How it Began…
Introducing AK (Alyssa Keegan)
Empowered Performer Project Creator, Developer and Owner
AK (Alyssa Keegan) spent twenty-five years as a professional stage and screen actor before they understood what was really driving them — not simply ambition, but a relentless dissatisfaction that no performance or opportunity could fill. Industry narratives like “the show must go on” shaped a culture they absorbed without question, leading to burnout, porous boundaries, and coping habits they had come to accept as normal. It wasn’t until the pandemic, when the demands of performing suddenly lifted, that they recognized what they’d been calling resilience was actually emotional suppression. That clarity became a turning point. In 2020, they began training as a mental health coach — slowly building the nervous system literacy, somatic awareness, and trauma-informed self-understanding that had been missing from their life and, they suspected, from the lives of countless other artists who had quietly left the industry because participating felt too costly.
That personal reckoning became the foundation of the Empowered Performer Project. Having served over 600 clients, and counting, as a ICF Professional Certified mental health coach with Lyra Health, AK has the opportunity to support a diverse client base across the country rooted in evidence based therapeutic modalities. They merged their particular skills as an actor, and dancer to develop a type of character analysis to their approach to clients all rooted in these same mental and somatic therapies. This has given them a rare 360-degree perspective on how people and systems actually function and how that can be applied within the performing arts — grounded in both the data and the lived experience behind it. Their signature EPP Method and Spectrum Method give performers immediately usable nervous system tools that hold up in the moments that matter most: tough conversations, high-stakes performance, career demands, and the ongoing negotiation of work/life balance.
Theater artists, leaders, and educators trust their work because it’s science-backed and human-centered in equal measure — practical, portable, and proven. When performers can advocate for themselves with clarity and embodied confidence, they don’t just survive the industry; they help transform it.
Empowered Performers — artists with agency, boundaries, embodied consent, and an unwavering belief that wellbeing is not negotiable.
Client Reviews
“The safe space workshop with AK was a great experience. Learning how to release to yourself so you can allow yourself to grown and feel more at peace with yourself is definitely a big takeaway from the day.”
-Genesis N.
AK is my hero. They helped me through the darkest time in my life and saw me to the brightest! I am forever grateful for successfully completing this journey with them as my coach!
-Grey S.
“AK is the best coach/ mental health professional I’ve ever worked with. They are open, reflective, kind and comes with a real heart for people. They teach really amazing techniques that go beyond the surface things I’ve found with therapists.”
-Hampton L.
Resumes
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SPECIALITY
As a coach, I specialize in empowering and supporting clients to tap into security within themselves as a foundation for personal and professional success. By utilizing somatic and nervous system awareness, as well as traditional therapeutic modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment therapy and Dialectic Behavior Therapy I help individuals create agency and momentum in their own lives. Creator of The Empowered Performer Project which seeks to support the unique mental and emotional needs of performing artists by teaching them how to step into and out of performance safely through the use of somatic therapy and mind/body education.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Fresh Path NY: (Oct 2020-2023)
Responsibilities include life and relationship coaching for individuals and couples. I also created blogs and social media live events around ethical non-monogamy, polyamory and the benefits of coaching for all people.
-Whole Person Coaching Method
-Trauma Informed Coach
-Somatic Attachment Therapy
Public Speaking Coaching (2021-present)
Responsibilities include coaching high ranking Diplomats and Ambassadors at the Foreign Service Institute at the US State Department in public speaking techniques
-Basics of Public Speaking and Techniques of Effective Communication.
Lyra Health (Jan 2023-Present)
Responsibilities include supporting clients with mild to moderate anxiety/depression/stress to better understand their current patterns of thinking and behaving that lead to a decrease in wellbeing, and teach tools of mindfulness, body/emotional awareness, thinking traps, values, communication, boundaries, and acceptance.
EDUCATION
Coach Training World (ACTP ICF Accredited program)
-International Coaching Federation Credentialed
-Associate Coaching Certification
-Professional Coaching Certification
-Certified Professional Whole Person Coach ACTP, CPC, WPCC,
-Trauma Informed Coach
The Embody Lab
-60hr Somatic Attachment Therapy Certification
-Internal Family Systems Level 1,2,3 Certification
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FILM/TELEVISION
NEW AMSTERDAM Co-Star NBC
LAW & ORDER: SVU Co-Star NBC
BULL Co-Star CBS
KRINGLE TIME Daphne Deep Structure Productions
LAST STRKE Elaine ALPA Mutimedia
CAPE CIVILIAN Mary Charade LLC
DICOVERY CHANNEL PSA Principle WILL interactive/Dir. Skip Schwink
THE CHALLENGE Danniel Emmerson
THEATER
INHERIT THE WIND (Winter 2026) E.K. Hornbeck Arena Stage/Dir. Ryan Guzzo Purcell
TWELFTH NIGHT Orsino, Folger Theatre/Dir Mei Ann Teo
SCENARIOS Patricia, Studio Theatre/Dir Tiffany Nichole Green
WORKING Delores, Grace, Terry, The Labor Heritage Foundation/Dir. Shanara Gabrielle
SHIPWRECK Teresa, Wooly Mammoth Theatre Company/Dir. Saleem Ali
