Patrice Thomas(II)
- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Most people know me by my nick-name, "Treice." I was raised by a single parent, my mother. I am the last child of three, with an older brother by three years, and a twin sister.
I am the product of the Chicago Board of Education school system. My journey after high school took me to Olive-Harvey Junior College; where I studied African American Studies and Journalism. After Junior college I enrolled at Columbia College of Chicago. There my course load was even heavier: Mass Media, Media Writing, Fiction Writing I, II and III, Copy Editing, Writing for Television, and a number of Television Production and Directing courses. In June of 1994 I received my B.A.
After college I wanted desperately to work in 'the business,' so I headed out West. My brother had made a name for himself in Boise, Idaho, and invited us to come out: that September, I, my mother and my sister packed up everything we owned and made the move... I'm still here. I was lucky, that same year I landed a temporary job with Idaho Public Television as part of the production crew. When that job ended, I was lucky again when I landed full time work as part of the studio production crew with NBC's KTVB NewsChannel 7. A year later I applied for the Weekend Morning News Producer job, and got it. I stayed with NBC for nearly ten years. I left when my dream of working with a Hollywood producer came true. It turned out to be the best job I'd ever had.
Writing has and always will be my only true love. I started writing somewhere around the age of 10 or 11. My teacher, Mrs. Jackson was known for putting on the school plays every year. Everyone wanted her as a teacher, so when it was time for me to go to fifth grade, you can only image how I hoped she would be my teacher; when it happened, I was overjoyed. In the course of the school year she decided the play we were to perform. We rehearsed daily during and after school. It was going to be great! Mrs. Jackson took a day off and we were left with a substitute. We destroyed that lady. We were at our very worst, and wouldn't you know it; Mrs. Jackson, who as extremely upset with us, cancelled the play. She scolded us and gave us plenty of homework. One of the assignments was that we had to make up a screen from the play we would not be performing. Like everyone in the class, I wrote mine and turned it in. The next day, Mrs. Jackson said she wanted to read one of the assignments to the class; she did...it was mine. I was so overjoyed. After class she told me to finish writing it. It took me two years to write; it was my first movie and it was the longest screenplay I'd ever written, 350 pages. It was called "Living It Up." Believe or not, I still have it. At 12, I had no idea what the correct format for writing a screenplay was, but I've always known how to make the characters voice come to life and how to tell a story on paper.
I fell into writing manuscripts by accident. I was attending a screen writing gathering for hopeful writers and a producer was speaking...He asked us to give him a 'log line' for what we consider to be our best work. Well, I had already completed the screenplay for Danny Dunkin and The Element of Surprise, and I definitely considered it be my best work. So, I doodle on paper what I felt was the greatest 'log line' ever. "If you liked Harry Potter, than Danny Dunkin will knock you off your feet." The guy looked at me like I had insulted his intelligence and said, "Is that it?" I'm thinking to myself...'of course that's it.' I look at him for support and he told me "Take a few minutes and come up with another one," so I did. "A 10 year old boy meets his extended family for the first time and the extension turns out to be a far cry from normal...or human." "Better," he told me. After the gathering, I asked him if he would read a couple of page of my screenplay...he did, and he loved it. He asked me if the screenplay was a novel, and I told him it wasn't. He told me "It should be." That same night the manuscript for Danny Dunkin was born. Since that meeting I have written a host of features, pilots, and Danny Dunkin is now part of a series that I hope to one day see on screen.
The journey to writing is never ending. I have never forgotten the words of my high school English teacher; "Look to words, they'll never let you down." She was 100% write about that. I am a writer; if I never make a single dime, I know that creative writing is what I am meant for, it's who I am.
I am the product of the Chicago Board of Education school system. My journey after high school took me to Olive-Harvey Junior College; where I studied African American Studies and Journalism. After Junior college I enrolled at Columbia College of Chicago. There my course load was even heavier: Mass Media, Media Writing, Fiction Writing I, II and III, Copy Editing, Writing for Television, and a number of Television Production and Directing courses. In June of 1994 I received my B.A.
After college I wanted desperately to work in 'the business,' so I headed out West. My brother had made a name for himself in Boise, Idaho, and invited us to come out: that September, I, my mother and my sister packed up everything we owned and made the move... I'm still here. I was lucky, that same year I landed a temporary job with Idaho Public Television as part of the production crew. When that job ended, I was lucky again when I landed full time work as part of the studio production crew with NBC's KTVB NewsChannel 7. A year later I applied for the Weekend Morning News Producer job, and got it. I stayed with NBC for nearly ten years. I left when my dream of working with a Hollywood producer came true. It turned out to be the best job I'd ever had.
Writing has and always will be my only true love. I started writing somewhere around the age of 10 or 11. My teacher, Mrs. Jackson was known for putting on the school plays every year. Everyone wanted her as a teacher, so when it was time for me to go to fifth grade, you can only image how I hoped she would be my teacher; when it happened, I was overjoyed. In the course of the school year she decided the play we were to perform. We rehearsed daily during and after school. It was going to be great! Mrs. Jackson took a day off and we were left with a substitute. We destroyed that lady. We were at our very worst, and wouldn't you know it; Mrs. Jackson, who as extremely upset with us, cancelled the play. She scolded us and gave us plenty of homework. One of the assignments was that we had to make up a screen from the play we would not be performing. Like everyone in the class, I wrote mine and turned it in. The next day, Mrs. Jackson said she wanted to read one of the assignments to the class; she did...it was mine. I was so overjoyed. After class she told me to finish writing it. It took me two years to write; it was my first movie and it was the longest screenplay I'd ever written, 350 pages. It was called "Living It Up." Believe or not, I still have it. At 12, I had no idea what the correct format for writing a screenplay was, but I've always known how to make the characters voice come to life and how to tell a story on paper.
I fell into writing manuscripts by accident. I was attending a screen writing gathering for hopeful writers and a producer was speaking...He asked us to give him a 'log line' for what we consider to be our best work. Well, I had already completed the screenplay for Danny Dunkin and The Element of Surprise, and I definitely considered it be my best work. So, I doodle on paper what I felt was the greatest 'log line' ever. "If you liked Harry Potter, than Danny Dunkin will knock you off your feet." The guy looked at me like I had insulted his intelligence and said, "Is that it?" I'm thinking to myself...'of course that's it.' I look at him for support and he told me "Take a few minutes and come up with another one," so I did. "A 10 year old boy meets his extended family for the first time and the extension turns out to be a far cry from normal...or human." "Better," he told me. After the gathering, I asked him if he would read a couple of page of my screenplay...he did, and he loved it. He asked me if the screenplay was a novel, and I told him it wasn't. He told me "It should be." That same night the manuscript for Danny Dunkin was born. Since that meeting I have written a host of features, pilots, and Danny Dunkin is now part of a series that I hope to one day see on screen.
The journey to writing is never ending. I have never forgotten the words of my high school English teacher; "Look to words, they'll never let you down." She was 100% write about that. I am a writer; if I never make a single dime, I know that creative writing is what I am meant for, it's who I am.