Life & Work with Alie Stewart of East

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alie Stewart.

Hi Alie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I grew up on an orchard, always barefoot with dirt under my fingernails and chicken sh*t between my toes. When I wasn’t outside, I was writing plays on the avocado-green shag carpet in my room. I would include multiple characters that my sister and I acted out during family gatherings. I forced everyone to sit and watch the whole thing. In 8th grade, I took a field trip to New York City and Europe. New York was my favorite. Europeans were interesting but stuffy; Newyorkers were courageous and funny. From then on, I manifested to live in New York one day and be just as powerful, well-dressed and cutting as the women I met.

In my early 20’s, my wish came true, and I was still telling stories. I had graduated from San Francisco State, stoned and naive, with a degree in Cinema. I was determined to become a tv producer and live in a brownstone. I worked my butt off. I came up in a time when it was still okay to work for free, and men unapologetically and inappropriately dominated everything. It took me about 2 years of internships to finally find an actual paying job at a reality-tv production company. I wasn’t telling “real” stories exactly, but I knew that authenticity was my thing, and this was a step closer to that. It was an exciting but brutal climb to get to where I got – but I was relentless and wanted to prove something to certain somebodies. Anger and insecurities can get you far fast in that industry; however, I also loved what I did and was genuinely good at it. My expertise became development producing for documentary series television. What does this mean? It means I would work with teams to research real stories. Format them into profitable television shows that fit with network mandates to pitch to big guys like Netflix, National Geographic, HBO, Amazon, Hulu, History Channel, The Food Network, Vice, etc. If the show sold, I would sometimes see the series through. Sometimes working on the Pilot or even the first season. I was the one that opened doors and launched things.

I still like to do that. Eventually, I was lucky enough to be nominated for an Emmy for a docu-series I produced on Netflix. I took my mom. Sitting on those plush seats, I knew that chapter of my life was done. I felt accomplished and proud, but my body knew I needed to change. I started my own consulting company and stayed in the industry; however one foot was always out the door. Years later, I was on a flight to Nashville. I had never been before. I sat next to a woman with who I struck up a conversation. She offered me a job I couldn’t refuse, so I took a leap, changed my whole life, and moved to Nashville. That was in February of 2020.

The tornado and pandemic completely changed things, I no longer had that job, and while sitting on my hands in isolation, I knew it was time to do the hard something and change my career. My interest, currently, is in events and creating a niche community. I hustle, start over, produce small shows, and throw fundraisers. However, “event,” I feel, is a stale word. I want to take what I’ve learned in the documentary format and insert it into gatherings where real people tell real stories on a stage or showcase art influenced and expressed with raw life experiences as a common thread. Nashville is so soulful and full of talent. It is a perfect time and ripe environment to foster something incredible.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’ve always sought after the grey area in documentaries. I feel they are the juiciest and strongest stories. So when your career is a big duality, both horrible and great at the same time, you live in that grey area. It may be a struggle, but it’s also a beautiful thing. The biggest struggles in my career were some of the men I had to work for. I would get this incredible opportunity to work for someone huge to meet that person then and be deeply disappointed. So I got fired often. I was a whistleblower, likely questioning authority, and I still do not know how to write an email in a corporate setting. I was loved by some and deeply disliked by others. The inauthenticity, manipulation of other human beings, and fake personalities also got to me. It was commonplace to be overworked and underpaid. If a person did find a hefty salary and a nice work/life balance, the expectations got to a Game-of-Thrones-Level in which one little whisper in a dark hallway would mean your head.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m an entrepreneur and a storyteller. My focus is currently on creating events inspired by real life. I have a residency at the Barbershop Theater titled Never Sent, where people step up to a microphone to read texts, emails, or letters they’ve never had the guts to send. I also create and host fundraisers. A recent one was for the children of Ukraine affected by the war with Fait La Force Brewery and Il Forno called Nashville Arts for Ukraine. It held poetry, a pop-up gallery, and a night full of incredible music. On the side, I run my creative consulting company, Ragana. In the works are two shows Clit/Tips: a modern version of The Vagina Monologues & Gay Church: a joyful celebration of queer life in the format of your typical Sunday Church with a friend and creative partner, Ryan Allen Gray.

What characteristic of yours would you give the most credit if you had to?
A good sense of humor, the ability to think on your feet, flexibility, and true blue pals in your corner

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.raganacreative.com/
• Instagram: aliestew & never__sent & gay__church

Image Credits
Bexx Chin for the photo with the orange background Hector Rivera for Black and white photo of gallery event Tiffany Bessire for Never Sent stage photo