VANITY FAIR George,Lesser Pitt, Briggs and others, Shakespeare Theatre Company/Dir. Jessica Stone/American Conservatory Theatre/Dir. Jessica Stone
HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE Lil’Bit, Round House Theatre/Dir. Amber McGinnis
GLORIA Gloria/Nan, Woolly mammoth Theatre Company/Dir. Kip Fagan
BOTICELLI IN THE FIRE Clarice, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company/Dir. Marti Lyons
DIGGING UP DESSA Esther, Kennedy Center/Dir. Rives Collins
THE RETURN HER, Mosaic Theatre/Dir. John Vreeke
FICKLE: A FANCY FARCE Flaminia, Olney Theatre Center/Dir. Eleanor Holdridge
COME FROM AWAY** Bonnie, Ford’s Theatre/Dir. Christopher Ashley
CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF * Maggie, Round House Theatre/ Dir. Mitch Hebert
BAD DOG Abby, Olney Theatre Center/Dir. Jeremy Cohen
THE NIGHT FAIRY. Raccoon/Spider, Imagination Stage/Dir. Jeremy Skidmore
RICHARD III Lady Anne, Folger Shakespeare Theatre/ Dir. Robert Richmond
LATE: A COWBOY SONG Red, No Rules Theatre Co./ Dir. Rex Daugherty
THE CONTAINER. Mariam, Baltimore Center Stage/ Dir. Johanna Gruenhut
BECKY SHAW Suzanna Round House Theatre/Dir. Patricia McGregor
CONTRACTIONS Emma, Studio Theatre/Dir. Duncan MacMillian
THE HISTORY OF INVULNERABILITY Lois Lane/Jolan, Theatre J/Dir. Shirley Serotsky
STOP KISS Sara, No Rules Theatre Company/Dir. Holly Twyford
LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST Rosaline, Shakespeare Theatre Company ACA/Dir. Brendon Fox
TWELFTH NIGHT Viola American Shakespeare Center/ Davis McCallum
MACBETH Malcolm American Shakespeare Center
HENRY IV PART 1 Lady Percy American Shakespeare Center/ Jim Warren
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING Beatrice American Shakespeare Center/ Jaq Bessel
KING LEAR Cordelia American Shakespeare Center/ Jim Warren
CYMBELINE Imogen American Shakespeare Center/ Ralph Cohen
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM Titania/Philistrate American Shakespeare Center
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Cecily American Shakespeare Center/ Nick Hutchinson
EDUCATION/TRAINING
MFA: The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting at The George Washington University
BA: Western Michigan University (Theatre Major, Dance Minor—Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Modern, Ballroom)
PERFORMING ARTS DANCE THEATRE- 4 year member
AWARDS: Walter L. Wright III award for Exceptional Promise in the Dramatic Profession
SPECIAL SKILLS
Stage Combat: SAFD Certified with Honors: Brad Waller: Unarmed, Dagger, Rapier/Dagger, Single Sword. Certified: Broadsword, Small Sword, Sword and Buckler Instruments: Guitar. Mandolin. IPA Proficient. Rock Climbing. Juggling. Horseback riding. Skating. Skydiving. Drivers License. Manual Transmission. Passport. Marathoner.
Helen Hayes Award – Best Actress in a Play *Helen Hayes Award – Best Ensemble in a Musical
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AK is an accomplished actor whose work spans film, television, voiceover, and some of the country’s most respected regional and classical theatres. Known for their emotional intelligence, technical precision, and commanding presence, they have built a career rooted in both artistic rigor and deep curiosity about human behavior.
On screen, AK has appeared in major network television series including New Amsterdam, Law & Order: SVU, and Bull, bringing nuance and grounded realism to a wide range of co-star roles. Their film and new media work includes projects such as Kringle Time now available on Amazon Prime.
AK is also an accomplished audiobook narrator, with work on hundreds of titles including bestsellers like Demon Days, Vampire Nights—the USA Today Best Selling series by K.F. Breene, in which they voice the character Reagan Sommerset, and The Final Girls Support Group by Grady Hendrix, a New York Times Best Seller, where they voice Heather De Luca. Their voiceover work is informed by classical training, emotional specificity, and a strong command of language, allowing them to bring clarity, intimacy, and depth to long-form narrative storytelling.
AK’s theatrical career is extensive and distinguished. They have performed with leading institutions including Ford’s Theatre, Arena Stage, The Kennedy Center, Shakespeare Theatre Company, American Conservatory Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Round House Theatre, Studio Theatre, Folger Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Baltimore Center Stage, Mosaic Theatre, and the American Shakespeare Center, among many others.
Notable roles include Bonnie in Come From Away at Ford’s Theatre (Helen Hayes Award–winning ensemble), Lil’ Bit in How I Learned to Drive , Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Round House Theatre (Helen Hayes Award–winning performance), Patricia in World Premiere of Scenarios at Studio theater, Gloria/Nan in Gloria at Woolly Mammoth Theater and Lady Anne in Richard III, and Orsino in Twelfth Night at Folger Theater. Their work frequently bridges classical text and contemporary storytelling, with performances praised for their clarity, depth, and emotional courage.
AK holds an MFA from The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting at The George Washington University and a BA in Theatre from Western Michigan University, where they also completed a minor in dance. They are a recipient of the Walter L. Wright III Award for Exceptional Promise in the Dramatic Profession, as well as Helen Hayes Awards for Best Actress in a Play and Best Ensemble in a Musical.
In addition to their performance work, AK is SAFD-certified in stage combat with honors, a marathon runner, and lifelong student of movement, voice, and embodied storytelling. Across all mediums, their work reflects a commitment to craft, collaboration, and a vision of the performing arts that is both excellent and sustainable.
Contact me
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