Colleen Patrick: "I tend to agree with Confucius, who said: 'When you do what you love, you never work a day in your life.'
"Since I've done what I love for so many years - writing and making films, I don't consider work 'work' as much as I feel it's about sharing the love, expressing myself and loving life, welcoming all it has to offer.
"I thrive on the challenges writing, producing and directing offer me daily; I love learning daily what I can do to enhance my skills and awareness of everything I do, personally and professionally. For better or worse I don't know how to do anything lending less than 100% of my heart, soul and guts."
Producer Larry Estes tells people, "Colleen has two speeds -- HIGH and OFF. And OFF does not work. While we spin at 33 and 1/3 rpm, she spins at 45. I would say 78 rpm but young folks probably wouldn't know what that means."
She prefers to work on three feature projects at a time because that still leaves her plenty of time to enjoy a very happy personal life. It wasn't always so.
A military brat, she was moved 17 times by the age of 17. While she learned so much from her constant displacement, she kept sane from the ensuing sadness and desperation of leaving friends every so many months by writing and exercising her (perhaps warped) sense of humor.
"I wrote and starred in my first play, 'Fishnet,' when I was 10 years young. I also wrote for school newspapers, edited one, published poetry and more. Even as always the new kid, I was still cast in plays that made indelible impressions on my life like The Diary of Anne Frank, put on school debate teams and subjected my temporary friends to stand up comedy routines and songs I loved to sing in public - much to the chagrin of my parents.
"My professional journalism career began when I turned 18 in the US Air Force, where I worked as a newspaper reporter, then editor, photographer, radio and television work as well as performing PR duties as part of President Kennedy's 'Cape Cod White House' press staff at Otis AFB, Massachusetts."
During her four-year enlistment, she also toured as a singer with the US Air Force Band.
"From there I briefly studied at the University of Central Washington and the University of Washington, leaving to become a full time television and radio news reporter for KIRO-TV/AM (CBS) in Seattle shortly after my 23rd birthday.
"I went on to have a distinguished career in journalism in radio, television and newspapers - doing such varied jobs as investigative reporter, anchor, talk show host, columnist, commentator, news director, media analyst and ombudsman/reader advocate. My reports appeared on CBS, NBC and the Associated Press. I appeared as a media pundit on CNN and several talk shows.
"During this time, I also managed to perform in plays, do stand-up comedy, be a 'charity auctioneer' to raise money for good causes and charities, help at-risk kids learn media skills, sing professionally, have several magazine articles published, graduate from the University of Washington (communications and sociology) and begin to write screenplays.
"Throughout my media work, I also coached individuals and groups whose stories were underrepresented, misrepresented or ignored by mass media how to tell their stories effectively, including teaching them camera skills.
"I wrote Mind Over Media (CHEF Publishing), a book to help people work with media to tell their stories, and The 100% Solution (Meadow Brook Publishing), a problem-solving book based on a four-step system I developed that shows how to solve problems by finding the solution first, rather than wallow in the problem.
"Over the years I've taught media analysis, screenwriting and film directing courses at the University of Washington, several Washington State Community Colleges and the Experimental College of the University of Washington. I've coached people appearing on Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America and other national and local television and radio talk shows so they could make the most of their appearances.
"I've also done a boat load of public speaking on a number of issues and motivation, including key note speeches. A rumor in my own time, I was asked by actors who knew I coached people how to perform effectively for the camera to train them as well. The Seattle Actor's Lab hired me to teach a camera acting class. When the Lab closed, I taught camera acting classes privately for several years before becoming an acting coach for individual professional actors as well as those desiring to create careers as film and television actors.
"During this time I produced, wrote and directed somewhere between 16 and 20 short films, often using the actors I coached, as well as writing and directing theater work and directing work written by other writers.
"One of my short films, 'Life As Art,' was featured at the Seattle International Film Festival, shown with the Swedish classic 'The Apple War' at a local theater, shown at festivals and screenings around the world and was an official Academy Award® submission."
She is a past president and international liaison of the Seattle chapter of Women in Film/Video and therefore a member of the past Washington State Motion Picture Council.
"I'm a breast cancer survivor - undergoing chemotherapy and radiation for nearly 18 months, I've been cancer-free for more than four years!"
A columnist ("Screenwriter's Café") for ScreenTalk international screenwriting magazine (based in Denmark) for five years, she wrote what screenwriter John Michael Hayes ("Rear Window," "To Catch a Thief," "The Man Who Knew Too Much") considers the best article he ever read explaining the feud between him and Alfred Hitchcock. (Several of her columns are featured online and on her web site colleenpatrick.com.)
"I became a full time writer/director/producer of feature films when Gary Allen Tucci and I created Heart Break Productionz. Our partnership is built on respect, honesty, trust and follow-through.
"Gary and I are proud that Heart Break Productionz supports First Place, a school and more for homeless kids in Seattle. First Place offers hope, home and education for the children and assistance for their parents - many of whom are escaping abusive environments."
