BIOGraphy:
Tricia Collins is an actress and filmmaker born in Vancouver, Canada. She studied both mathematics and theatre at Simon Fraser University and then went on to train with Larry Moss and Patsy Rodenburg in New York. Tricia has toured internationally with numerous theatre productions and has garnered high acclaim for her work as a playwright and filmmaker. Her film Clinch was nominated for Best Cinematography at the Richard Harris International Film Festival and she won for best actress at the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival.
Tricia is also the owner and Director of a media production company called Perseverance Pictures. For more info click here:
“With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.”
My Story
I grew up in working class family in East Van, raised by an awesome, hardworking immigrant single mom and spending time with a tough and tumble Irishman. I was shy and moody and often causing trouble… And then one day I found ART and it changed my life. I worked on The Turning Point Project lead by California based Performance Artist Suzanne Lacey. I learned about visual art, tableaux vivants, media deconstruction. By the time I finished high school I was an artist and actor, transforming everything I felt into what I loved: stories.
My first job out of high school was facilitating Theatre-based Workshops for the Attorney General’s Youth Programs Initiative. It was political, it was exciting and it inspired me every time I saw the moment when a young person’s mind shift in belief. When they turn towards being stronger, more empowered versions of themselves. I did for them what art had done for me.
Theatre
Fresh on the heels of returning from studying Tibetan Dharma in Nepal, I learned the craft of Acting for the stage and Playmaking at Simon Fraser University. My first professional acting role came in my final year of school, where I played a young prostitute named Hollow in Rare Earth Arias, written by Women from the DTES Writing Group. Again my love for the arts and social change came together and for the next 8 years I was a playwright, actor and theatre producer at urban ink productions under the artistic direction of Marie Clements. Every production we made was written by Indigenous or diverse artists and I assisted in the development of numerous writing and theatre workshops that gave voice to those who would go unheard otherwise.
Film and Television
Since that time I’ve been an actor, writer and director in film and television. I was in the Women in the Director’s Chair CAM program and I completed the Bell Media and WGC Diverse Screenwriter's program for television. I hold a Master of Arts from Ryerson University's Radio and Television School of Media. I’ve also created other script development programs for organizations such as the Union of BC Performers, Rogue’s West Acting School and Access to Media Education Society. I’ve acted in a variety of films and television productions presented both here and in Ireland, where I work with film and television creators and am also a citizen.
Back in the day
Creating from my bones
A lot of what I create comes from my mixed race roots, as an Irish, Chinese Guyanese woman.
We all have a story to tell and if you want to create, I encourage you to “Write From Your Bones.” To channel your experiences and perspectives in life into something for others to experience, enjoy and learn from.
