天美传媒

Keith Mascoll had always been into telling stories. His family is originally from Barbados of the West Indies where storytelling is enmeshed in their culture. Whether he was dancing like his father, talking like his grandmother, or doing impersonations of his neighbor, Mascoll was mesmerized as a child by the idea of 鈥渂ecoming somebody else.鈥� It wasn鈥檛 until his family took him to see a black production of the musical Mama, I Wanna Sing! in New York that Mascoll realized he could turn that concept into a career.

鈥� There鈥檚 so much more that I want to do. I鈥檓 still just as hungry as when I was at UMass. 鈥�

Since graduating from UMass Boston with his degree in Theater Arts, Mascoll has found indisputable success in film and theater projects. His credits include appearances in Grown Ups and Grown Ups 2, The Polka King, Hamlet, Dutchman, The Colored Museum, and Intimate Apparel, as well as the lead role in the 2017 independent film Confused by Love. He also starred in commercial campaigns for Dunkin鈥�, Harvard Pilgrim, and the Massachusetts State Lottery.

Mascoll has set his sights on different creative outlets, co-founding The Front Porch Arts Collective, a black theater company whose mission is to promote inclusion and challenge the biased narrative of race. He鈥檚 also expanded his storytelling to a podcast with his wife, fellow UMass Boston alumna Roxann Mascoll '01 MS, called 鈥淟iving a Triggered Life.鈥� In 2017, he launched Triggered Life, a one-man show that explores Mascoll鈥檚 past with sexual trauma and reconciling with his own identity while overcoming his past.

In this Beacon Spotlight, Mascoll discusses how he transferred schools and switched majors to pursue his path in acting, what he鈥檚 been up to since graduating, and where he has his sights set next.

Did you always plan to pursue acting as a career?
I started out at UMass Amherst on a soccer scholarship. My dad was kind of traditional and I was a political science major at first. And it actually didn鈥檛 work out. My scholarship didn鈥檛 work out either. I came back and regrouped and ended up at UMass Boston. I played soccer, but I wasn鈥檛 feeling like myself. It was like, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know why I鈥檓 not doing what I want to do.鈥� I wanted to breathe again. I felt like I was holding my breath, and I switched my major to theater, and it was best of the moves I鈥檝e ever done.

So after you switched your major to theater arts, that was a pivotal moment for you where you realized you were on the right path?
Right, but the thing about the path is, it鈥檚 still scary. You know there鈥檚 potential in yourself, but in some ways, it鈥檚 scary to know that you can succeed. It was such a great experience for me.

After you graduated from UMass Boston, what was your first step?
Some of those UMass Boston connections were helpful because some of my classmates would say 鈥淗ey, I鈥檓 doing a show,鈥� or 鈥淚鈥檓 directing. You want to come and be in shows?鈥� And that was helpful. You鈥檙e trying to build your resume, go to places where you鈥檙e seen. Then you decide what lane you鈥檙e going to be in. I was more in the theater realm when I came out, but there was an opportunity to jump over to film. Now I probably do more on-camera work.

That鈥檚 really cool! And then you expanded to other film projects?
I did some shorts, and I worked on Grown Ups and Grown Ups 2, standing in and doubling for Chris Rock. Certain times in that movie, it鈥檚 not necessarily him: It鈥檚 me. I learned so much from being on the set and standing in and doubling for over 100 days. I learned so much about that side of the work. It was like a master class working alongside the great crew and director and then Adam Sandler and those guys. They really took care of us, and I鈥檓 really appreciative of that.

Was there any wisdom you gained from your 100 days on set?
The first thing is humility. And your reputation and integrity are everything. So how you conduct yourself is important. How you treat other people is important. And be yourself: that was the main thing I was struck by, especially with Adam [Sandler]. Adam was himself in a pair of basketball shorts and a T-shirt. He never walked past anyone without saying hello. It was really professional. Everyone did their job.

You played the lead in the independent film Confused by Love. What was that like?
We shot it in six days, which is insane for a full feature. It was an incredible experience to be able to work on something like that. We had the festivals, and I went to France. It was a part of the Pan African Film Festival, and that was amazing to have my art take me to France. And then it ended up on Amazon Prime. It鈥檚 been unbelievable.

You鈥檝e been busy creating and involving yourself with different projects, launching a podcast and a one-man show. Can you tell me a bit about that?
Triggered Life is an incredible project for me to work on. It鈥檚 talking about my journey as a survivor of sexual abuse. Then you have a character who鈥檚 a composite of interviews that people have disclosed to me. And it鈥檚 important for me to talk about as a man of color. It鈥檚 important to talk about mental health. I鈥檓 hopeful that we can encourage more men to talk about what happened and give resources for people to help them heal. We can use art to be able to do that; I think that鈥檚 pretty special.

It sounds like you鈥檝e found considerable success in your industry and the different projects you鈥檝e pursued. Have you ever encountered any roadblocks?
For a while, I did walk away and didn鈥檛 do as much because I needed to deal with my trauma. I needed to deal with what had happened to me as a survivor of abuse. I had been working broken in a lot of ways. I had done some good work, but I wasn鈥檛 as healthy as I needed to be, so that was a journey to have to put things down for a while and work on myself. That was a huge obstacle. A lot of times, there鈥檚 self-doubt as well. I think also, getting used to the rejection. Or working with things that don鈥檛 work out.

Do you have any advice for our readers who are trying to get into the industry?
I would say that 鈥淐reate your own.鈥� As you鈥檙e auditioning, write. Help your other friends on different projects, and don鈥檛 limit what you can do. Sometimes in our minds, we put limits on what鈥檚 possible. We have to continue to expand our minds and dream about what we can do with our art. Try to be as versatile as we can.

How do you define your success?
People always say, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how you do it.鈥� I still feel like I鈥檓 on that journey, but success is different for different people. I鈥檝e had some success with my career. I feel like there鈥檚 more for me to do, but if I can pay my bills, pay my mortgage, and keep my spouse happy 鈥� that鈥檚 how I look at things. Can I sustain myself as an artist? It鈥檚 incredibly difficult to do, but it鈥檚 continuous. It ebbs and flows. When you work and then you don鈥檛 work. It鈥檚 80% 鈥淣o鈥� and 20% 鈥淵es.鈥� That鈥檚 reality of this field. I really take it all in stride. There鈥檚 so much more that I want to do. I鈥檓 still just as hungry as when I was at UMass.