All About Ali

ALI MacLEAN

Ali MacLean is an award winning writer, performer and on air personality who hails from Boston. Ali attended Miami University of Ohio where she won a scholarship to the La Jolla Playhouse Conservatory to study with Tony Award winner Des McAnuff.  Upon moving to Los Angeles, she began studying improv at the acclaimed Groundlings Theatre under the tutelage of FRIENDS star Lisa Kudrow.  Ali’s acting credits include THE JIMMY KIMMEL SHOW, HBO’s MR. SHOW with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross, CAN’T HARDLY WAIT, KILLER BUD, STARKWEATHER and BREAK A LEG. Her writing credits include MTV’s BUZZKILL, WEB RIOT, HEAD TRIP, BLAME GAME, KATHY GRIFFIN’S SO CALLED REALITY, BIG URBAN MYTH SHOW, and VH1’s sketch show RANDOM PLAY. Ali then went on to create the MTV series TOWN MAUL and write for a season of MTV2’s updated version of CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH.

Ali’s on air personality was launched at Miami University where she co-hosted the WMSR radio show JUNK ROCK which led to an on air gig as a veejay for the cable show PROGRESSIVE VISIONS. Her days as an alternative music veejay, coupled with her days at the corporate rock conglomerate MTV, led her to spoof the genre in the short film MEDIA WHORE, featuring Coolio, John Doe and Taye Diggs. MEDIA WHORE was selected to screen at festivals in Toronto, Palm Springs, Atlanta, Victoria, Maryland, New York’s Gen Art series and earned Ali a Best Actress nomination at the Method Festival in the spring of 2002.  MEDIA WHORE was optioned by Saturday Night Live producers as a television pilot she wrote for Broadway Video. Ali was on air on THE MANVERSATION, hosted by talk show host, Greg Behrendt. She also was the voice (and brains) behind INDIE 103.1 FM’s GIG GUIDE WITH ALI MACLEAN and went on to work on air at Sirius, Vlaze TV, Music + TV, Urb TV, Antiquiet and Little Radio.

Ali wrote and starred in the critically acclaimed play TALES OF A BLEAKNIK, which ran for three years at the HBO Workspace in Los Angeles. She has adapted her hit play as a screenplay feature entitled ALICE IN CHAINS, which went on to become a Chesterfield Writer’s Project semi-finalist and an IFP Filmmakers Program finalist.

Ali participated in the SF 2010 Sketchfest where she was part of the live TV pilot taping JOKEOKE at the PURPLE ONION. Her performance there garnered her a standing ovation from Robin Williams. She recently created and hosted the new COMEDY TIME pilot WOMEN WANT TO KNOW and also created the show HEAVY PETTING. Her directorial debut, DJ INTERVENTION, which she also wrote, was handpicked by FUNNY OR DIE and put on their home page.

Ali most recently worked on season two of THE GREEN ROOM with PAUL PROVENZA for Showtime Networks.  She writes for Michael Ian Black’s Witstream, which, in conjunction with Comedy Central, does live comedy tweeting entitled: TWEET THE PRESS. Ali currently blogs for HUFFINGTON POST. Her musings on Hollywood can be read in THE AMERICAN DREAM published by NATION BOOKS. Her wildly popular Crazewire column, SETS IN THE CITY is being adapted into a novel.

She is also currently mounting a stage adaptation of MEDIA WHORE.

Video clips can be found at http://www.youtube.com/aliontheair

Or follow Ali on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/aliontheair