Meet Patrick Ladonis: ‘SCALES’ Writer, Producer, and Creator

An actor, writer, and producer—Patrick Ladonis is a triple-threat in the film industry.

In 2017, he decided to create a digital web series loosely based on some of his relationships, as well as some of his college friends. Set in Atlanta, SCALES is a dramedy that centers around Remy Howard, a gay, successful man trying to find love, manage a career, and support his friends. SCALES first debuted on YouTube in June 2018 and quickly resonated with audiences across several mediums. The series showcases the LGBTQ community in a way that truly challenges the status quo.

SCALES gained over 100,000 views and reached almost 1,200 subscribers in a very short time. In addition to YouTube, Seasons One and Two are available for streaming on Revry.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has halted numerous productions, Ladonis decided to move forward with filming Season Three. However, to ensure the safety of the cast and crew, everyone practiced social distancing and followed CDC guidelines.

OUT FRONT had the opportunity to chat more with Ladonis about SCALES.Hi, Patrick! Thank you for taking some time to chat with me about your digital web series, SCALES. For those who are unfamiliar, can you begin by telling us more about it?
SCALES is a series about a very complicated guy named Remy Howard who is drawn to complicated people and relationships and how everyone deals with him and relationships.

Seasons One and Two are streaming right now. You are currently working on Season Three?
Yes. We have been in rehearsals and rehearsing outside, so we are making sure to practice social distance and all that good stuff.

How difficult has it been able to shoot a series in the middle of a global pandemic?
It has been very difficult because we started shooting May 30, which was still at a really high peak, but we trimmed the crew down a lot. Typically, we use 13 to 14 crew people, and we went to six. We did not think we would be able to do it, but we were very efficient. We shot more than what we thought we were going to be able to shoot. Everyone would wear masks except for the actors in the scenes, and scenes that were written to be shot inside, we moved them to outside shots.

Without any spoilers, what can loyal fans expect to see in Season Three?
For Season Three, I think there are two big things. One, there is a story that I have been wanting to tell for a really long time, and I think it will be a conversation starter because I don’t think any other medium on a digital platform or TV series that I am aware of has ever told the story we are going to explore in season three. I will be a conversation starter. Then the other thing, for those who watch Remy Howard, the character that I play, there is something really big that is going to happen, but no one saw it coming.

How significant is a show like SCALES to today’s times?
I think it is very relevant because I think SCALES represents so many things right now. One, being a Black, queer, gay guy myself, it represents that inclusion. It is a series where you do have the LGBTQ community front lining it, but then also being a person of color. Then, what is so special about the show is that we explore stories that are relatable to anyone.

Part of creating the show was to of course to provide entertainment, but there is some form of informative education that goes with it. I have had a lot of friends of mine, cis men and women, say they thought this show was just going to be a gay web series, but they when they saw it, they were like, ‘I’m watching this with my husband, and he’s like, oh man!’ It is really to start that conversation that we are no different.

I mean, yes, we just got same-sex marriage legal five years ago, and the Supreme Court said this year that we cannot be discriminated from our jobs, but we are no different, and I think a show like SCALES represents the future that we should always be in. We are not trying to campaign for anything. We are just characters that are existing, as it should be. We don’t have to talk about it, but Remy is gay, and his other best friend is trans. It’s not necessary for the story because we are people. We are all people.You first began working on this show and drawing up ideas while on lockdown in your hotel room in Barcelona after the deadly terrorist attack in 2017. How did that event inspire you to create SCALES?
My best friend and I go to Barcelona every year, but this will be the first year in 10 years that we don’t go. On our trip, we always talk about different things. I work in corporate America; my best friend is an attorney, and we always talk about things that we use to do that we really love. I used to do films on campus; I was actually in a movie in high school, and I really talked about how much I wanted to do it, but I never have time.

Well, day seven into our trip, the terrorist attack happened. It happened literally within steps from where we were. My best friend said to me that evening, ‘We have got to change our mindset on putting off things we want to do.’ We literally could have been killed that day. He said, ‘You always talked about writing and stuff in college, but you stopped. You have to get back to that.’ Of course, because of the terrorist attack, anyone with a passport, American citizens, were asked to stay in our hotel rooms.

