Conversations with Alexa Lowery

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexa Lowery.

Hi Alexa, 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 Ohio, and my journey into theatre and entertainment started at a young age. My mom was a pageant queen and encouraged me to get on stage and try community theatre, and I quickly fell in love with performing. I got my first agent at 16 with Pro-Model & Talent Management and went on to earn my BFA in Theatre from The Ohio State University.

After graduating with my Bachelor’s degree, I packed up and road-tripped across the country by myself to pursue my career as an actor in Los Angeles. I had always felt a connection to California because my dad was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and that is why I am still a die-hard 49ers fan to this day.

My journey in Los Angeles definitely wasn’t an overnight success story. When I first moved there, I couch-surfed, lived in my car, bartended, and took whatever work I could find while building my career & networking like crazy. Over the course of 11.5 years in Southern California, I eventually worked as a working actor, in casting, production, promotional modeling, and various other entertainment fields.

I eventually decided to go back to school and earned my Master’s degree in Performance Pedagogy from Loyola Marymount University. I also became a certified Intimacy Coordinator through IDC Professionals, which opened another avenue for me to combine my passion for theatre, advocacy, and education. I went on to work as an Adjunct Theatre Professor at Cal Lutheran, Mount San Antonio College, and LMU, while also working as an Intimacy Director on various theatre and film projects and continuing to audition and work as an actor.

After 11.5 years in Southern California, between environmental factors, family needs, and an unexpected long-distance relationship, I ultimately decided to move back to my hometown of Tiffin, Ohio, in September 2025.

Today, I work at Heidelberg University as a Transfer and Graduate Enrollment Counselor and as an Adjunct Theatre Professor. I still have my same commercial agent with Professionally Pretty in Los Angeles, and I continue to audition frequently.

My students and faculty joke that I brought “Hollywood to Heidelberg,” and I honestly love that. It feels really special to have spent more than a decade in Southern California building a career and gaining all of this experience, and now be able to bring that knowledge back to my hometown and share it with the next generation of young artists.

In a lot of ways, it feels like a full-circle moment. I left Ohio as a young theatre graduate with a dream of building a career in Los Angeles, and now I’ve come home with 11.5 years of professional experience, education, and stories that I can pour back into the students and artists here. I’m really grateful that my journey has given me the opportunity to experience both worlds.

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?
Definitely not! I don’t think any meaningful career or life journey is ever completely smooth, and mine certainly hasn’t been.

When I first moved to Los Angeles, I was young and very determined, but I didn’t have a roadmap. I was figuring everything out as I went. There were periods when I was couch surfing, living in my car, bartending, and taking whatever jobs I could while trying to establish myself as an actor. There were a lot of auditions that didn’t lead anywhere, jobs I didn’t get, and moments when I questioned whether I was actually going to be able to make the life I had envisioned for myself.

The entertainment industry also taught me a lot about rejection and resilience. You can work incredibly hard and still hear “no” over and over again. I had to learn not to allow a casting decision or someone else’s opinion to determine how I saw myself or the value of what I was capable of accomplishing.

There were also several points in my career where I had to be willing to reinvent myself. I started primarily as an actor, but I eventually found opportunities in casting, production, promotional modeling, education, and intimacy work. Going back to school for my Master’s degree while continuing to work was another major challenge and financially very expensive, but it ultimately opened doors I never could have anticipated when I first moved to LA.

And then, after spending 11.5 years building a life in Southern California, making the decision to move back to Ohio was its own kind of struggle. It can be difficult to feel like you’re moving backward when you’re actually making a decision that’s right for your life. I had to re-train my entire system to slow down and stop living life in the fast lane. I had built so much of my identity around being an actor and living in Los Angeles, so coming home required me to redefine what success looked like for me. I had to learn that slowing down didn’t mean boredom, it meant inner peace.

Looking back, though, I think the difficult parts of my journey have been just as important as the successes. Living through those uncertain seasons taught me how resourceful I am, how much I can handle, and how willing I am to start over when I need to. I don’t think I would be the educator, artist, or person I am today without those experiences.

I think that’s probably one of the biggest lessons I’ve taken from my journey: sometimes the path doesn’t look anything like what you imagined, but that doesn’t mean you’re off course. Sometimes you’re just being given the opportunity to build something different. Something stable and meaningful.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Today, my work really sits at the intersection of theatre, education, and entertainment. I currently work at Heidelberg University as a Transfer and Graduate Enrollment Counselor and Adjunct Theatre Professor. I teach theatre production and design, advanced on-camera, and work on university productions as Production Manager. I also continue to pursue my professional acting career through my representation with Professionally Pretty.

What I’m most proud of is the range of experience I’ve been able to bring into my work. I’ve experienced the entertainment industry from so many different perspectives—performing, casting, production, education, and intimacy work—and I think that gives me a unique ability to connect the professional world with the classroom. I truly am a “jill of all trades” but I found my niche.

My students and faculty joke that I brought “Hollywood to Heidelberg,” and I love that. What sets me apart is that I’m able to give students real-world insight while also encouraging them to think creatively about what their own careers can look like. There isn’t one right path in the arts, and I think my own career is a pretty good example of that.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Networking and finding amazing mentors and coaches is HUGE! I could not have gotten to where I am today without my friends, family, creative networks, professors, mentors, teachers, acting coach, life coach, psychiatrists, faculty, teammates, my partner, my spirituality, and most importantly my self-love and believe in myself. My advice is to use your resources and don’t ever be afraid to ask for help 🙂

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.imdb.me/alexalowery
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexxlowery
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexa.lowery.98/
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin/in/AlexaLowery3
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexalowery2023