Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Mayti.
Brittany, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Most would say and have said that I’ve done things backward, pertaining to my career. After spending nine years in Hollywood, the Mecca of entertainment, obtaining a few small wins here and there, I quit my amazing paying job in corporate America and moved to “ATLwood”. It did not come without a plan though, a very close friend referred me to one of the top Talent Agencies in Atlanta, the People Store. After my meeting and audition with them, they signed me!
To rewind a bit, my acting career has not only been nine years. I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. My family tells me that from four years old, watching reruns of The Cosby Show is when I announced that I would be an Actress. Aside from elementary school productions, and recruiting and casting my little sister and cousin in shows that we would perform in front of family, I got my first taste of theater at age 11. I performed in a stage play “Ultimus Veneficus” at the legendary Cleveland Playhouse Theatre. Being on that stage was a feeling that was unexplainable, but I just knew I wanted to keep feeling it. Surprisingly, I was and still am shy, but when I’m on stage, or in front of a camera, there is not one shy bone in my body. After that play, my family moved to Orlando, Florida for a couple of years and I just knew I was headed to a career at Disney or Nickelodeon. Back then, I knew nothing of the internet, so I would look in the yellow pages, and call agencies, Disney World, Nickelodeon Studios, etc. and tell them how I was what they were missing. My mother would take me to these talent and model searches, that were scams, and I just knew in my heart they weren’t. My dream began to seem impossible. At school, my drama teacher said, I needed to go to Hollywood to find a reputable agent if I really wanted to be an Actress. At the time, my mother was a single mother of two, so I had to put my acting dreams on hold, we just didn’t have the money to make that big move. We then moved back to Cleveland, Ohio.
I went to three different high schools and participated in every theatrical production I could, we moved around a lot. The last high school I attended, Maple Heights High School, I went to an informational for a Marketing club called DECA. The instructor, Dr. Tom Griffin (who later nominated me in 2017, to come back to speak to the whole student body as an alumni, in regards to my success in Business/Marketing as a Pathfinder) said that if we joined this club and took this Marketing course that winners of the Marketing competition the following year would complete nationally in California. I recalled from middle school that teacher stating I needed to be in Hollywood if I wanted to act. So I applied and got accepted! My mom was all for it because she wanted me to have a plan B, and she told me that every business has a Marketing department. I honestly was uninterested in Marketing, and just wanted to win that trip California. My best friend at the time, Juan Sloan, who also had aspirations of being an Actor, paired up and we did a Food Marketing Research Training Project for the grocery store we both worked at. We worked hard with extremely limited resources! Neither of us had our own computer, so we completed our project at various different family member’s homes to get our research completed and project typed. We won in our district, then we placed in our state, and got to compete nationally in California!
When we got there, those kids were on another level, we had no chance lol. But we didn’t care, we were there to get discovered! Our adviser, Dr. Griffin took us everywhere! To even go on this trip, he had to raise money, and Juan and I sold cookies at school for months!
Ironically, while there, we stumbled upon the movie set of Big Mama’s House 2. I literally thought this was my shot, I went on set, talked to the extras and asked them how they got on the movie. I didn’t want to leave! So, you may have guessed it, but I didn’t get discovered.
I did go home with a fire lit inside of me though. I was ready to make my move right after high school. Most of my peers and their parents never even left the city of Cleveland, but I got to see that dreams are possible. I’m forever thankful for that, Dr. Tom Griffin and Maple Heights High School!
My mother insisted that I complete my post-secondary education prior to making my big move to Hollywood. I still continued to seek out opportunities to perfect my craft. I attended Bethune Cookman College my freshman year and then transferred to Kent State University my sophomore year. I participated in student productions in the African Community Theatre under the direction of Dr. Fran Dorsey who was extremely pivotal in solidifying my choice in wanting to pursue acting full time. Two months after graduating, I headed right to L.A. I got a job at Olive Garden in Ohio so that I could intentionally transfer to another Olive Garden in L.A. so that I made sure I had some kind of income until I found a job in my field. I had interviews lined up.
During my nine years in LA, I have been featured in several television and film productions. In the midst of attending acting classes and workshops, I also obtained my MBA with a concentration in Marketing. To my surprise, I actually took a liking to it and realized how Marketing was absolutely necessary knowledge for an actor, as the social media age started to progress.
I also had the opportunity to learn the business from behind the camera. I started out as a Production Assistant and worked as a Production Coordinator and Production Manager. I also co-produced a short film named “Binky” for Stephen David Brooks that has won several awards and screened at Cannes, and was a Producer on his latest award-winning film “Flytrap”.
I was nominated for Best Actress for the 2015 MPAH Haiti Movie Awards for my starring role in the film “The Heartbreaker’s Revenge” (also known as Ex Games) which premiered in Haiti. I was also nominated as Best Actress in leading role Diaspora film for the Nollywood & African Film Critics’ Awards (NAFCA), which is also widely referred to as the “African Oscars.”
I have had the opportunity to perform in several stage plays, under the direction of Don B. Welch, Tai French, Wallace Demarria, and Jaimyon Parker to name a few.
So now, this brings me to Atlanta, where I am now. Where my Manager encouraged me to go, and he was right. As an African American actress, Atlanta is honestly where I need to be. I have been auditioning like crazy! I also just got cast in a pilot called “Tray Misunderstood”, written and directed by Vinnie LaMotte. It’s amazing how things come full circle, because Vinnie LaMotte is also from LA and I was in his first pilot, “The Rapper” when I lived in LA.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not at all! Specifically moving to Atlanta. To sum it up, and being completely honest, within only four months, I moved from LA to Atlanta, then back to LA, then back to Atlanta, experienced two job losses, a breakup, homelessness, driving for Postmates, to almost losing my life being sick with pneumonia for a month. For my nine years spent in LA, I probably need to write a whole book on those struggles.
Nobody wants to really tell you what really goes on behind the perfect highlights of life we share on social media, but if you’re reading this and going through heck, you aren’t alone! Anything worth having comes with a struggle, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, so keep pushing!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Brittany Mayti story. Tell us more about the business.
I’d say most would know me/recognize me from the “Million Dollar Money Drop” debacle, which finally does not come up for a few pages when my name is Googled, thank goodness!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I wouldn’t refer to it as “luck”, I give all glory and honor to God. I am truly blessed. I am also a believer that God gives us the free will to make choices. Often times our bad choices lead us to not so good consequences. I have learned from my good and bad choices (which have been a lot), and I consistently pray that I am aligned with the perfect path God already has set for me.
It’s so hard to not be like, “God, please let me get this role”, I use to do that often. Now my prayers are more like, “God, if this role is for me, please guide me in making all the right choices to not mess it up”.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.brittanymayti.com
- Email: info@brittanymayti.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/brittanymayti
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/brittanysmayti
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/brittanymayti
- Other: www.imdb.me/brittanymayti
Image Credit:
Fresh Look Photography- Sage Kirkpatrick, Michael Roud Photography- Chris Wood, Jet Luxury Photography, Trey Keene Photogrpahy, Ashley Steele, Van Vicker, Vinne LaMotte
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