@ashleyematthews

?✨️

2025-06-19

Because nothing says “mid life crash out” like planning a last-minute birthday shoot to prove you’re thriving while quietly unraveling. [In a✨️FUN✨️way] Turning 35 felt… layered. Like a cake. Or an identity crisis. Or a Sondheim piece [sharps, flats, dissonance, weird alto parts- all if it]. So I staged my own one-woman production—equal parts glamour, delulu, and frosting—and obviously, we needed production stills. Basically: Bobbie from Company, but with fewer dinner parties and 11 o'clock numbers and more sugar crashes. Huge thanks to @petriephotos —one of my favorite humans, a great friend, and an insanely good photographer who always just gets me. He captured the chaos, the softness, the drama, and the cake. The cats. All of it. Wearing @lidee_woman Jewels by @swarovski & @cartier Shoes: @jessicasimpsonstyle Hair & makeup by me (soft glam meets “I’m tired”) Styled by me @ashleysclosetnyc Shot at @petriephotos studio

2025-06-19

?✨️ @petriephotos

2025-06-19

PACIFIC OVERTURES- East West Players The Play. [Musical] This may truly have been one of the "biggest" shows I've ever been in- in every sense of the word. The costumes, the cosume CHANGES (about a dozen a piece), the music, the reception, the buzz, the bigness was truly felt. This show is so rarely done and what a shame that is, its message is evergreen and its relevance somehow always timely. But more importantly- it's puts an Asian story (a REAL story at that) its perspective and Asian experience front and center. No white savior trope (in fact, daringly for the time it was written- it's quite the opposite.) What a rarity that is in this artform and business. I feel like I am now a member of a very VERY exclusive club that is fortunate who have gotten to experience this work and understand it and who have had the immense privilege to share it with others. The conversation this show has opened up around me with audiences surrounding very important topics- imperialism, colonialism, exploitation, white supremacy, challenging racial bias and trope, tradition vs modernization and why...and more, the audiences who came to see this show came ready to lean in, dissect, reflect, engage, learn and THINK. In a business that is ever increasingly catering/pandering to commercial audiences and tastes, sacrificing soul for fluff, sparkle or flash, swapping inviting audiences to think and be challenged for simply being entertained we had an amazing and now increasingly rare opportunity to have a show that sparked these feelings and conversations, that accomplished art and soul and entertainment all in one. How lucky we are. How grateful to the audiences and reviewers who made that possible. How important it is to keep producing works like this, lift them up, and lift up companies like East West Players who uplift and champion the AAPI artistic experience and opportunity, to continue showing why art like This is the art we are all in need of as a community. Everyday felt like a new exploration. A new opportunity to dive deeper and to think larger. It was like the most artistically and soul fulfilling playground to play in. And did we ever play. We Float. ?

2024-12-10

PACIFIC OVERTURES- EAST WEST PLAYERS The Process This was by far, the hardest yet most artistically and culturally fulfilling experiences of my theatrical career. This show is mind blowingly ambitious and difficult. Our version even more so. The craft and dedication that went into creating this world bring me to tears even thinking about it. The attention to detail this team mindfully prioritized shines through- and the work this company did to do it justice even more so. For Western theatre standards this score is one of Sondheim's most difficult- and we added in an entirely different element: traditional Kabuki theater taught by a Japanese Kabuki expert. As a company we took on learning a new language- one that takes decades and lifetimes of dedication and discipline to master. One that is so extremely different from what we know- from the movements of our body in ways that our bodies wanted to battle, to even having to adjust our instincts and reframe how we approached thoughts and speech, traditional makeup,All mixed in with some of Sondheim's hardest music in a very brisk rehearsal process. This wasn't easy. Nor was it a breeze or without its many challenges due to the reality of the amount of work this mantle we took on asked of us. We had to do it. We had to do it well. We had to do it with respect and reverence. We had to acknowledge how sacred this practice & culture is to so many people and we were being entrusted with it. People were waiting for this show. The stress was large at times. There was more than one occasion I was not sure I could do it and do it with the justice and skill it required. But what strikes me over and over again: is we did it. We made it through one of the most technically challenging rehearsal periods I've ever experienced or witnessed- and we succeeded. The level of craft, dedication, creativity, talent, collaboration, willingness, drive, compassion and sheer ability this company had to make it happen is awe inspiring. The things I learned in this process and from those around me will stay with me forever. The level of awe I am of this company for moving mountains and bringing this incredible piece to life- its legendary.

2024-12-10

PACIFIC OVERTURES- EAST WEST PLAYERS The People. Anyone who's been fortunate enough to A.) Be Asian in theatre and B.) Get to be in an "Asian cast" knows one thing to be true: it's different. And- there WILL be snacks. Experiencing being in an AAPI/API Cast and company in western theatre is something hard to describe and difficult to articulate, yet so visceral and real to anyone who has felt it. There is instant community, Instant family, an automatic unspoken understanding and relation of our life and industry experiences, instant connection and acceptance. It's a space that feels, in your very bones and soul: safe. It's not a space where you have to explain customs or feel nervous about bringing curry or hot pot to pot luck or lunch, it's not a space where you need to explain your traumas and lived experiences to ears that cannot grasp the reality they've never lived, nor is it a space where you have to hide or change to adapt or assimilate. It's a space where, at the most base level: we understand each other, relate to each other, and because of that- want to nurture and experience each other in the way we've never been able to in other spaces as safely. And this group, this FAMILY, this tribe...it's another level of different. This group, this powerful, resilient, ultra talented, caring, loving, intelligent, creative, funny, emotional, foodie, gentle, fierce, hard working, and more descriptors than I can list of a group...they've changed me. They've changed LA Theater. These people are irreplaceable, remarkable and treasures that this world could not do without- each and every one of them I hope every artist gets a chance to be in a space with a family this strong, this safe, and this mind blowingly talented and nurturing just once in their careers...the art that environment creates is unmatched, but the family it forges and the levels of the heart and soul it opens is forever.

2024-12-10

It's not a cliché- Paris is *always* a good idea. Pt.3 It's an even better idea to spontaneously go with your best friend and laugh like you haven't laughed in years, so hard you add new smile lines to your face. Part of me has always thought I was supposed to be French in another life- until then, I will just rejoice that there are cities this wonderfully beautiful, full of people charming beyond words, and who love to prioritize the *good* butter and meat cooked bleu, and dry humor like I do, and think life should be slow and meaningful & shared over a good meal and affordable champagne ?❤️?? *I am however accepting applications from financially stable single french men who would love to expatriate American women back to France ??

2024-08-26

It's not a cliché- Paris is *always* a good idea. Pt.2 It's an even better idea to spontaneously go with your best friend and laugh like you haven't laughed in years, so hard you add new smile lines to your face. Part of me has always thought I was supposed to be French in another life- until then, I will just rejoice that there are cities this wonderfully beautiful, full of people charming beyond words, and who love to prioritize the *good* butter and meat cooked bleu, and dry humor like I do, and think life should be slow and meaningful & shared over a good meal and affordable champagne ?❤️??

2024-08-26

It's not a cliché- Paris is *always* a good idea. Pt.1 It's an even better idea to spontaneously go with your best friend and laugh like you haven't laughed in years, so hard you add new smile lines to your face. Part of me has always thought I was supposed to be French in another life- until then, I will just rejoice that there are cities this wonderfully beautiful, full of people charming beyond words, and who love to prioritize the *good* butter and meat cooked bleu, and dry humor like I do, and think life should be slow and meaningful & shared over a good meal and affordable champagne ?❤️??

2024-08-26