Natasha Mercado is a performer, writer, and director whose work lives where vulnerability and absurdity meet. A first-generation mixed-Latina artist, she creates worlds that are intimate, strange, and unapologetically alive.

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Her work centers the intelligence of the body and the audience relationship, building comedy through presence and invitation. David Shiner, co-creator of Cirque du Soleil, once called her “fearless and completely out of her mind.”

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Natasha’s practice spans solo performance, immersive theater, and film. Her award-winning solo works Tree and #1 Son have toured internationally from Hollywood to the Edinburgh Fringe, earning sold-out runs, critical acclaim, and extensive recognition. Across her work as a performer and director, she has received over 50 award nominations, winning more than half.

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In 2026, she created Soft Clown Fest at the historic Lyric Hyperion Theater, transforming the venue into four simultaneous performance environments featuring up-close clowning and unconventional staging with over 60 performances throughout the day. The festival marked a significant expansion of her site-responsive, immersive practice and her interest in intimacy, technology, and audience proximity.

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On screen, Natasha has appeared on HBO, Adult Swim, Broadway Video and TBS, and was named an Emerging Content Creator by the National Association of Latino Independent Producers.

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Natasha is the creator of Soft Clown, a performance philosophy that treats sensitivity as a strength and pleasure as a compositional tool. As a director and teacher, she leads workshops in the U.S. and internationally, working both in-person and virtually with artists across borders.

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Across mediums, her work asks a persistent question: How do we stay soft in a world that asks us to harden?

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Based in Los Angeles and available for collaboration, directing, and teaching projects.