A little about EAST Collective.
Allison and Ryan Link met in an acting studio in New York. Between them, they had sung in choirs, played in rock bands, performed in theaters, studied how people listen, and learned how much good work depends on the people in the room. They moved to Nashville in 2016.
The following year, Allison founded Tenn Little Birds, building an early childhood music community where children and grown-ups could make music together. As those children grew, she saw room for more: characters to invent, stories to tell, songs of their own to write. EAST Collective grew from that community and from both founders’ lives as working artists.
Allison brings music, theater, and years of teaching families into the development of EAST’s creative programs. Ryan brings acting, musicianship, Meisner teaching, and the technology and operations experience that helps ideas become actual classes and opportunities. Together, they’re building a place for a child’s first scene, an adult’s return to acting, and the artists who make the whole thing possible.
Our Vision.
EAST Collective: Where artists, children, and community take center stage.
We believe in the power of creativity to connect people of all ages. EAST is a space where imagination and collaboration thrive — where stories unfold, confidence grows, and creativity leads the way. Whether through theater, movement, or visual art, we invite everyone to discover their voice and be seen.
Meet the founders
Two artists. A place to make things happen.
Allison Link
Co-Founder · Music & Theater Teaching Artist
Allison Link began singing before she had quite sorted out the distinction between singing and talking. Growing up in the farmlands around Boyertown, Pennsylvania, she joined her first choir at three and found her way into theater at thirteen. Music and storytelling have been in conversation ever since.
She earned a Bachelor of Music in Voice from Westminster Choir College, then moved to New York, where she performed, traveled internationally, and studied acting at Matthew Corozine Studio. Several years of Meisner-based training, including work as Matthew’s teaching assistant, deepened her interest in what happens when people stop planning their next move and really listen. She later studied music therapy at Belmont University. Her teaching has also included children’s choirs and a Vanderbilt parent-child music research program.
Read Allison’s full story
Allison and Ryan moved to Nashville in 2016. In 2017, a lost set of car keys led to a ride home with a friend and a conversation about bringing Music Together® to East Nashville. That unlikely bit of logistics helped set Tenn Little Birds in motion. Building it took considerably more than finding the keys: years of teaching, welcoming families, and creating a place where making music together could become part of everyday life.
At EAST Collective, which she co-founded with Ryan, Allison puts that experience to work alongside her theatrical training. She teaches children’s theater and develops creative experiences that connect singing, movement, characters, and stories. The invitation grows with the child: join in, try an idea, notice someone else’s idea, and make something together. A child’s contribution can help shape what happens next.
She also joins selected adult Acting Studio sessions as a guest instructor, bringing her experience as a singer, actor, and educator into a different kind of ensemble. The ages change; attentive listening and room to experiment remain central.
Allison still appreciates the relative lack of snow in Tennessee. Some artistic decisions require less deliberation than others.
Ryan Link
Co-Founder & Operations Director · Lead Acting Instructor
Ryan Link came to acting by way of drums, rock bands, and mathematics. Born in San Francisco and raised around Seattle, he spent the grunge years singing and playing in bands while earning a degree in Mathematical Sciences at the University of Washington. A brief period at Berklee College of Music and another band in Boston came before the move to New York.
Nine months after arriving, he booked the national tour of Aida. His Broadway debut followed as Roger Davis in RENT. It was a remarkably quick start to a profession that would, in due course, introduce him to waiting.
Read Ryan’s full story
A quieter stretch led him to Matthew Corozine Studio in 2007. Meisner-based training became a lasting part of his work, and the studio became the place where he met Allison. He later taught there, too. Onstage, his credits grew to include the Broadway revival of HAIR, the original Broadway company of Wonderland, and national touring productions of HAIR and Once. In Once, he played the Emcee, covered Guy, and played guitar and banjo—an agreeable amount of multitasking.
Through those years, Ryan also worked in technology, continuing a second professional life that had begun in college. Systems, troubleshooting, and business operations developed alongside rehearsals and performances.
He and Allison moved to Nashville in 2016. He helped form the Nashville Yacht Club Band, continued making music, and appeared in May We All in 2022. At EAST Collective, which they co-founded, his work ranges from teaching adult acting to building the practical support for classrooms, collaborators, and performances. He also teaches Rhythm Kids Level 2 through Tenn Little Birds at EAST. His own EP, Reverberations, was released in 2015.
The connecting thread is attention: hearing the other musicians, receiving a scene partner, noticing what a class needs, and figuring out what will help the work happen. His Meisner classes welcome working performers, beginners, and people returning after a long time away. You can take the work seriously while still being glad to be in the room.
EAST is more than a studio.
It’s a community.
Whether you’re here to learn, teach, or simply create, there’s a place for you in the Collective.
Come make something beautiful with us.
Contact us.
Interested in working together or learning more about EAST Collective?
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