10/16/2026
A letter from the daughter of love...
When you grow up with a mother like Lynn Stallings and a father like Don Stallings, who both allow you the freedom to be exactly who you are, with safe spaces to make mistakes, along with an abundance of joy, every day is remarkable! In all honesty, it took me a while to learn that my upbringing, and the outpouring of love and kindness that filled my home and creative spaces, is not necessarily the norm in all spaces and that, I do not take that for granted.
Yes, they are both incredibly talented human beings who have shaped the careers and lives of literally thousands of students of all ages...but outside all of that, what I saw was LOVE. Love for each other, love for their family, and love for every person that enters their world.
Lynn, fantabulous Lynn, created the Atlanta Workshop Players as a creative hub for kids in 1981 to foster artistic growth, earn them professional credits, and foster deep human connection.
I am who I am today because of AWP and the legacy of Lynn Stallings. Together, Lynn and Don created a home away from home for everyone who needed it...even when students didn't know they needed it. Even when I didn't know I needed it.
Believe it or not, I was a shy child, with no interest in performing yet I was always welcomed with love in every rehearsal, camp session, and show by the teams and students they brought together. Until one day, I realized that I too could tell stories just like my remarkable parents. Just like the other kids they provided stages to. I could make a difference through art...be anything, I could even be a 'cat' any time I pleased! (And that was, and still is, incredibly important to me...being a cat).
At 10-years old, I met my "brother" Aaron Kaplan at AWP's summer camp. A fellow creative with a weird streak who was allowed to use cuss words, had an affinity for Star Wars, and a booming voice that echoed through every room with immense joy. Now many years later (not telling anyone exactly how many), Aaron and I have been through every phase of life together. At 10-years-old, we declared ourselves "certified weirdos". Side-by-side we discovered the world through the awkward teen years, first loves, and first heartbreaks. Living together in NYC, losing jobs, losing loved ones, finding ourselves, and Aaron even nursed my double inner and outer ear infection that required the administration of ear drops every hour on the hour so I didn't lose my hearing. You think it, we've been through it...together.
This type of love and connection is not unique to me...but happens year after year for countless people at AWP. There are endless stories like this, 45 years' worth of stories. Now as I get older and watch our 10-year-old students find their "Aaron Kaplan", I weep because I know where that friendship can lead. This is where people find their people. This is home. This is LOVE.
This magic doesn't just happen every day. It takes loving people coming together, inviting more loving people, and building a community that pours out its love just as Lynn and Don have done year after year.
I often flip flop between calling my parents, "Lynn" and "Don" and "Mom" and "Dad" because we have both a familial and working relationship. But you know what? The number of friends in my life who also refer to my parents as "Mom" and "Dad" shows me just how important it is to lead with LOVE. To be the safe space for all those that you encounter, we don't always know what is going on with somebody beneath the surface. It is not our duty to dissect, it is our gift to love. From day one, Lynn and Don have taught me, and thousands of others, to love first and always offer support.
They are my parents. They are my friends' parents. They are strangers' parents. They are LOVE. They are AWP.
This year marks 45 years of AWP. 45 years of an outpouring of LOVE. And I think it's time we celebrate the magic that they have invited us into so that generations to come, can find their Aaron Kaplan too.
With an abundance of love and gratitude,
Ashlyn Stallings
Please join us in celebrating 45 years of creativity and love: https://awp.tix.page/e/awp-45th-gala
Can't attend in person? Please consider a tax-deductible donation or bid on an auction item to support future creatives for generations to come: https://givebutter.com/c/AWP-Gala-45
