We are so excited to welcome Michael McKeogh as our new Administrative Associate!
Michael is a Chicago-based actor, teacher, and coach. In 2012, he received his MFA in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University. Some of Michael’s favorite credits include: Hamlet (Hamlet) at Oak Park Theatre Festival and Mr. Brown (The 20th Century Way) at The Know Theatre of Cincinnati.
As is the case with all of us on our tiny team, Michael wears many hats at ATC and is an integral part of our administrative team. You can find him teaching in the classroom, helping prospective students choose the right class, and working closely with our outreach and development departments as we expand programming.
Get to know Michael better 👇
What are you most looking forward to in this new role?
Right now, I’m still kind of getting my bearings on how the organization works and my own day-to-day flow and responsibilities, but one thing that I’m really looking forward to is working with and getting to know better our partners at Embarc. I really respect their educational model, and I’m thrilled I’ll get a chance to learn from them and help usher in a relationship with ATC.
What drew you to this position and to ATC?
You know, sometimes it’s all about conversations. As with many people during the pandemic, I had been reflecting on my own career and was interested in making a change. So I called Carole. I had been teaching at ATC since 2016, and I knew that Carole had also transitioned from performance to teaching and running her own studio. I just wanted to hear her story a bit and see if she had any advice and thoughts–basically if we could talk through some of the anxieties and ideas I was facing. And she was great. She gave me a lot of sage advice and eventually brought me in to teach a few classes that summer.
Well, when this opportunity opened up, and Carole asked if I was interested I said yes! It kinda seemed like a perfect opportunity. For me, I was able to invest more time into a place that I believe in and to learn from some really outstanding leaders in Christina and Carole.
What is your advice for folks just starting out or looking to take the next step in their career?
Find a network. Take a class, meet other actors, create your own weekly monologue session with friends. This work is emotionally, physically, and fiscally challenging so having a network of people to bounce ideas off of, help you with auditions, share your wins and losses with is incredibly valuable.
What is the thing you are most proud of?
My kids!
Favorite thing to do outside of work?
Besides seeing my friends or supporting them in their artistic endeavors, I really love riding bikes with my family. We ride a lot and we try to take bike rides to different parks or trails in and around Chicago. It’s the best way to travel. And the best way to see a city.
We couldn’t be more excited to have Michael on board!
