Hey there
Hi! Thank you for being interested enough in my weird ass to click on my About page! My name is Alyssa Cassese (I also go by Alyx!) and I'm an actor, singer, and writer born and raised in New York. I grew up as an awkward and neurodivergent queer kid heavily invested in fantasy (and, weirdly, academia) with dreams of attending an Ivy League to pursue a degree in creative writing. After I published my first fiction novel, The Dwellers, at 15 years old, I realized that I wanted to explore other mediums of storytelling and auditioned for my first high school musical, trembling with stage fright the whole time.
Here's me at 16 in my first production, playing the title role in Into the Woods aka A Tree.
I graduated in 2018 as the salutatorian of my high school class, still quite unsure about my future path, conflicted on whether I wanted to pursue a more academic route or work to be a full-time creative. I decided to take a risk and attend Pace University for a BFA in Musical Theatre, where I graduated in May of 2022.
My time at Pace was filled with incredible learning experiences, and I was lucky enough to perform
at historic venues like 54 Below and The Duplex while I was still a teenager, in addition to working with amazing artists in new, developmental works. I also was able to explore acting on-camera and VO through educational endeavors and found new loves in other areas of creative expression that I hope to continue exploring post-grad. Most recently, I made my professional debut Off-Broadway, playing Mike in the New York Premiere of Girlfriend, directed by Sivan Battat and joined the pre-Broadway Tier 3 work session of How to Dance In Ohio, directed by Sammi Cannold.
Working to find creative fulfillment in a performance major during a pandemic forced me to critically evaluate the work that I wanted to be doing. I first came out as queer when I was 13, and still spent most of my teenage-hood repressing the "gender question." My goal in all of the art that I make is to truly create something meaningful, whether that is through performance or writing, and I love new work that makes me ask deep, resounding questions that could send me reeling. At the same time, I love shit that exists purely to entertain, to help a live or at-home audience escape for just a little while.
If any of my ramblings speak to you, let's work together :D
Here's me at 21 in my first professional production, with less stage fright and the incredible Sushma Saha of 1776 on Broadway.
