We recently connected with Aretha Tatum and have shared our conversation below.

Aretha, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Seasoned The Series is my most meaningful project to date. Seasoned was a short film I made in 2021 as the world was opening back up after the shut-down resulting from the pandemic. The short film was about a group of women who decided to finally start a singing group 30 years after college. The message of the film was to remind people over 50 that it’s never too late to pursue your dreams. You’ve lived your life. Now, live your dream is the tag line. I submitted the short film to festivals. The short film got the attention of another indie filmmaker in Chicago, Andre Blaze Rodgers. He knew one of the cast members, Tracy R. Kincaide and asked her if she could set up a meeting. We talked and he suggested that I turn Seasoned into a series. After that I wrote the first three episodes and we went into production and what started as a short film evolved into a dramedy musical series with a majority of the cast over the age of 50. It brings me joy to be able to create an opportunity for older people.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My degree is in accounting. I worked for a couple of decades in various accounting positions. In 2010 at the age of forty-three my life changed when I was called into ministry. That was the moment that I started to live on purpose, led by God. I was seeking direction and God revealed to me that media, arts and entertainment was the area He wanted to use me in. I started attending film festivals, movie premiers, networking events in the Chicago area, learning about the entertainment industry and meeting the people who were creatives. I took a studio production class and attended workshops learning about production. In 2014 at the age of forty-seven I published my first book, followed by my second book in 2016. In 2017 I started writing inspirational articles and submitting them to magazines. At the age of fifty was when I wrote, directed and produced my first film . A short film that was only five minutes and seventeen seconds long called Through His Eyes – The Insight of Bartimaeus. The film went on to win a few awards at film festivals. I continued on and produced several short inspirational films. In 2020 during the pandemic, I was inspired to do three short films. I call them my “Pandemic Comedies”. I wrote the scripts, had the actors to self-tape their parts and I had my editor put it together and no one had to leave home.

I love to encourage and inspire and I am able to do it with my books, articles and films. What I really love about the series Seasoned is the message. It actually represents me. I am amazed at all of the things that I have been able to do after 40. I also love the fact that I am able to create the opportunity for other “Seasoned” people to do something new or to get back to doing something that haven’t done in years.

Have you ever had to pivot?

We were able to get the first five episodes of Seasoned produced and streaming which was a blessing because we didn’t have much of a budget. However, we didn’t have the funds at the time to do more episodes. I was inspired by God to do a Seasoned Showcase. Seasoned is a musical series and a lot of our cast can sing. So I wrote some comedy skits and we took the cast to the stage and did a live event. It was an amazing experience. The first showcase was April 2023, then we did another one, a Christmas showcase in December 2023 and a Celebrate the 70’s showcase in April of 2024. The showcases helped to build the audience for the series and it was a chance for fans of the series to be able to see and meet the cast in person. That was a God move. I would have never thought to do that on my own!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I am on a mission to use film, music, articles, the arts period to encourage and inspire everyone I can. So many times people won’t try to do what they should do. They make excuses. Every time I am able to “suggest” to someone to just do it and they set fear aside and go on to do it, it blesses me. I don’t have a specific goal I am trying to reach. I am on a mission to reach people and help them to reach to be the best version of themselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://seasonedtheseries.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fmsrespectjoy%2F&is_from_rle
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aretha-tatum-b7512030
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJfGZAZxQwv-HW0invww8XA