Today we’d like to introduce you to Natasha Mayet

Hi Natasha, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?

Hi everyone. I’m Natasha and I’m an international actor, filmmaker and acting coach. Since our industry is now global, I’m based between Atlanta and South Africa. I also co-host a film festival called the Cape Town Squad International Film Festival that has international sponsors and welcomes short films from all around the world.

The creative journey began nearly 11 years ago when I acted on an impulse and decided to fly to LA and enroll in an acting class at the New York Film Academy. I remember walking out of class and looking at the posters at Warner Brothers and having the realisation that working as an actor and living in LA was something that was possible and that I wanted to do this as a job. I received a calling and I decided to answer the call. I remember that this was the time I was reading The Alchemist and the line that stood out to me was “When you want something all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” I didn’t know how this was possible but I knew where I wanted to be. Fast forward, a year later I had moved to LA and enrolled in acting studio.i can honestly say looking back, that nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it. It’s never too late. Just start.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

It has been a road with many bumps, bends, turns, and reverses. It has been a journey. Maybe as bumpy as the shepherd’s in the Alchemist. When I moved to LA I had an idea of what living there would be like. I was full of hopes and dreams and had a harsh reality check. I realised I had a lot to learn still and that the level I would have to be at in my craft was high. However, I am still very much on the journey. When I started I was still figuring out who I was. I find that to be an actor or an artist, we have to have an understanding of ourselves. We have to also like ourselves. It has been a journey with me figuring out who I am and also what acting is and isn’t. I didn’t know how to listen and how to be. I was taking a lot of classes at different studios but was getting me into my head more than anything else and most of my time was spent hustling with side jobs to pay my bills. It was only when I followed an impulse to move to Atlanta that things changed. I found an acting studio (Anthony Meindl’s Actor Workshop/AMAW) and community that helped me grow and I also discovered I had a passion not only for acting but for producing, and creating my own work. I discovered I had a love for sci fi and met other filmmakers who taught me so much and also collaborated with me. I never knew I would be coaching other actors and that has been a wonderful surprise on the journey. It was another call answered. In 2020, my path was redirected again and I moved back to South Africa and started teaching actors as part of AMAW in Cape Town. I met another actor/producer and today we have a film festival that is in its third year. Sometimes redirects can be challenges in the moment and turn out to be gifts in the end. This year in 2024, life threw me another curveball when my biggest supporter, my dad, passed way suddenly. My reason for following my dreams was always my father and one of his last messages to me was a graduation speech given by Steve Jobs with a message saying “Follow your dreams. You make us proud.” In my fathers passing I have been so challenged but also grown so much and I now know that my purpose is to empower others to follow their dreams. That’s how I will keep my promise to my father and continue his legacy.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

I am an actor and I also wear other hats as a creative (I have enjoyed producing, writing and casting as well). My favorite genre is sci-fi as it offers us a prism through which we can reflect on the realities of our world and I have produced and acted in several sci-fi shorts. I am most proud of the fact that I can actually call myself a working actor today. I am grateful too as I have had success booking several commercials and this has helped me support myself as an actor. I recently also booked my first speaking role on a Netflix show called Unseen and I have two international films coming out this year in which I play a small role in.

I am an acting coach for Anthony Meindl’s Actor Workshop (AMAW). The studio has been a game changer in my career. I also manage the AMAW studio in Cape Town. The coach is a coach because they learn the most and I am constantly learning and growing. As Maya Angelou said “When you learn, teach…” I love working with actors from around the world in our Zoom classes and also in person and sharing what I have learnt over the years. I feel you become the coach you would have wanted to have. I also strongly believe coaches should be kind and there is a need for coaches in this industry to come from the heart space and to surrender our own egos. I love helping actors drop into their scenes and explore honest storytelling. I love seeing actors I work with booking and doing well, yasssss to working actors! When we put in the work, we work! Moreover, I believe that acting should be joyful and playful. Sometimes we make it too serious and brainy. As we evolve as humans, so does our storytelling and what I love about AMAW is that is was a fresh and empowering approach that mirrors life. It made acting fun again and was focused on us being healthy happy human beings first and foremost. I also believe in the coach being the co-pilot (a term one of my mentors Kyle David Pierce who is also an acting coach inspired me to use) and helping the actor co-create story in a collaborative setting. I co-host an independent film festival that I started with a fellow actor/producer called the Cape Town Squad International Film Festival. We welcome films from all around the world including AI films and this September we will be hosting our third annual festival.

What matters most to you?

What matters to me most is mental health and connection. In this era of social media we are so connected yet so disconnected. I am a strong advocate of therapy and taking care of ourselves as artists. I try to coach from the heart space and also to be mindful of consent when coaching my students. We are exploring acting and not reliving our traumas that we have not yet processed and I feel that some spaces can push an actor so far or break boundarIes that they may not even know they have. I feel consent is so important in all creative spaces. Community is also important to me and I feel this is something we need more in the film industry in South Africa. It is time to let go of the hierarchy too that we have on set sometimes. Let’s be kind humans and treat people with respect. We are all equals on set. We need way more diversity too. It is 2024. It’s about time that sets and our storytelling be reflective of the diverse world we live in. Especially here in South Africa.

Pricing:

• Actors can email me at [email protected] for a FREE acting class audit (Online/In Person)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.imdb.me/natashamayet https://filmfreeway.com/CapeTownSquadFilmFestival
• Instagram: natashamayet
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natashamayetacts/
• Twitter: https://x.com/natashamayet
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thegrowingactormindset
• Other: https://www.anthonymeindl.com/acting-classes-in-cape-town/

Image Credits
Headshot by Jono Wickwar (@harrfastfotos)