Rising Stars: Meet Meredith Patterson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Meredith Patterson.

Hi Meredith, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in the city of Pleasant Hill, CA a suburb of San Francisco. I am the youngest of four kids. My father is a jazz drummer, and my mother always wanted to be a dancer. Growing up in a large 4-bedroom house that my mom ran her daycare business out of was chaotic. I had to compete for attention and to be seen in that environment. So, I used to clear the furniture in the family room and dance and sing with wild abandon for anyone who would watch. I would also gather the daycare kids together and put on a show. I was always creating and being expressive growing up. I luckily had parents who encouraged that. I moved to New York City at the age of 18 with dreams of starring on Broadway and being whisked off to Hollywood. I always had old-fashioned dreams of being a part of the Golden Age of Hollywood and the Studio System, which just doesn’t exist today.

I have always been told I grew up in the wrong era. I can’t remember ever wanting to be anything else but a performer. A defining moment for me, that I mention in my memoir, was watching the MGM movie musical Singin’ in the Rain at the age of 5. I was mesmerized and just wanted to jump inside the movie and dance alongside Gene Kelly. I loved dancing, and it filled my spirit with love and passion. It still does. Hearing people applaud when I performed was also intoxicating and career-affirming. I just wanted to do what made my spirit soar, took people away from whatever ailed them, and got people’s undivided attention. Performing has always been part of my identity and where I feel like I am at home.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The impact of the pandemic has taken away a lot of work for artists, myself included. It has also created in me the need to take control of my own work, and production of work, and find a way to create content and residual income digitally and online.

I started this journey prior to the pandemic because I have always been forward-thinking about where our business is headed and how to create residual income for myself and my family.

I was feeling the impact of being a mother and an actress in this business long before Covid hit. It is a very hard balance and difficult to find steady work. In 2020, I was decisive and emerged as an author for the first time. I launched my own book series last Fall completely self-produced & self-published, “Confessions of An Actress” is available in paperback, hardcover, kindle, and on Audible. I have a podcast of the same name that I would like to continue fostering, interviewing other artists, and creating a brand.

Producing those works for myself has sparked in me a need to launch my own production company this year, Merie Productions, named after my childhood nickname and representing the little girl in me who still has big dreams. I have so many ideas and I just need to find a way to educate myself on how to create them. I am currently developing exciting online courses for artists, not just skill-based (acting, singing, dancing) but diving into holistic health & wellness as a performer and tapping into my 30-year knowledge of navigating the business body, mind, and spirit. I am a certified Holistic Health Coach and Educator and have been on a self-care journey for 2 decades. My book series, “Confessions of An Actress,” is expanding in the Winter of 2022. The series starts with my current book release “From Chorus Girl to Broadway Star” and I am currently writing the second book, “Sunday Letters from Moscow” about my 16-week journey starring in a musical in Russia during a Chechen Rebel Terrorist attack.

A story that has sadly become very timely with the war in Ukraine. I have a third book planned which will dive into my time in Hollywood working with amazing celebrities in television and film. I am currently producing live concerts alongside other artist entrepreneurs & friends. Creating work for myself and other talented artists I know, and love has become a new passion of mine. I really want to return to working regularly on stage and in television and film. I have dreamed that my book series becomes a television series someday. Who knows, anything is possible. I have always believed if you can see it, feel it, and believe in it, it can manifest in your life. So, I am manifesting every day, and believing something amazing will emerge.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Won Best Local Author for Best of Whitefish 2022 for her memoir “Confessions Of An Actress: From Chorus Girl to Broadway Star” (Amazon/Kindle/Audible). Broadway: Originated Judy Haynes in WHITE CHRISTMAS (Cast Album), Peggy Sawyer in 42ND ST (Revival), Julie Taymor’s THE GREEN BIRD (Cast Album), MSG’s A CHRISTMAS CAROL Workshops: FINDING NEVERLAND, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, CURTAINS, MARILYN & ME, GINGER, THE JAZZ SINGER. Off-Broadway: Encore’s Face The Music (Cast Album), Town Hall’s Broadway By The Year. Regional Theatre: Starred in Real Housewives The Musical, Steve Martin’s The Underpants (Geffen Playhouse), The Boy Friend (Julie Andrews, Dir.) Young Phyllis in Follies (Papermill/Cast Album). Film/TV: Hail Caesar (Channing Tatum’s Tap Coach), Broken Flowers, My Secret Billionaire, Every Little Step, Before the Devil Knows You Dead & The Princess Diaries II, Company Man.

Guest Star on Law & Order SVU, Person Of Interest, The Good Wife, Boston Legal (Recurring), and All My Children (Recurring). Concerts: The Music Of Fleetwood Mac, Broadway in Barbados, 100 Years of Broadway, The Pasadena Symphony. Solo Show at Feinstein’s, Birdland, The Gardenia. Podcast “Confessions Of An Actress” (Apple/Spotify/Anchor). Online Courses “How To Become An Actress” & “Holistic Health For The Performing Artist” (2023) at MeredithPatterson.com.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
Currently reading “Untamed” by Glennon Doyle Insight Timer App for Meditation is one of my favorite apps. The podcast is Marc Maron but I always love listening to new works.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.meredithpatterson.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/merpatterson
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/meredithpattersonactress
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/merpatterson
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MeredithPatterson
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/meredithpattersonactress/tracks
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/Meredith-Patterson

Image Credits
Stephanie Girard Photography and Brayley Photography