Born in Sugarland, Texas, Allison Tolman earned a BFA in theatrical performance from Baylor University. After graduation, she moved to Dallas where she helped found and foster the independent ensemble based non-profit Second Thought Theatre while also learning that the whole being an adult thing is like, super hard. In 2009, she was accepted into Second City's Conservatory Training Program and later went on to write and perform sketch and satire with several groups throughout Chicago, most notably the monthly comedy podcast The City Life Supplement. Throughout her career, Tolman has played a veterinary receptionist, personal assistant, children's theatre teacher, vocal coach, phone sales associate, client services representative, and dog walker - never on film, but in her actual life in order to pay her rent and be able to afford more tank tops from Target than any human actually needs. Tolman lives in Chicago with a portly cat named Annie who enjoys staring at her blankly whenever there is a house centipede in the kitchen.
Improv training allows you to get out of your head a little bit and take,more risks, which is something I would like to continue to improve,upon.
Body-shaming is something I feel really strongly about. I think about my,niece, I think about my friends who have daughters being on the,Internet and reading these things, and it just makes me furious. It,makes me so angry.
I went to New York for the first time when I was in college for a school,trip and, uh, it did not appeal to me. It was too much hustle and,bustle.
I did a lot of commercial and theater work when I got out of school and,was living in Dallas, and I moved to Chicago to go through the Second,City Conservatory Program.
At 32, I kind of thought I was past the point where I was gonna get a,break that really changed my life overnight.
I worked for three years in a small IT firm in Chicago. I managed our,client base, so I translated into human speak for our technicians. But,our company was sold, and the atmosphere and the culture really,changed, so I quit without having anything else lined up.
