Meet Alyssa Carrasco

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alyssa Carrasco a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alyssa, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

I’m still working on it, but now I have some tools to help. At first, I let my doubts hold me back from pursuing the things I’ve always wanted. I sometimes worry that people won’t take me seriously. But I have a mentor who reminds me that when you know you have the experience, training, and qualifications, it doesn’t matter how anyone else perceives you. The satisfaction of a job well done is all the validation you need to prove you belong in the room.

Recently, I’ve found myself in bigger spaces, surrounded by people who are older, wealthier, taller, and all identify as men. I constantly have to push back against the voice that tells me I’m not ready yet—even though I know I have years of experience. As an artist, you’re always auditioning, so I’ve learned to literally keep a mental list of affirmations before I go for something big.

“You are here. You are qualified. You are ready. You are damn good at this. You know what you’re doing. You deserve this.”

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’m a storyteller at heart. Originally trained as an actor, I quickly realized that in today’s world, you can’t just rely on one role if you want to thrive, let alone create meaningful art. So, I’ve made it a point to have my foot in every door—like an octopus with eight legs! I have one foot in acting (film, commercial, and theatre), directing, teaching, intimacy direction, producing, and DE&I work in the corporate world. My goal is to find ways to bridge these different aspects to support other artists and non-profits.

The place I keep circling back to is Teatro Dallas. It’s one of my home bases because it truly reflects who I am; both as a person and an artist. It provides me with a platform to command attention for the stories I want to tell, to share my experience with non-eurocentric theatre, and to grow alongside my community. The artists that flow in and out of its doors are some of the most supportive, talented, and genuinely kind people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Having a desire to make art so strong it could make you ill, friends that not only support but inspire, and sweet treats.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

Viola Davis’s book Finding Me had a very defining moment for me. One day, while I was working in the offices at The Williamstown Theatre Festival (WTF) in Massachusetts, I reached the chapter in her memoir where she spent a summer there. I had no idea she had performed at WTF, so I immediately went to find her black-and-white photo from her performance in “A Raisin in the Sun” on the walls of archives. There she was, and it hit me hard. I imagined her standing in the same space, walking the same halls, staying in the local housing (with no AC, of course), and climbing those steep hills to get to rehearsals.
Seeing that photo, I thought: if I’m in the same place she once was in her early career, maybe I am doing something right.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: alyssacarra

Image Credits

Mac Welch, Kristianna David, Frederick Ezeala