4, 2026) is invites you and nine others to immerse yourself in guided workshops, yoga, sauna sessions, a sound bath, and shared meals—all inspired by January’s rare King Tide, a natural moment of heightened reflection and creative release.
Just steps from the Pacific, the Sou’wester’s vintage charm sets the stage for rest, connection, and inspiration. Registration includes all meals, workshops, and activities, plus an exclusive artist lodging discount, shared after registration.
The weekend culminates in a storytelling showcase under the full moon in the historic lodge, where every participant is invited to share their story. A live band will follow the showcase.
