Today we’d like to introduce you to Tina McCoy-Mitchell.
Hi Tina, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi, I’m Tina McCoy-Mitchell and I’m a writer, director, amateur guitarist, and actor from Meridian, MS. I got started as an actor back in high school. My teacher at the time was a huge Broadway fan and wanted our school to start a drama program. We did High School Musical first. Haha.
Years later, I went to The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) to study theatre where I met my partner Kaleb Mitchell. We started out just shooting silly shorts in his apartment with his roommate.
I moved to Atlanta in 2015 to start my acting career, primarily background work and standing in. Humble beginnings. But I did get to work on season one of FX Atlanta. I doubled Zazie Beetz for a couple months, so that was cool.
In 2016, Kaleb moved out to Atlanta, too, so we picked back up with shooting short skits with our friends here in the city.
We’ve since started our production company Brayvhouse (literally pronounced Brave house) which is how I got the bug for filmmaking. I mostly identify as a writer/director now, but I still audition for film and tv.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Yeah! There have been plenty of challenges along the way, but not too many obstacles. I believe I’m blessed in that way, that most things I try to do just work. It’s cool. God loves me. Haha. It has been challenging co-running a production company though.
I told my mom in a call yesterday that if I’d known this was my career, I’d have gone to business school. But anything can be easily grasped through countless hours on YouTube.
The greatest challenge has been overcoming my own lack of discipline. I was never a very good student in school, so I’m really having to unlearn a lot of bad habits to get things done. I’ve been remaining consistent and that’s really the only way to overcome it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Like, what do I do? Haha. It is difficult to answer that question fully, because I do lots of things. Any artist knows that you have to be flexible to get things done/survive.
Primarily I’m an actor. That’s my career. My business is filmmaking, where I write, direct, and occasionally run sound or edit. It depends what I have more of, money or time. Then I know if we can hire someone else to fill the job and I can focus on something else.
I’m most often known to write and direct. I wrote my first short film back in 2020 called Cafe Q. It was a comedy about what it was like to eat at restaurants with the mask mandate. Haha. It’s crazy to think that that’s a part of our history now.
It was fun making it, but I’m most proud of the things that are yet to come. Kaleb and I have been in our writer’s room for a trillion hours now, it seems, working on Westwood. We shot a proof of concept for it a while back, but now we’re hoping to get started with shooting half-hour episodes.
I think what sets me apart from other creators is that I’m still weird and jolly and I’m 30. People feel like once you have bills and a career you should let go of your inner child, but we all still need to laugh and find adventure. I love making stuff that my generation can relate to. TV and film in the 90s was so strange, and we accepted it all. I guess I’m a product of that strangeness and want to produce more things like it.
Lately, it’s been cool to hear people older than me tell me that they see what I’m doing and that I’ve inspired them. My mom said that recently and I think it validated my whole existence. Haha.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Go to events for people in your field. And ask questions. Even if you look or sound stupid. You’d be surprised who wants to help you learn. Some people love teaching. And those who don’t probably are too anxious or don’t have time, and that’s ok. Ask someone else. You’ll find the right person. What’s been working for me is that I put myself in positions to work with people smarter or more successful than me. My dad said to me once that if I’m the most successful person in the room, then I should find another room to be in, so that’s kinda how I live my life now.
Contact Info:
- Website: Brayvhouse.com
- Instagram: Business: @brayvhouse | personal: @loovetina
