With many actors/actresses, the more diversity you have in your arsenal the better equipped you may be to take on new and challenging roles - be it in film, television, or on stage. With Actress/Musician Linda Collins - that certainly isn’t a problem.
Having began her entertainment career below the stage - playing in pit orchestras as well as symphonies and ballets, she later transitioned to acting full time. Now, she can be seen in upcoming productions including principal roles in 21st Century Vision Films crime thriller “The Stable” - playing a gritty nightclub owner/head of a human-trafficking ring, and “Officer Miller” - a police officer in Writer/Director Terry Wickham’s “Double Vision”.
“Not only is Linda an excellent actress who is very seasoned, but I felt that she had the look and the life experience to mix in with the other cast.” - Writer/Director/Producer Terry Wickham
Linda Collins was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Olivia Watson Beaty, a pianist, vocalist, and Sacred Music Director and father Gaylon Patterson, a Lt. Colonial in the Air Force reserves, and Production Manager at McDonald-Douglas Aircraft. Her heritage includes Scottish, Irish and Native American on both sides. Linda exhibited an early aptitude for acting and music, and her siblings often created and performed plays for their parents while in grade school. Her earliest at home role was as Cupid in the family Valentine's play.
She was in the Thespians Club in high school, performing in school productions, and her talents subsequently won her scholarships to the University of Alabama, Duquesne University (BM, summa cum laude), and Northern Illinois University (Master of Music degree) where she was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi honor society.
After performing several years as a professional musician in the US and Canada, Linda moved to NYC, and in 2010 began pursuing in earnest her other love - acting. While studying in NYC with renowned acting coach Catherine Gaffigan, she began booking film and television work. Since then she’s booked leading roles in TV Series’ including “I'd Kill for You”, “Stalked”, “Redrum” (Co-starring as Lt. Detective Penny Kimball), “Evil I”, “Monsters Inside Me” (Co-starring as Patricia Nash), and the co-lead role in an episode of True Crime with Aphrodite Jones. She has also appeared in the Feature Films “Burning Blue” (As the on-screen mother to William Lee Scott's character), “Contest” (As a cooking contest Judge), and in the leading role of Edna in Ashley Cintron's production of “Chef's House”.
As a musician, Linda has played Principal Horn in several orchestras including the Huntsville Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony (CA), and Naples Philharmonic (FL) Orchestras, as well as in theatre orchestras for “Fiddler on the Roof” (Herschel Bernardi), “Showboat” (Elaine Stritch and Robert Morse), and “Phantom of the Opera” in Toronto. She also was pianist with many groups including the American Wind Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Ballet, Chicago City Ballet and Paul Taylor Dance Company, and has performed in numerous national broadcasts for CBC Radio.
Always an activist for the arts, Linda received the honor of a national appointment by Canadian Minister of Heritage Flora McDonald to serve for three years as a member of the Canadian Advisory Committee on the Status of the Artist ( Ottawa, CA) and later was appointed by AFM International President Tom Lee as Assistant to the International President of the American Federation of Musicians in NYC, where she served the international music community for six years.
She has continued to hone her acting skills at the T. Schreiber Studio in NYC with coach Terry Schreiber and Peter Miner, while being booked regularly for various television and film work.
Now, as she gets ready to take on two new roles in 21st Century Vision Films crime thriller “The Stable” and “Double Vision” - there seems to be plenty on the horizon for the multitalented Linda Collins!
No comments:
Post a Comment