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Joe Mayes is an actor based in Atlanta. He has a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in Theatre Performance and had 9 years of experience and training in stage and on-camera acting.
He was born Joseph Cephas Mayes IV in Silver Spring, MD, just outside DC where he affectionately calls home. He is part of a large extended family. Greek on his mother's side and Tennessean on his father's. Shortly after his birth, he and his parents moved to Frankfurt, Germany. His first sister was born two years later and a year after that they moved to Virginia for less than a year. Then the family of four moved to Athens, Greece where Joe started school at an international school. His second sister and last child of the Mayes family was born. Then the Mayes' moved to Vienna, Austria where Joe attended another international school until the end of 7th grade. His family made one last move to Ashburn, VA, where Joe finished High School. Throughout his schooling he participated only occasionally in the performing arts. He was much more enthused by playing sports, but when he did perform on stage he had a natural ability.
In the years following his high school graduation, Joe struggled to find direction and purpose in his life due to prioritizing a lifestyle of drugs and partying which led him to trouble with the law. He dropped out of college twice and worked as an appliance salesman. After hitting rock bottom he began his journey towards a meaningful life free from the grip of self-indulgence. He spent a summer in Greece working as a camp counselor for a Greek Orthodox summer camp program. He had been raised by Christian parents and always felt a close relationship with God, but during that summer he gained a great deal of spiritual clarity. It was there and then that he found the desire and drive to act.
Upon his return to Virginia, he immediately went back to school, building up credits at the local community college and taking classes in acting and improv. He landed lead roles in school productions, earned a place on the improv team, received awards from his teachers and peers in leadership, talent and skill, all while maintaining A's in all his classes.
He continued providing service to the Orthodox church he attended by leading and teaching the altar boys, coaching the youth basketball team and serving 2 years on the parish council. Today he continues his service to the church as a whole, lending his skills and talents as a performer to raise funds. Starting in spring of 2020, he has worked closely with the Greek Orthodox church on a series of videos that will serve as a tool and resource for young adults to improve their lives by confronting their thoughts and feelings about all of the obstacles and gifts pertaining to human life.
After acquiring the necessary credits, Joe transferred to VCU in Richmond, VA where he received valuable training in theatre and on-camera acting, solo performance, stage combat, Shakespeare and other classical works. He has studied Chekhov, Viewpoints, Suzuki, Laban, Fitzmaurice and Stanislavski. He was cast in the majority of main-stage productions at the university as well as many student theatre productions and films. He has worked with Sharon Ott, Patti D'beck, David Leong, Aaron Anderson, Bostin Christopher, Dorie Barton, Karen Kopryanski, David Toney, Barry Bell, and Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates who is known by her students and associates affectionately as Dr. T. Joe learned a great deal about Black Theatre and the African-American experience. For years he has worked in multiple productions geared towards raising awareness of the racial issues in America. He plans to continue to use his performance abilities to educate audiences about race and fight against injustice and inequality.
Joe has starred in the feature film Cancellation directed by Justin Timpane, in the Investigation Discovery series Copycat Killers, the award nominated short film rough directed by Colin Earner and received work in multiple industrials. For the immediate future, his plans for his career are to continue learning the best ways to improve his craft, connecting with industry professionals, and adding new credits to his resume.
