A creative home for the whole family.
Theater, art, music, camps, and creative experiences for children and adults in East Nashville.
Welcome to EAST.
EAST Collective is a creative hub in East Nashville where kids, artists, and grown-ups gather to make things, tell stories, learn new skills, and belong to a community.
Created by the family behind Tenn Little Birds, EAST grew from a simple idea: as our children grow, their creative community should grow with them.
Our seven classrooms and performance space are home to EAST programs, independent teaching artists, community partners, rehearsals, performances, workshops, and events.
Explore EAST
Find Your Place at EAST
Classes, camps, and creative experiences for children and adults.
Theater
Play-based theater for young children and ensemble training for growing performers.
Explore Theater →Art
Process-driven art classes where children experiment, make, and develop their own creative voice.
Explore Art →Music
Drumming, rhythm, songwriting, and creative music-making for growing musicians.
Explore Music →Camps
Creative arts camps where theater, art, music, storytelling, and imaginative play come together.
Explore Camps →Adult Acting
Actor training and creative opportunities for adults ready to return to the room, sharpen their craft, or try something new.
Explore Adult Acting →Built by Artists. Rooted in Community.
Allison Link is a singer, actor, educator, and co-founder of EAST Collective. A Westminster Choir College voice graduate with Meisner training from New York, she develops music and storytelling programs, teaches children’s theater, and joins selected adult acting sessions. She founded Tenn Little Birds in 2017.
Ryan Link is an actor, musician, Meisner teacher, and co-founder of EAST Collective. His work spans Seattle rock bands, Broadway’s RENT, HAIR, and Wonderland, and national tours including Once. Alongside teaching adult acting, he brings a parallel career in technology and operations to the business of making a creative home actually work.