From Lasers to Lights: Allie Clancy

Communications major Allie Clancy ‘20 spent four years as a Laser before going into film and television. Photo courtesy of Allie Clancy

After heading to star-studded Los Angeles for her first college tour, Allie Clancy (‘20) realized her heart still belonged to the east coast. Her passion for the glitz and glamor of show business that LA provided, however, was still there. Once she stepped off the track for the last time as a Laser, it was time to head to The Big Apple to pursue her dreams of working in the entertainment industry.

Growing up in Beverly, Massachusetts, Clancy discovered her passion for working behind the scenes during a high school elective. In her senior year, she was recruited by the track and field team after competing in the school’s powderpuff football game. She then decided to take these two new passions and continue her education and athletic career as a Laser.

“I remember looking around at the environment, and I felt like I just really fit in there,” Clancy said, reminiscing on her first campus tour. “It kinda hit on what I wanted to study, the kind of people I wanted to meet, and the kinds of things I wanted to do.”

Competing on the track and field team all four years, serving as captain her senior year, some of Clancy’s best memories come from her time with the squad. “The memories that stick out to me the most are being awake at six in the morning and doing really hard workouts,” Clancy said. “I remember those the most because I think they made me grow the most and made me more capable to do harder things after college.”

Ben Biello, head coach of cross country and track and field, was still running on the team while Clancy served as captain. “She helped build a team that was accepting and open to any and all people who wanted to join the team - no matter their talent,” Biello said. “She showed me what it really meant to be a captain and a leader.” Clancy described Biello as “passionate” and felt he would be a good coach.

Sprinter Allie Clancy spent four years on the track and field team, three as a captain. Photo courtesy of Allie Clancy

Eventually, the time came for Clancy to take off the spikes and head to the workforce. Once the COVID-19 pandemic started to slow down, Clancy took her lessons from track and headed to the concrete jungle of New York City. For her first on-set job, Clancy worked for HBO as a COVID-19 Production Assistant on shows like “The Gilded Age” and the “Sex and the City” reboot. In this role, Clancy monitored and enforced COVID-19 protocols for the cast and crew.

For season two of “The Gilded Age,” Clancy became the Office Production Assistant. Here she learned the ins and outs of working in a production office while also working with some of HBO’s directors, producers, and executives.

“The HBO executive level of people, they’re all really really supportive of helping the younger assistants learn, and they all really care. So it’s a good company to get in with,” Clancy said.

Now that her time with HBO has ended, Clancy is ready to make her next move in show business.

“The next step I wanna take is to become either a producer’s assistant or executive assistant,” said Clancy. With these steps in place, she hopes to one day see herself as an executive producer or a showrunner of a production. With her experience on set, in the production office, and her background in track and field, it is safe to say that one day Allie Clancy will quite literally be running the show.