Keelin Sheppard
Keelin Sheppard is an actor and theatre-maker in her final year of the BA in Drama (Performance) at TU Dublin. With a strong foundation in live performance, Keelin’s work blends classical and contemporary training, with a growing interest in ensemble collaboration, improvisation, and new writing.
Her early training began at Liz’s Acting Academy, where she performed in annual productions from the age of 8, including the role of Miss Hannigan in Annie (Dir: Liz Bracken). She went on to study at Rush Drama and Acting School, playing roles such as Mary Warren in The Crucible (Dir: Sean Corcoran) and Rose in Dancing at Lughnasa. During Transition Year, she portrayed Paulette in Legally Blonde and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing (Dir: Stephen Grimes), the latter earning her a Best Actress nomination at a school Shakespeare festival.
Keelin completed a year-long course in improv and comedy with The Independent Theatre in Drumcondra, focusing on vocal training and character development. At 17, she joined Dublin Youth Theatre, where she performed in The Wind Stealers by Jane Madden (Dir: Ursula McGinn), staged in Merrion Square.
At TU Dublin, Keelin has performed in a range of productions, including Katzenmusik by Tom Fowler (2022), and Second Person Narrative by Jemma Kennedy (2023, Dir: Andrea Basquille). In 2023, she represented Ireland at the Prague Quadrennial as part of the student exhibition Beyond the Barricades: A Rare Story of a Unique Island, curated by Niall Rea and directed by Charlotte Tiernan. Her role involved curating, directing, and performing across several performative art and drama pieces for public audiences over two weeks.
On screen, Keelin played the lead role of Charlie in Goodbye (2021), a short film by Luka Costello for DYT’s Members’ One Act Festival. She will next appear as the lead in Waterweight, a final-year student short film written and directed by Leah O’Riordan.
Keelin is currently part of Fishamble’s TenderWrite programme, where she is developing a new piece of devised work.
Her skills include script analysis, comedy, improvisation, contemporary dance, stage combat, singing, and writing.