We were lucky to catch up with Mabel Maultsby recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Mabel, thanks for joining us today. What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

After graduating from UNLV in 2013, I moved to Los Angeles to become a working actor. I learned pretty quickly that this town is big, yet small but you’ll only make it if you’re lucky, have money or you know someone. I worked hard though, I did two years of being a production assistant and working on commercials and shows, but I was barely able to keep up with rent, and grocery shopping was a luxury. Then there was this one time that I will never forget.

There I was working as a PA on the show LET’S MAKE A DEAL. The job involved registering every contestant that was on the show for that day, loading them all onto busses and guiding them to their seats on to the stage. Now while the show was in progress I would be cleaning the honey wagons (that’s a cute name for porta potties). I remember having to take a yard stick to push buildup down a toilet and that’s when I thought to myself, “what am I doing here? I have a college degree and I’m cleaning toilets.”

Then one day as I was standing in the hallway outside of the stage, dead inside and regretting my life choices, I hear “Mabel is that you?” I look over and it’s Kirk, a set designer I worked for months prior. There I am trapped in a hallway crammed with contestants in costumes and I couldn’t think of anything to say except “Hi, nice to see you!”. After a brief interaction, he left and went backstage.

This was when I heard a voice inside me say “Go, find him and talk to him more”. I left my station there in the hallway and took off to look for him. The backstage was like a warehouse with all the prizes stacked along the wall and the cars all shined up and camera ready. When I found Kirk I said, “I don’t want to be a PA anymore, is there anything I can do for the art department here?”. From that moment on, Kirk graciously had me start on the show and earn my union days, I joined local 44 later that year and here I am today with health insurance, a savings account and big shows under my belt. Thank you Kirk!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Being a 90’s kid and growing up in Las Vegas was awesome. During that time Vegas was more of a family town, with theme parks, water slides and roller coasters. We also had to bear that terrible heat, and there were summers that would scorch the town for months. I would spend a lot of time indoors next to the ac vent. While trapped inside I would get creative and want to draw or paint, so my mom enrolled me into art classes. From then on I pursued the arts from middle school to high school and then to college. Although like most young adults, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, but I knew that it would have to be an artistic endeavor.

At UNLV I had to pick a major. First semester was art, second semester was photography and then the third semester I thought about getting into cinematography. That class was full though, so I tried an acting class just for fun. But then the unexpected happened – I fell in love with acting and performing, and that class changed the course of my life forever. I won acting awards from UNLV’s film festivals and I was always acting in local projects. It gave me a confidence that I never had before.

After graduating from UNLV in 2013 I was ready to take my acting chops to the big leagues. I was Hollywood bound! Little did I know what this town was like and what kind of risk this would be, but I was young and fearless. Acting had to take a back seat for a while though because LA is very expensive and I could barely afford it. I was working at a grocery store part time and during my off hours I would stay home and try not to spend money. I was very lucky to have gracious neighbors that would check in on me. My neighborhood was a gardening community with lots of lush and beautiful trees and flowering bushes. I had no idea how to garden at first, because I was a desert rat from Las Vegas, but my neighbors taught me how to care and grow a garden. They had a lot of love for plants and through their teachings I became a passionate gardener, too. They told me that the film industry is kind of like growing a garden, you have to plant the seeds (networking), water them (keep connected) and something beautiful will grow.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

Acting in film and TV is my main goal and I submit to auditions daily, audition weekly and if I’m lucky I’ll get cast. That kind of work is obviously unsustainable though, so I picked up work where I could. I worked in grocery stores and eventually did PA gigs for some pretty big shows like DANCING WITH THE STARS, AMERICAN IDOL and AMERICA’S GOT TALENT. I was the parking PA for a while and I would stand out in the parking lot from sunrise to sunset and tell people where to park. Wages have changed since then, but I was only making $150/day and after taxes that was not enough to survive in Los Angeles.

I was always hustling to make money and acting was just not a priority at that time. My saving grace moment happened when I fell into set decorating and luckily after multiple gigs I was given the opportunity to join the union, IATSE local 44. I remember that first check I got for a week of work. I knew right then and there that I had made it. Being a PA taught me to hustle and work really hard, because someone out there can help you out and hopefully when your paths cross they will see you and help you get to where you belong.

Now I am an on-set dresser, which means I am the face of the art department when on set with the cast and crew. I get to watch actors work and it’s been educational and intriguing getting to observe the actors process. My journey has taken me to where I’m supposed to be, but I’m not done yet. I’ll be back in front of the camera soon.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist and creative is that I’m not sitting at a desk job in an office somewhere or having to deal with difficult customers. The best part is I get to work with other creatives that all want to get together and create something worth watching. The beauty of the film industry is that it’s a collaborative art.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mabelmaultsby.com
• Instagram: mabelmaultsby
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mabel.maultsby

Image Credits

Head Shot Photographer: Saint K Photography