Biography
Ponda Frost is an L.A.-based actor, filmmaker and dancer from Nashville, TN. Her credits include the feature film "Holy Ghost People", the ABC-TV series "Nashville", the FX movie "Outlaw Country", the award-winning short film "Autumn Lovers", and the Luke Bryan music video "Crash My Party". She wrote and directed "The Ripple Effect", which premiered at Nashville's Artlightenment Film Festival in November 2014. It won two awards: Best First-Time Director, and a People's Choice Award (2nd Place) for Best Film. "The Ripple Effect" was selected for the Kansas City Film Festival in 2015.
Frost is also a film editor, a dance teacher/choreographer, and a seasonal park ranger. She is co-president of Couchville Lake Productions, a Nashville-based film production company. She has previously worked as a university biology instructor.
In 2011, Frost made her acting debut on the FX movie "Outlaw Country", playing a rabid fan of singer Anastasia Lee (Mary Steenburgen). The movie also starred Haley Bennett, John Hawkes, Michael Rooker and Luke Grimes. Later in 2011, Frost appeared in the feature film "Lukewarm", starring John Schneider and Bill Cobbs. Other work by Frost in 2011 included: the Song of David music video "One Step"; the music reality series "Only the Best"; principal actor on a commercial for Tennessee Cabling; appearing on Nashville's "Rockabilly Rock and Blues" radio show; and starring in the award-winning PSA "Plant A Tree In Tennessee" for Tennessee State Parks.
In early 2012, Frost appeared in the feature-length film "Changing Seasons", starring Dan Cortese and Beverley Mahood. She then landed the lead role in the film "Still Life", which was shot in Nashville. Her other films in 2012 included "Living In Sin", "The Watcher", "Cyclical Effect", "Althea", "Pretty Girls Make Graves", "Sadness of Reality", "The Haircut", and "Holy Ghost People", which made its world premiere at Austin's SXSW Festival in March 2013.
In October of 2012, Frost made her debut on the ABC-TV series "Nashville". She portrayed a dancer in the seventh episode of the series, which stars Connie Britton, Hayden Panettiere and Powers Boothe. She later made another appearance in episode nine.
Frost's 2013 films included "Nothing Is Funny, Everything Is Sad", "Change of Art", "Apophenia", and "Pondita: the Wandering Witch of the Glades". She also landed a co-starring role in the web series "Mr. Frost" and was featured in the Luke Bryan video "Crash My Party".
In October 2013, Frost made her stage debut in Nashville in the Lakewood Theatre production of "The Beverly Hillbillies". One month later she portrayed Ranger Rita in the web series "Nature Time with Ranger Rita".
In November 2013, two films in which she played the lead -- "Wildcat From Outer Space" and "Autumn Lovers" -- premiered at the Artlightenment Film Festival in Nashville, TN. "Autumn Lovers" earned second place in the festival's People's Choice Awards. Frost also served as a producer on both films.
In 2014, Frost began studying improv at the legendary Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles. In addition to writing, directing and starring in "The Ripple Effect", her other film appearances in 2014 included "The Portal" and "The Rock Stacker," both of which she co-produced.
