Today we’d like to introduce you to Allen Mcbride
Hi Allen, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born and raised in Gainesville, FL and lived there the majority of my life. For as long as I could remember, I’ve always been singing, even at a very young age. My parents always used made the joke that I “Came out the womb singing”. I come from a musical and christian family with my father being a musician who used to direct the church choir as well as my mother and grandmother who used to be members and sing in the choir. At the time we couldn’t afford a baby sitter so my parents would always bring me with them to their choir rehearsals every Wednesday night. Those songs would always stick with me because I’d always end up humming those church songs the next day in Pre-K. Eventually, my music teacher at the time, Mrs. Gosia, heard me humming during school. I guess you could say she was the first person who really discovered me and my gift. She asked my parents for their permission to let me sing my first solo at our upcoming holiday concert. Thank God they said yes, because the rest is history from there and I’ve been singing non stop ever since. My love for acting came much later but still at a very young age. I was about 8 years old, and my mother took the initiative to sign me up for a summer program at a local performing arts middle school. I wasn’t very enthusiastic about acting at the time, especially going into this program, however my mother needed me to stay busy during the summer while she was working. I kicked, I screamed, I cried for about 2 weeks before the camp even started. Even threatened to “run away from home” if my parents forced me to go to this camp. Growing up I was a very energetic and dramatic child, however, if I can be honest, I was under the assumption that acting and theatre were not things that were made for someone like me. Being a male, especially an African American male, I believed the stigma that males should be into sports, going to the gym, or doing other manly activities. However, my thoughts changed drastically during my time at that camp after stepping onto the stage for the first time, doing my first show, and having the lights shine on my face while I bow in front of the audience as they clapped and cheered. I have to say I owe it all to my mother, because if it weren’t for her dragging me out of her van to that theatre camp, I wouldn’t have discovered my passion for acting. So, from there on I participated in every extra curricular activity that involved singing, acting, or both, including NAACP events, church, community theatre, gigs, and elementary school through high school performances. I performed in every musical in high school from Freshman to Senior year and was involved in many singing and acting competitions like Actors, Models, and Talents for Christ (AMTC) in 2016 to name a few. In 2021 I graduated with my Associates degree from Santa Fe College and after, decided to take a leap of faith and travel to NYC where I studied and graduated with a certificate of completion from Stella Adler School of Acting’s Musical Theatre Intensive in the summer of 2022. So much of me wishes I could’ve stayed. I could definitely see myself in NYC in the coming future, however, due to financial reasons I had to say goodbye to the city and return home, knowing that when the time comes, I’ll find myself back there eventually. I came back to Gainesville with no plan and no idea where to go from there. While being away, I realized that in order to get to where I want to be in life, it was time for me to move on from my hometown and branch out. The only question I had was where. Pondering and praying on what my next steps should be, my vocal coach and mentor at Santa Fe encouraged me to consider applying for SCAD. Fortunately, my best friend was studying there at the time and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot and apply. Come to now, I’m a Junior here at SCAD and have already accomplished so much within a year of being a student here. I’ve been in two main stage productions where I was given the opportunity to go on as the lead for the one of them, just finished shooting a passion project short film called The Last Sip, which marks my first official film debut, and recently have been accepted into SCAD Bee Sharps. With everything I’ve already accomplished, I hope and pray that more doors will continue to open as I continue to pursue this career.
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?
Not gonna lie, there were some challenges I had to face growing up, starting when I was in 2nd grade. I started developing pain in the heels of my feet, which made it hard to run and jump and play sports like my friends were doing. My parents eventually took me to a Podiatrist who then diagnosed me with Severs Disease, which is the separation of the heel plates. It was extremely painful and devastating to deal with at times, but honestly the most devastating thing about it was being told that I wouldn’t be able to play any flat-footed sports, especially soccer which is what I wanted to do before I found my love for acting. I had to deal with this longer than I had hoped for, but it eventually led me to Taekwondo which I fell in love with instantly. Now I know what you’re thinking “wait isn’t taekwondo a flat-footed sport as well?” Yeah it definitely is, but I felt like I had to do something instead of laying around doing nothing. It was a bumpy road though. I wasn’t allowed to break the wooden boards with my feet for about a year so they introduced me to an alternative method on how to break them without causing pain to my heels. It definitely helped relieve some of the pain but it was still painful at the end of the day. It didn’t stop me though, and I continued with taekwondo until I earned my Black belt.
