We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Niketa Calame-Harris a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Niketa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

My first acting class was in elementary school in an artist program called Regina’s School of Performing Arts. My Saturday was packed with dance voice and drama, with classes starting at 8am and ending at 4pm. I started auditioning for commercials and booked my first paid acting gig with Hanna Barbera home of Fred Flintstone Yoga Bear and the gang.

I continued on with my training at Alexander Hamilton High School academy of music and as a theater major at the University of California, Santa Cruz. During my time in undergrad I studied they’re for a year overseas, at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom.

Although I learned many skills in performance and endurance and team work and persistence and time management and the business side of the industry, during all these years in school and as a professional actress it wasn’t until grad school where I received my Masters of Fine Arts from The Actor Studio Drama School @New School University in New York where I really learned how to use my instrument and create believable behavior on stage. Some of the most essential tools I learned where in character development and scene objectives, cold reading skills, scene memory and other Stanislavsky Method Techniques that I still use today.

Many of my friends were always perplexed on me putting the professional world on hold to go to college and grad school but I had been an actor grinding since elementary. I wanted to learn more, live more and experience more before coming back to my purpose.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a 2nd generation LA native actress most noted as the original voice of Young Nala in Disney’s 32nd animated feature film classic The Lion King and Chris Rock’s little sister in the cult classic CB4, which got me my SAG card in 1993. There were many actors in my family, my Godfather is Hal Williams from 227,Sanford and Son and many other credits and my God sister was the youngest daughter of Danny glover in the Lethal Weapon movies so I was always surrounded by industry grates. When my mother found out I was interested in performance art she reached out and I was referred to my god sisters agent. Harry Gold, then GoldMarshavk and now I think they are called Talent works was my first agent where I really started booking TV film and commercials. Some of my fav credits have placed me on HBO,NBC,CBS, MTV, Lifetime and Disney. I found my purpose and passion at a very young age and have been blessed to pursue for all these years.

Now after 25+ years in the biz I have an acting coaching business called In Motion where we cultivate the full potential of creative minds through acting coaching and career coaching so they may shine on stage and in life. I also offer my clients headshot photography, another passion of mine that I transformed into a business in 2017. My clients have ranged from beginners, adults and children interested in learning the craft of acting and auditioning to seasoned professionals who just want coaching on a particular role or audition coming up. What sets me aside from others is my longevity in this career. Having worked in front of the camera behind the scenes and as a coach I am able to incorporate all of those tips into my clients tool belt.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

My mother, may she rest in power, used to tell this story of when she knew I was destined to be a performer. I was 5 getting ready to take pics for a gymnastics and tap dance recital and I was giving nothing to the photographer. They were about to call it a wrap and my mom put a mic in my hand. She said I completely came to life and the rest is history.

The most rewarding thing of being an artist is getting to live in your purpose. Finding my passion and pursuing it with 100% supporter like my mom has been an amazing journey. Even with all the rejection the ebbs and flows that biz gives you, when you are on set in your element getting paid to do what you love, you are reminded of why you fell in love to begin with.

My mantra is Uplift one higher than yourself so giving back through my coaching and my artist share panel series is very rewarding, especially when I get the feedback “I wish I had this when I was starting out” , “thank you for being so transparent and sharing all the resources”, “when is the next one” , “you changed my daughter’s life”. It’s a blessing to drop seeds into people’s life and watch them come into full bloom.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

My mother passed away September 21st 2018 at 3:31am. A moment that changed my life forever. 2019 was a blur and then the pandemic hit in 2020 and I was pregnant with my first child during lockdown while turning the big 40. I literally had to book out of my agency for my own acting career and take less clients to coach. It was just too much mentally, spiritually and physically.

It is ok to say you are not ok. It is ok to step away and come back. Because guess what if something happens to you the biz is going to keep going so take care of yourself first. I have gotten comfortable with taking care of myself and my mental capacity to give of myself. This postpartum journey has been a roller coaster and I can really say that I am starting to feel like myself again. That is evident in my work in my parenting in my relationship with my hubby because all kinds of opportunities are jumping off in 2023. She is back ladies and gentlemen so watch out.

Contact Info:

• Website: Https://pico.link/niketacalameharris
• Instagram: Https://instagram.com/niketacalame
• Linkedin: Https://LinkedIn.com/in/niketacalame