MEET MONICA L. PATTON

 

Meet Monica L. Patton!
After a long and successful career on stage, Monica L. Patton is using what
 she's learned to become a producer, playwright, and lyricist. 

This is our Backstage Story about the development of her Broadway-bound musical
Love & Southern Discomfort

by Marcia Pendelton
August 31, 2020

You have had an extensive and successful career as a performer. When did you decide that you wanted to become a content creator? 

I wrote angst-ridden poems as a teen. Recorded an abysmal house record in my early 20's which, by the way, is still trending in Japan. I create because my soul needs to create, but I realized that I had to create around ten years ago. I could no longer close my eyes to the reality of the shortage of original content on Broadway, let alone content reflecting a face like mine.

Is Love & Southern Discomfort your first full-length piece? If yes, when and how was it developed and over what period of time? If no, then tell us about what preceded it. 

Love & Southern Discomfort  (LASD) is my first full-length piece. It was initially titled "The Inheritance,"but then a transfer from the West-End, bearing the same name, put an end to that. LASD started a movie script. At the time, my co-creator, composer Bobby Daye, was a fellow cast mate on the Book Of Mormon Tour. Over 1,2...maybe three cocktails I said, Bobby, "I want you to read my script, I think it's a script, maybe a play, perhaps a play with music." Bobby came to me a few days later and said, "I wrote three songs! Our business partner attorney, Adam Slater loved the Book Of Mormon. We connected at the (Book of Mormon)stage door. Two years ago, I crowdfunded a series of LASD concerts, he was my biggest donor. He was our VIP Guest at the concert. By the end of Act 1 - He was in tears.

What is your process? What do you do when you are creating on your own? With a partner? 

My process: Arranging a day to myself! I am co-managing a company, caring for an emo teenager, and finishing up my degree! Creating on my own: Usually, I am guzzling coffee, surrounded by electronics, and talking to myself. Creating with a partner: Bobby is my primary partner. He likes to have the template first. He puts his magic on it, then we talk it out and edit together. 

Art is never created in a vacuum. It is always sparked in response to something. Why LASD? Why now? 

Why not? The United States of America is in the thralls of a cultural revolution. Why should Broadway be spared? LASD is showcasing a unique Black perspective. It is an engaging story of an old-money family, told through the prism of love lost, addiction: undiagnosed mental illness and a harrowing family secret. Black, white or other - that's everyone's family.

You have an amazing director (Tamara Tunie) and a producing giant (Ken Davenport). How did you connect with them? 

Social Capital. I have worked, lived, socialized in Musical Theatre for over 25 years. It's my community. When Bobby and I thought our baby was ready for public consumption, we reached out to friends who reached out to friends and so on. LASD is a community effort - A family effort.

What do you want people to gain/learn from witnessing LASD?

Love Cures Dysfunction. If you love someone who is struggling to claim their space in the sun, don't abandon them. Protect yourself yes, but keep the line open, the rope long but let them know there is a way home when they are ready.

What is your advice to anyone who wants to create content AND get it produced? 

Be prepared to do the heavy lifting. Have your beta group to protect against artistic isolation.Then, when you are genuinely ready to put yourself on the line, widen the circle and ask for advice, a point in the right direction, have some bootstrap capital and yes, ask for angels to invest.