Moving on to when I was about 10 years old, I had developed Neurological Tic’s which has to do with sudden, rapid movements of the body. For me it started with my neck twitching which then led to twitching in my wrist. Eventually, this developed into Tourettes Syndrome. I had to see a lot of specialist, was started on medication, and had to go to Behavioral Therapy for a while. I think the therapy helped the most as it gave me the tools and methods I could use to control the tic’s back then and currently. Still, it was another devastating time in my life. People started looking at me differently. In school I was almost ostracized because of it. You know being in school during your tween years, if you have the smallest issue everyone around you thinks there’s something wrong with you. Like you’re contagious. I can’t really blame them though, because for me it was a hard pill to swallow. Trying to get closer with girls during that time was pretty difficult. Most of them were kind, but you’d always find a few that would refuse to get close to me out of fear of getting “The Shakes”. There were times I wondered why I was this way or why I was so different from everyone else. As I got older, the tic’s became a part of life. Fortunately, they became less noticeable to me and others when I’d perform on stage, whether it was singing or acting. The doctors told me there was a possibility I’d outgrow them as I get older. I’m 24 years now, and the tic’s are still there, however, I’m continuing to learn how to control them in various ways.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m an aspiring singer and actor! I guess you can say Performing Arts is my profession to put it simply! Singing is my first love and it always has been, with my passion for acting coming not too long after. I do it because it encourages me to boost my spirit, and it brings me joy to bring joy to others. I recognize Performing Arts as a place where I can be myself without being judged. The stage is like a second home and where I feel most comfortable. Performing Arts to me stopped being a hobby and became the way I lived my life. Through singing, acting, dancing, etc. On top of that, I’m also a songwriter and I’ve been writing since I was young. I dealt with a lot growing up, and there was a point in my life where I actually stopped writing for a bit. I was never the best at expressing my feelings, and for some reason I guess I convinced myself that no one would want to listen or understand what I had to say. I was fortunate enough to have a great support system with people who helped me realize that if I can’t say it, the next best thing to do is to write about it. I started writing again during the pandemic and haven’t stopped since. I’ve been working on this one song for a while now and hopefully with the right resources and people, I’ll be able to share it with everyone soon. I’m most proud of how far I’ve come. I have a lot of dreams and goals I almost gave up on and I thank God everyday for helping me to keep pushing.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing I was a pretty energetic and dramatic kid. Which is fitting considering the career I want to go into. I’m the youngest of four even though it felt like I grew up as an only child at times. There’s a 9+ year age gap between my siblings and I, so by the time I was in elementary school my middle brother was already in High school and doing his own thing, as well as my other siblings who were grown and working in their careers. I was actually supposed to be a twin, however, my twin was lost in utero. My mom was told that she had miscarried me as well as my twin. They even scheduled her a D&C. Fortunately, the nurse had the feeling to check the ultrasound one last time, and better yet, she found a heartbeat. Since then my mom’s called me the “Miracle Child”. I was also a pretty loud child. My parents always knew how to find me because I was the loudest one on the playground in school. I would also sing to the top of my lungs every night when I should’ve been sleeping. My mom would get so irritated with me and dad would always say I had a song in my head I just needed to get out. The next day I would write lyrics to those songs in my little toy scribble pad and that’s where the songwriting started. I was also a HUGE nerd and I still am. I loved Power Rangers with a burning passion growing up and owned almost every single action figure Toy’s R Us had. I was OBSESSED! I even had a Power Rangers themed ATV. I have to say, despite all of the challenges I faced growing up, I was definitely blessed and had a memorable childhood.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.allenmcbrideofficial.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allenmcbride/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@allenmcbride
