Today we’d like to introduce you to Tai French.
Hi Tai, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Born and raised in the valley of Los Angeles, I was always invested in the arts. From a formally trained dancer as a young girl at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy in its inaugural year, to an onscreen and onstage performer by the age of 15, I started honing my craft and creating my own projects. As a 15-year-old rapper, I had the opportunity to perform at the House of Blues with some of my best friends as my background dancers.
In 2004, at the age of 17 and a Sr. at Cleveland High which had a media academy, I saw the kids editing films and was inspired to create something to teach myself how to edit. So I wrote, directed, and edited my first feature film which was a true story I read in CosmoGirl Magazine about teen domestic violence that ended in a tragic death. The film, BEAST, was an official selection of the Pan African Film Festival in 2006 and went on to be included in curriculums at Southwest and Santa Monica College. While an undergrad student at Cal State Northridge in 2008, I wrote my 1st stage play, JESUS ON THE WAY, about a married family, a drive-thru church and its preposterous preacher. After graduating, I went on to directing and producing the play in 2010 which was also the year I founded the independent production company with my family, VINTAGE CITY ENTERTAINMENT. Due to the overwhelming response from the first stage production, I went on to writing, directing, and producing 9 more stage plays in Los Angeles from 2011-2018. My most recent stage production, POUND CAKE, landed me the NAACP Theatre Award for Best Playwright in 2020.
In front of the camera, I co-starred in FX’s THE SHIELD opposite Glenn Close and Michael Chiklis as a teen back in 2005 and was in the very first iPod commercial in 2003.
Aside from the stage, I’ve created 2 web series, I HATE MY CO-WORKER (2012) and THE MOLDING MAVERICK MASON (2015). I HATE MY CO-WORKER was an official selection of the LA Web Fest in 2013 and two actors from the series (Malika Blessing and Tiffany Snow) won Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series.
With over 3 dozen TV series and 5 feature films in the works, my writing tends to focus on gritty drama (Breaking Bad, Euphoria), rich dark comedy (Atlanta, Shameless, Succession), and high-concept Sci/Fantasy (Black Mirror, Severance).
In 2017, I published my first literary work, a book of relationship-centered poems entitled SKIN: LOVE FRAGMENTS. In 2021, I created a new storytelling medium and coined the term CollaBooks — a modern twist on classic comic books that fuse narrative tweets over enchanting collage art. Right before losing one of my biggest supporters — my mother — unexpectedly in July 2022, I was amping up production on my latest feature film, GODKISSED, a pop-noir comedy-drama starring Lauren Elliott, Lyndsey Butler, and Shakari Gault.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
In the world of production, anything can always go awry or get tricky. But my family has always supported me when I came to them sharing my new ideas and always wanting to push the envelope. Having their support kept me above water when things seemed insurmountable.
During my most recent production, GODKISSED, 3 of our actors got COVID right before we started filming and so we had to push back. This caused us to lose some money on locations that were booked however, we pressed on and got a beautiful piece of art at the end of it.
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?
A loyal audience member of mine who has seen all of my stage works coined the term “The French Twist” for my storytelling specialty. She came to me saying that there’s always an unexpected twist to the story and with my last stage production POUND CAKE she remarked on how there were not only 1 or 2, but 3 twists that kept the audience on the edge of their seat or baffled by a unique turn of events.
I like mind-bending stories that feature everyday people but host an interesting perspective. I desire to create impactful and inclusive stories depicting black people and people of color in the myriad multifaceted ways that we come. We are joy, we are love, we are excellence, and I want my stories to reflect that with a present-minded and future-focused lens.
As an entrepreneur, I started my health and beauty company FACE BY FRENCHIE in 2017 where we sell matte lip colors, natural skin and body oils, beard care and more.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I had a dichotomous adolescence. On one hand, I was the well-behaved, good student and independent thinker my parents raised, but on the other hand, a wild child who loved hitting the streets and doing “hoodrat things with my friends (LOL)”
But I was outgoing, outspoken, an extrovert’s extrovert. A jokester like my mom, always making my friends and family laugh. In 6th grade, my English teacher called my mom in to tell her that I was gifted in writing and so they moved me to honors classes and at home, I became the family scribe. At 11, I was tasked with the honor of writing a poem for my grandfather’s funeral. Also at 11, I wrote my first book at called THE PROMISE OF THE HEART and my mother illustrated it for me.
I loved music and started a rap-singing group with my friends in 5th grade where I wrote all of our songs. I got to perform my music all around LA as a young teen and recorded albums, eps, and singles. I went to Hollywood High for 9th grade to be a part of their performing arts program and got to dance and act onstage with my friends under the leadership of living dance legends such as Debbie Allen, Kenny Long, and Eartha Robinson.
I was also into crafting and entrepreneurship early on. In 5th grade, I took my mother’s empty Victoria’s Secret body spray bottles and refilled them with my own perfumes made of out flowers and water then took them to school and sold them to my classmates for $1. The teachers told me to stop, but I didn’t listen and my thinking I’d be in trouble when they told my father, he instead told me that what I was doing was “free enterprise.” So he encouraged me to keep doing my thing, but just not at school anymore.
I was always trying to engage in some kind of transactional artistic expression when I was growing up.
Contact Info:
- Website: vintagecityent.com
- Instagram: @taifrench or @vintagecityent
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vintagecityentertainment
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TaiFrench
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@VintageCityEnt
- Other: facebyfrenchie.com
Image Credits
Tai French
