DEBORAH MEISTER
A MENTOR AND COACH
I am one of you...
...an actor in this jungle that is this industry. And believe me, there have been just as many times as I've been tangled up in a "Prospect-Casting/Director-doesn't-call-me-back"- liana as I have been running from the "I am not good enough" - predator inside of me. My path has been just as strenuous as most of yours and full of obstacles that I had to overcome throughout my 17+ year long career.
Having started as a Banker in Switzerland, through my 3-year acting education at The European Film Actor School in Zurich, to then a 2-year long program at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York and to a now a 8-year long life as an actor and writer in the City of Angels that is Los Angeles, I overcame hurdles and obstacles day after day.
In a way this journey can feel like going to Hogwarts after having lived in a muggle-world and it is tough. It is tough finding out there is magic inside of you but not knowing how to use it just yet.
But I soon learned that my struggles, or how to cope with them would help others avoid them or deal with them more gracefully. My goal to guide and teach came from a need that I wanted to have someone to help and support me throughout my path and along the way. A mentor, a coach, someone that understood me.
What if I could provide a safe space for others like myself so that their path would be more smooth and more fun?
That is when I decided to teach 10 years ago. And it has been the most satisfying part of my career so far.
I have taught over 95 alumni - 90+ students who have achieved their short-term, but some also their long-term goals through their studies with me.
Actors have been accepted to prestige acting Schools, booked jobs, found agents and managers, got work permissions in foreign countries, won awards etc.
And success doesn't always mean an acting job - sometimes it means you are finally happy with who you are. You are standing up for yourself and you become the truest expression of yourself.
