We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful TEHANA FATIMA WEEKS. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with TEHANA below.
TEHANA, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
Almost a decade ago a friend, co-worker, and accomplished filmmaker, Eric Michael Kochmer, suggested I check out the film collective We Make Movies. He went on and on about how great the group was, about how they’re doing cool things and about how the collective was poised to become a major player in the film industry (“so I should join sooner rather than later”). For many reasons, I didn’t go. Then he started nagging me about it. Then he started hounding me about it, and finally, about a year after he first suggested I do so, I attended a We Make Movies event. I was impressed. At the first Writers’ Workshop I attended, I enjoyed gripping pieces of work, poignant pieces of work, funny pieces of work, and pieces of work that bordered on the absurd. Audience members provided quality, thoughtful, insightful, and candid feedback to which the writers were open and responsive. To my surprise, I even participated in giving feedback! I felt comfortable and welcome. The group consists of high caliber actors, writers, directors, producers, composers, cinematographers, and folks from all walks of the filmmaking world. As you might have surmised, I continued attending and participating in We Make Movies events.
Maybe a year later, We Make Movies created mini writers’s groups to encourage us to write, create and collaborate. I had very little experience writing, but decided to join a group anyway. For my little writers’ group, I wrote a television pilot that will most likely never be seen by those outside of that group. When We Make Movies announced that it would have a ‘Rolling Production Fund Challenge’ to fund a short film, I thought little of it because, in my mind, I was not a writer for whom the challenge was created. After some time passed and the challenge continued to be promoted, we were encouraged to submit something no matter what and a simple idea for a film occurred to me. After mulling it over for a few weeks, I decided to give it a shot. That is how the first draft of COIN came to be. I took it to my writers’ group for feedback, they helped me to make the film 100% better, and I submitted the piece for the challenge. It made it to the second round but didn’t go any further in the challenge, and I was content to let that be the end of the road for the manuscript, but a lovely producer reached out to me about making COIN happen. We met, and the delightful, multitalented Michelle Loucadoux joined forces with me to breathe life into COIN and share it with the world.
Once our alliance was formed, I took my initial steps down the road to producing my first film. To start, I set out to create a budget. I reached out to filmmakers and Directors of Photography to get an idea of what I would need and how much everything would cost. After the budget was finalized, I conducted rigorous research on how to successfully finance the film. Ultimately, I decided to crowd fund the project and we exceeded our target by 47%. Next, I assembled my dream team and filmed COIN.
COIN is significant to me because it came together unexpectedly and wonderfully.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
A native Houstonian with Liberian roots, I’m an entertainer and business professional who serves, uplifts, inspires, and empowers people to make our communities, societies, and world better. It is my joy to create powerful content and to tell stories about underrepresented people, places and things on the margins. Since graduating from Carnegie Mellon University with a major in business and minor in drama, I have become an award-winning actor and filmmaker. To date, I have created and produced the web series Shrink Wrapped, for which I was nominated ‘Oustanding Lead Actress in a Comedy’ by LA Web Fest, wrote, produced, directed and starred in the short film COIN, which is the winner of a WorldFest Houston Bronze Remi Award, produced and directed the We Make Movies Film Challenge winner Mama Wanna, and directed the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge short Super Inappropriate which screened at HollyShorts.
Though I have a deep appreciation for content creation, my number one passion is acting. I love performing for the camera and on stage. As an actor, I’m a multifaceted enigma – sometimes zany, sometimes refined. You can think of me as a deliciously lovely blend of Michelle Obama and Leslie Jones – polished and sophisticated yet bold, vibrant, wild and animated. I could also be described as the young, black Jane Lynch – someone who will amuse you while putting you in your place, or even a female Lakeith Stanfield – the person who will baffle you, confuse you and make you feel good all at the same time, but the truth is, I’m the one and only Tehana Fatima Weeks.
In 2018, I completed the iO West Theatre Training Center program on a full scholarship. While there, I enjoyed time on the Main Stage as a member of an honor roll team. After finishing the program, I began performing regularly at The Second City Hollywood with the long form improv ensemble Stick Pics. If you scour the interwebs you’ll find me in a number of short films, a few web series, some online ads, several -print campaigns and one very interesting multimedia project. Most recently, I joined the SNL like sketch show This Week This Week and I like to believe the cast and I regularly dazzle audiences.
For several years, I served on the Board of Operations for the film studio and production company We Make Movies and I’m proud to be the organization’s Senior Director of Community Programs, Events, Outreach and Engagement. In this position, I use my background in program creation, event design and organization development to impactful programs, concoct imaginative events to enhance those programs and ensure there is an abundance of resources to support the programs and events.
A few fun facts about me – I’ve taken a sneakerology class and was a buggy racer in college. I’m a world traveler, a nature lover, a life-long learner and I delight in all things food
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I’d known about business of acting coaches. If I had, I would be miles ahead of where I am now. If you would like to pursue a career in acting, I strongly advise obtaining the wisdom, advice, and services of one or more business of acting or acting career coaches. Glean as much as you can for free. Most business coaches have lots of free offers. You may never feel the need to pay, but if/when you do, hopefully you’ll know exactly what you hope to get from working with them and will make good use of your time and money. Here’s a list of my favorites. I recommend checking them and a few others out:
Valorie Hubbard – Actors Fast Track – actorsfasttrack.com
Doreen Calderon – The Recognized Actor – dcdesign8.com
Jona Xiao – Career Activate – careeractivate.com
Dallas Travers – Sage Creative *(Dallas no longer works with actors, but if you can gain access to any of her advice or material, I strongly recommend you do so)*
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
This is the advice I wish someone had given at the start of my career:
Always try what speaks to you and leave the rest behind. Remain curious and open to learning on your journey. You are in control of your career. Take charge. You are capable of constructing the career of your dreams.
Your mindset is key. As the saying goes, you must believe it to achieve it. It is not enough to think you can, you must know you can. More important than knowing how, is feeling and knowing you can. Constantly and consistently meditate on that feeling. Just as important is being positive. Be a joy to work with and me from a place of service – this will be an important through line of your journey to success.
Contact Info:
- Website: imdb.me/tehanafatima
- Instagram: @tehanafatima
- Facebook: facebook.com/TheTehanaFatima
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/tehanaweeks
- Twitter: @TehanaFatima
- Youtube: youtube.com/@TehanaFatima