How it Began…

Introducing AK (Alyssa Keegan)

Empowered Performer Project Creator, Developer and Owner

Across my twenty-five years as a professional stage and screen actor, I carried what I thought of as “high ambition,” but in truth, it was a relentless dissatisfaction. No achievement, performance, or opportunity ever felt like enough. Coupled with industry narratives such as “the show must go on” or “those who can’t do, teach,” this mindset cultivated unhealthy competitiveness, deep fear of failure, porous boundaries, substance reliance, and chronic burnout—patterns I ignored for years because I believed they were simply part of the job.

When the pandemic arrived, something unexpected happened: I felt calm. With auditions halted and performance demands lifted, I discovered just how deeply I had desensitized myself to stress. What I had labeled as resilience was actually emotional suppression—stress stored under the surface that emerged through explosive outbursts at home and harmful coping habits I had come to accept as normal.

That realization marked a turning point.
In 2020 I began training as a mental health coach and slowly pieced together what had been missing in my own life: nervous system literacy, somatic awareness, mindfulness, and trauma-informed self-understanding. I learned I could heal what I had spent years overriding. I could imagine returning to acting one day with agency, self-knowledge, and the capacity to walk away from roles or environments that compromised my wellbeing.

I had nearly abandoned a career I loved because participating in the industry as I once did felt too costly. And I think often about the countless brilliant artists who have left because they lacked the tools or support to navigate that cost.

If performers learn to advocate for themselves with clarity, compassion, and embodied consent—if we know what a true “yes” or a firm “no” feels like in our bodies, and what’s at stake when we ignore those messages—we can transform power dynamics. We can make phrases like “this is a safe space” mean something real, because safety will exist within us first.

Empowered Performers — artists with agency, boundaries, embodied consent, and an unwavering belief that wellbeing is not negotiable.

Resumes & Reviews

  • 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

  • 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.

  • 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

Production, Event, and Workshop Photos

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