Pat believes that a unique perspective on life colors her writing, due in part, from her family and incomparable upbringing. An African American, born to highly educated parents, Pat, throughout her formative years, attended an all-girls boarding school in the north of England (think Harry Potter without the magic). A natural leader, she overcame the challenges of being a foreigner, coupled with the death of her mother when Pat was 16, to become a prefect and the deputy head-girl of her school. Pat returned to the U.S. and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. As a college actor, Pat was often the choice of many directors to originate roles for student productions. As a designer, Pat was the first undergraduate to design both, set and costumes, for a main stage show - James Baldwin’s Amen Corner - thus bringing an aesthetic unity to the production.

 

During summer breaks from university, Pat worked for Detroit Renaissance Foundation, a not-for-profit dedicated to the economic and physical revitalization of the City of Detroit. An Operations Manager, Pat oversaw events, such as the Detroit Grand Prix, The International Freedom Festival and the Montreux Detroit International Jazz Festival.  Post graduation, Pat used her creative and theatrical background to create, manage and produce experiential marketing and educational experiences for Fortune 100 companies, such as McDonald’s, General Motors and Daimler Chrysler. As a singer, she has performed in both the United States and Canada. For two years, Pat was the lead singer/lyricist for a band and performed around the Detroit club scene.

 

Pat lived and worked in New York for over 12 years. As a TV Producer, Pat produced shows that aired on IFC, Comedy Central, MTV, Oxygen, LOGO and Spike TV (now Paramount Network). Pat was a Senior Vice President of Account Services for MY Entertainment, an independent production company owned by veteran producer Michael Yudin. Through MY Entertainment, Pat served as a consultant to major cable networks, media companies and helped Yudin structure and build the branded entertainment division of one of the largest media buying agencies in the world, CARAT, owned by Aegis. Through her multimedia experience, Pat understands creating synergy and marketing from a 360° perspective, for creative and communication endeavors. During her tenure at Carat Entertainment, Pat was named chairperson of the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA’s) Entertainment Marketing Committee, where she participated in talks with the FCC on disclosure of brands in television.

 

Pat’s life was redirected when the world economy collapsed, she was laid off from her job, and failing health connected to the grey dust of 9/11 began an odyssey which brought Pat back to her roots in theatre. She directed a staged reading and subsequent world premiere of an original play by Joan Baker - Bonfire Night - at The Cell, an Off-Off Broadway venue in New York. Bonfire Night was the first production to come out of the Black Board Reading Series and featured veteran Soap Opera star Darnell Williams (Jesse, of All My Children). Pat went on to co-produce 10 Minutes Deep, a 10 minute Play Festival for The Cell in which she wrote one, and directed four, of the ten plays presented. Pat eventually went on to become Managing Director of The Cell. In this role, she worked closely with the Artistic Directors in re-branding the venue into A Twenty First Century Salon. She also produced The Cell's Summer of Lust, a joint venture with The Hive Theatre Company that featured the original play, Bad Evidence, by Terry Quinn and a progressive interpretation of A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. This celebrated production featured same sex couples.  After her departure from The Cell, Pat was honored to become a resident artist for her producing, writing, and directing work.

 

Pat's writing career has included both corporate and literary work, in addition to theatre. For pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly and their introduction of Cialis to treat both ED and BPH, Pat wrote three slice-of-life vignettes, that were performed live, to help illustrate key points to the sales force. Pat has also written numerous presentations. Under her pen name P.J. Edghill (pronounced Edge-ill), Pat’s short story Ophelia & Crawler was featured on AOL Black Voices and her second novel, The Soul Contract is in the works as well as a screenplay, Who Woke Papa? based on the events in the summer of 2020 . Pat's full-length farce, Team Plarski is currently being submitted to theatres.

 

Pat, a liberal Roman Catholic, is a frequent contributor of reflections to numerous publications within  her parish and has presented and spoken on aspects of faith in both New York and Detroit..

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Pat returned to Detroit when her health issues made New York unmanageable. Since her return, she has launched her proprietary branding methodology, “The Brand Root Method” (www.thebrandrootmethod.com) and became a member of the Extra Mile Playwrights Theatre (EMPT). With EMPT, she directed Voices from the Neighborhood, eight short pieces based on oral histories of past and present residents and businesses in the University Commons/Livernois corridor, which included the world premiere of Pat’s 10 minute comedic play, The Women of Warrington. Pat is currently developing this play into a short movie, and possibly a sitcom. Voices from the Neighborhood, which was funded by a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council, was awarded the highest mark (EXCELLENT), as well as accolades (“A model in all respects for similar council programs”) – from the Outside Evaluator. Recently, with EMPT, Pat co-wrote and directed A Detroit Carol, an interactive theatre piece.

 

Pat resides in the exquisite University Commons District in Detroit with her sister, brother-in-law and adorable nieces.

 

A NOTE ABOUT THE NAME:  To borrow a phrase from a friend, you could say I openly lead a double life, but the truth is  unless you've met me, "Pat Jones" could be considered pretty generic. There are also several authors with the same name; hence I adopted the pen name P. J. EDGHILL. Edghill was my mother's maiden name and it's a way to keep her presence in my life. Both names will often appear on the same program if I've written and directed...it's my way of trying to be as cool as  the late musical artist/genius Prince when he changed his name to the symbol as an artist, but Prince was the producer!