Ashley Jonesis no stranger to a film set.
She filmed her first commercial at the age of 5 and has been onstage or set ever since.
She’s been nominated for two Emmy awards for her work on “The Young and the Restless.”
For the first time ever, Ashley brings her wide range of experiences to a new role: Director.
Her new movie, “The Secret Lives of College Escorts,” is her directorial debut.
It’s a little bit of a morality tale.
It’s fun."
Filmed during COVID restrictions, Ashley and her crew worked had to keep filming on schedule.
Her Directorial Debut
Have you always wanted to direct?
No matter what time I left, they were still there.
I’m like, “Who would ever want to do something like that?
I just want to be an actress.”
You evolve, and you grow up, and you learn who handles the strings of everything.
I was curious about the other side of the camera.
What was the best part of directing and what was the worst?
The best part was working with the writer of the script and the actors … That’s where the real magic, I feel, happens.
The worst part is dealing with budgets.
COVID was a real issue.
It took up a lot of our time to test every morning.
Honestly, every single day was some sort of an issue.
We had these COVID counselors to help us keep it straight.
It informed a lot of how I talked to the actors and communicated with them.
Sometimes you need very little for actors and then sometimes you should probably actually give them something.
Sometimes, it’s simply like, “You were brilliant.
Sometimes, it’s very technical.
You want to listen and react.
Whatever it is, you learn from every [experience.]
It was like, “Okay, this was valuable.”
There’s value in everything if you want to find it.
It’s not really a story of female empowerment, but in another way it is.
It’s about not being taken advantage of.
The irony of the whole thing is the mastermind behind it all is a woman.
It’s not like it’s men taking advantage of her.
It’s an interesting take on the whole thing.
It’s learning to trust your own intuition and what your own moral compass is.
What feels right and what feels wrong?
When something doesn’t feel right, question it.
It’s okay as a female.
You don’t have to go along with whatever your boss says.
Within reason and in a respectful way, question it.
If you are getting all the red flags that this isn’t right, it’s probably not right.
There’s some life lessons in this.
Is there a connection here to your work with the charity Our Daughters International?
And that’s the exact concept of the girls in this movie.
She comes from a single mom, and it’s a very similar story.
She’s not living in poverty.
Human trafficking is happening all over the world in different ways.
It’s happening on social media with our youth.
It’s happening in colleges.
It’s happening on dating apps.
Tell me about “What Happened To My Sister?”
[In] the last couple of movies I’ve done, I haven’t necessarily played the protagonist.
I don’t want to give anything away, but she’s definitely not the protagonist in the movie.
She would be the villain in the morality tale.
It’s about deep sorority connections and really wanting [success].
I don’t want to give too much away because it is a fun movie to watch!
All of these movies …
There’s part of them that’s slightly devastating.
It’s not that kind of movie, but there’s a thriller aspect.
It makes you ask, “Wait, who did this, and why would that person do that?
There’s got to be a motivation behind it.”
Did you spend a lot of time doling out advice?
What advice would you give a newer actor?
There’s downtime on sets and they’re turning around on lighting, or they’re figuring out shots.
I was in this room with a bunch of very young new actors and actresses.
They’re really young, and they’re already so far ahead of the game.
They’re really talented, and you’re able to sense their work ethic.
The main question they asked was, “When do I move to LA?”
There’s no right or wrong answer to this throw in of stuff.
My main answer was if you are already working in Texas or Alabama or Oklahoma, stay put.
I’m like, “You’re working right now!
Why don’t you stay until you feel like it’s necessary?”
I learned a lot from them, too.
It’s nice to look at that and be reminded of that.
I wanted to see the monitor a little bit more.
I was curious how she was setting up the shots.
I was very aware of more details.
I was so aware of angles and lighting because I had seen that so much as a director.
I could feel when it wasn’t working and I could feel when it did work.
you could’t help but become a little bit more involved in the whole process.
What’s next on the schedule?
Imagine you have a free Friday night.
How would you spend your time?
I did find myself with a free Friday night recently.
There’s always some event.
There’s always so much going on.
What is next on your agenda?
They’re not solidified yet so I can’t say them.
I’ve been talking toHeather Tomfrom “The Bold and the Beautiful.”
We’re basically the same age, but she’s paved the way a little bit.
She started soaps before I did.
There’s always new things I want to do to stretch and I’m always learning.
“The Secret Lives of College Escorts” premieres tonight at 8:00 p.m. ETon LMN.
“What Happened To My Sister?”
premieres on September 23 on the same channel.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
