We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful T’ana Phelice. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with T’ana below.

T’ana, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I first knew I wanted to pursue a career in the arts when writing began to distract me from toxic things. It became an escape. Anyone that knows me knows that I have been writing since I was a kid, but it’s kind of different when picking up a pen is now saving your life. Expressing myself through written form gave me permission to be honest. It gave me the space to feel whatever I was feeling. Naturally, people began to identify with my words. From there my poetry became short stories, short stories became live monologues, monologues became a stage play, and now I’m producing short films.

T’ana, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m the owner of T’ana Phelice Productions, where we create art for film, stage, and healing. It’s kind of crazy that I’m in the entertainment business, but also on brand with my journey. I’ve always been a writer. It seemed very “on the surface” when I was younger but at this point I know that God was preparing me for what I’m doing now. The songs and the poetry prepared me for the short stories in my books, JADED Diamonds and Pigs & Pearls. The books lead to the monologues. The monologues lead to the play, Diamonds In The Waiting Room. And here I am now, writing and producing short films that are naturally on their way to becoming features. Wild, but it’s been a natural progression.

I’ve always wrote to express everything that was true to me. In the beginning it wasn’t for anybody but me. It was just this thing I did to make myself feel better. But then someone read one of my poems and it made them feel better. What I wrote validated their experience. Still, it wasn’t until I was in my early 20s that I began to take myself seriously. My mom had been nagging me about publishing a book since I was a teenager, but I wasn’t moved to do so until I was going through something. I was kind of depressed and the only thing that brought in light was writing. It’s the resource God gave. So I wrote myself out of it. My first title came some time after that.

T’ana Phelice Productions is an expansion of my personal journey. The writing is now for everybody. The stage plays and films provide experiences that most people can relate to, and at the very least allow them to escape their reality when they need to. My audience looks forward to gritty storytelling. Sometimes I give them a few laughs but they’re locked in because they’re there for the truth. I give people mirrors. See yourself. Is this what you want? Was that a wise choice? Yes, you have all the power, girl! Ultimately, its entertainment but we can do multiple things at once. We can entertain you, make you smile, make you think, and show you how jacked up life is for the person you’re always judging. My fans and followers watch because they’re going to see something that actually matters. Something that can potentially inspire them to make better choices. I get something out of writing it and sometimes my actors have to face their demons to present it. The healing aspect can be full circle. I’m very proud of that.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I feel that society should give artists more respect. We work hard. A lot of us go to school and invest everything in us to become better at what we do. People don’t understand that creating films and plays is not a glamorous process. Everyone is a beneficiary of the final product but no one’s there when the writer is writing the project. One project can take months or even years. Some of your favorite movies took 10+ years to see the light of day. No one’s there when you’re casting, and producing, and searching for funding, and editing, and submitting to festivals and contests. No one is there for that part and that’s giving it to you light. For example, there’s a boutique shop that sells shirts that you absolutely adore. As a consumer you pick out the shirt, buy it, and wear it whenever you see fit. You don’t stop and think about how the designer got the fabric. It’s rare for a consumer to think about the time put into making the garment or what the store owner had to go through to get the shirt into the store. As the consumer you’re focused on one thing; the finished product. And I’m not mad at that but respect the time and effort spent to make that available for you. As the owner of T’ana phelice Productions I’m not just the boutique owner selling the shirt. I’m also the weaver that creates the fabric needed for the shirt, the designer that sketches the design for the shirt, the investor that buys the machine to make the shirt, the casting agent that hires models to wear the shirt, the c.e.o. that contracts additional stores to sell the shirts, etc… I don’t expect you to know or want those details but respect what I do. Support me. Make more grants accessible to me. Understand that this is work.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My goal is to develop stage plays and feature films both independently and with the help of major platforms. I want my productions to reach people that totally identify with the stories I am telling. It sounds cliche but when you are going through things you really feel that the situation is unique to you. You don’t realize that so many people share that experience, and when you don’t realize that you feel alone. That’s crushing. It’s hard to get out of dark places when you feel like that. I need people to see my stuff and think “Damn. She gets it.” My goal is to present truth in its true form on a commercial landscape. I want my films in movie theaters and my plays on Broadway.

Contact Info:

• Website: tanaphelice.com
• Instagram: tana_phelice
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdXFn9F0Jj3fZjF18wdbn6A

Image Credits
This Is Love, featuring stars, John Pene & Fallon Webb The Only Tired I Am, official selection at Atlanta Black Theatre Festival Diamonds In The Waiting Room, Jasmine Cephas