Joy DeMichelle Ysaguirre is an actress, seeker, self-healing facilitator,  storyteller and above all else a mother, wife and daughter.  As an actress she has appeared in various roles on stage and screen.  Joy is the founder of Heal & Create,  an emerging creative collective of Rutgers:  Mason Gross School of the Arts alumni, focused on Diversity, Equity + Inclusion as well as the owner of Act With Joy, a self - healing program for creative professionals and mothers looking to manage the stresses of life, re-write their stories, blue print and build a life of joy. 

The thing I love most about

acting is that through imagination I can raise consciousness, create

awareness, change narratives

and bring joy.  

I graduated from the Louisville Youth Performing Arts High School,

theatre department led by William P. Bradford III.  After graduating from

North Carolina A & T State University, I went on to earn my MFA from

Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts.   Upon graduation l

began working right away off-Broadway and in regional theatres. 

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Favorite Teachers and TAKEAWAYS?​​

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Bill Esper "Good actors adjust the text to the inner emotion

created by their response to the other actor."

Hal Scott "Track the script, the answers are there."

Maggie Flanigan - "Get out of your head." "Don't be tepid."

Loyd Williamson "It's ok, it's ok, it's ok to feel what you are feeling."

Israel Hicks "It is ok to ask for what you want."

After a trip to Zimbabwe, I returned to NYC and decided to pack it up.

I purchased a one-way ticket and headed west to Los Angeles.  Los Angeles is where I married and had my only child.  Prior to making motherhood my greatest "life goes on activity" and personal development a way of life I had the honor of working along slide outstanding talents and Academy Award nominees such as - Mrs. Ruby Dee, Sidney Poitier, Tim Roth, Forest Whitaker, Taraji P. Henson, Stephen Henderson, Anna Deavere Smith, and various other creative professionals. ​  I am excited to see what beautiful collaborations and opportunities life will bring my way.

I love the craft of acting, however it is the role of wife and mother that prompted a journey of deep self-discovery that has elevated my sense of purpose

and brought texture, clarity, and depth to my life and craft of acting. 

I look to collaborate with people who are ready to explore the complexities of the human experience and make a difference with art.   Through self discovery and nurturing your true desires you can bolster your joy.

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Live + Create Joyfully,

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 Joy DeMichelle