Tai French

Tai French is the 2020 NAACP Theatre Award Winner for Best Playwright, also nominated for Best Director and Best Ensemble for her last stage production "Pound Cake." On April 8, 2012, Easter Sunday, Tai French's hit stage play "Phoenix" had just received a standing ovation on it's closing night. Before she could give her closing remarks, she was presented with a commendation from Michael D. Antonovich of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for all of her creative efforts in education and the community. The commendation declared that very day as Tai French Day. Tai French is an experienced and seasoned talent that has been in the business for two decades. With a B.A. in English/Education, writing is just one of the myriad talents French possesses. Her career began in the world of dance in the 90's where she studied under phenomenal choreographers and living dance legends such as Toney Wilson, Eartha Robinson, and Kenny Long. Her years of dedication and passion for the craft earned her a spot in the prodigious Debbie Allen Dance Academy in 2001. She studied various genres of dance including: ballet, tap, modern, African, and hip hop. When her Film/TV & theatrical career began to take the lead in 2003 after she scored her first national commercial for Apple iPod, she realized that entertainment was the direction in which she wanted to go. Since then, there have been many projects she has launched through her former company Medium Entertainment, founded in 2004, which is now the blossoming Los Angeles based company Vintage City Entertainment (VCE), founded in January 2010. In 2005, French wrote, directed, and edited a feature film entitled "Beast", which is based on a true story about a violent teenage relationship that ends in a tragic death. The film was an official selection at the Pan African Film Festival in 2006. In the same year, she landed a role on FX's drama, "The Shield" and was also featured in the Dennis Dortch feature film, "A Good Day to Be Black & Sexy." While under the acting tutelage of Chip Fields (One on One, The Parkers, Living Single), French starred in the stage play, The Miracle Worker, where she played the role of Helen Keller. French also has a background in music. In 2003, she wrote and independently produced her first album "Ny'EVE." Soon after, she linked up with some rising Los Angeles producers for her 2006 album City in the Sky, also released independently. As a music artist, French scaled the Los Angeles area performing at numerous venues including the House of Blues, and Rumba Room. In 2009, she co-wrote her independent EP album "Feeling Myself." French is not only known in Los Angeles for her music, but also as a spoken word poet under the name Vintage Soul. She has performed at venues such as Da Poetry Lounge (Los Angeles), and The Nuyorican Poets Cafe (New York). From 2006-2009 she teamed up with A.I.M., led by Leila Steinberg, where her voice was not only used for a performance aspect, but as a tool to uplift youth and the community. In December 2010, French's first original stage production, "Jesus on the Way" hit the stage in Hollywood and sold out the entire run. The show was brought back by popular demand in December 2011, and was then followed by another successful original stage play "Phoenix" (formerly titled "Suicide"), which she starred in as the title character March-April 2012. The show was a hit that Los Angeles producer Don B. Welch brought it back for an industry night in Fall 2013. In Summer 2012, French wrote, directed, and was featured in her third stage production, "PUSH" which ran for a successful six weekends. Her fourth show, "Hurt People, Hurt People" (2014) sold out and was said to be a "moving and emotional show" about a teenage girls' group home and the anger that comes along with their broken pasts. Following the emotional roller-coaster came an even more heart-wrenching story about loss and grief in French's 5th stage production, "Don't Help Me, I'm Dying" (August 2014), which left audience members in tears. In need of some laughter and something light-hearted, French put up her 6th stage production, the colorful comedy, "Please Do Not Feed the Mannequins" (September 2014). French's 7th stage play "Suite V" completed her successful year of hit stage productions in November 2014 with a completely sold out run. In 2015, French sold out the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre for the reprise of "Hurt People Hurt People." In April, her stage play "All That Glitters Ain't Gold" sold out the entire one weekend run, Tai's most talked about piece of 2015 was her original production "Old Friends." Apart from the stage, back in November 2012, French took to the web as the creator, writer, director, editor, and star of a comedic web series called, I Hate My Co-Worker, which won at the 2013 LA WebFest. Professionally, French has taught Musical Theatre and Drama to K-8th grades in schools across the San Fernando Valley and the Greater Los Angeles area. French helms Vintage City Entertainment as the Executive Creative Director and has penned numerous TV pilots.