Because we had to stay in our hotel rooms, we were kind of waiting to see if there was going to be another one. I usually find solace in my writing, so I started writing the script for an unknown show. I had not given it a name yet. I started creating situations based on some real-life experiences from my early years in my 20s, as well as my best friends. Coincidentally, there was a show on the TV in the hotel, I wasn’t listening, it was just on, and our current president was on.

It was very frustrating to me because we were in the middle of this terrorist attack, and we have an off-the-cuff person in charge. The world is so crazy, and all we are doing is trying to make it. And literally, I said scales. We are on a scale. We are just trying to balance. We are trying to balance things out and trying to make things work. I literally put that on my computer for the headline, and then I just said everything has got to focus about people trying to balance things in a world of chaos.

What is the number-one thing you hope audiences take away from this show?
I think the one thing I want people to walk away from with this show is that it is really about awareness. It’s not even about the acceptance. It is just awareness that people are people. No one is different. I know that people can see this just being a gay series because it was created by a gay man, but I feel that this show is no different than a Grey’s Anatomy. It is no different than any other medium, except that we are fully represented. If anything, I want people to walk away saying this show represents people very well.

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Not only are you the star, creator, and head writer, but you also serve as the showrunner and executive producer. How difficult is it to juggle all these roles?
If I had a cloning machine, I would get one [laughs]. It is very difficult, but I can tell you that creating your own show has been the best bootcamp for me. I have had that on the top experience learning. Writing my show, running the show, communicating with the director, telling them what I want and what I don’t want, talking with our crew people—it has heightened my confidence and my ability to lead things.

And let’s not forget the financial part of it. Being able to watch the production budget and staying on top of budget. If I was a seven three years ago, I am probably a nine now. I am much more comfortable to tell stories.

African American creatives are now more than ever finding ways to have their voices heard and make change in their own field. How are you doing that with yours?
I say this so many times. No one goes harder for SCALES than I do. It is my baby, and I am constantly promoting it. Whether it is on social media platforms, what I am wearing, I keep it at the forefront. I am always talking about it. I live and breathe SCALES because I feel like in order to get it to continue to grow, I have to manifest it, and I have to be the leader of it. To get it out there. So, for me, that is what I am. I am SCALES. When you think about SCALES, you need to think about Patrick Ladonis because I am here and not going anywhere.

What steps can other creators do to stay focused and be the best they can be?
I think the first step for creatives is, this is the best time to really heighten your creativity because we are in a global recess period. This is a time for you to really polish on your craft. There are a lot of courses that are made available and that are free for people.

So, do your research. To tell a great story, you need to write from your experience, your own personal experiences, and put a couple of colors into it like I did with SCALES. It is okay to actually reset and take a breather, and I think if anything, this global recess has taught us that we needed to slow down. I think this is the moment for creatives to slow down, rest, then restart and pivot.From your own, personal experiences, what are some of the challenges of being Black in the LGBTQ community?
That is a great question. I feel like I should be laying on a therapy sofa to talk about that [laughs]. First, being a Black, gay man, there is sometimes the struggle within our own community with ourselves because you have sort of heterosexual norms. There is usually that struggle within the Black community against ourselves because you are brought up in this church religious environment, and you sometimes feel it is wrong for you to be this way.

There’s not this acceptance, so there is a lot of that. Although with the new generation, there is a whole spectrum of sexuality where people are nowadays. I do think that in the Black community, that first hurdle is within ourselves. That judgement and stereotype.

Then the second, I think there is a little bit of divisiveness. Sometimes there are Black gays vs. white gays when we should be together because we are all in the struggle of trying to get equality together. So, I think those are kind of the two dynamics that happen.

Before we wrap up, are they any other upcoming projects we should be on the lookout for?
Yes! You should be. I have a spinoff for SCALES called SPADES, which stands for “Single People Are Dating Everybody Stupid.” It is a comedy, and it is going to follow Shelia’s sister Kim and her two friends from undergrad, and they are single people dating everybody stupid. I wanted to try something to sort of diversify my audience and writing. This is definitely for a much younger audience. That will also premiere this fall on Revry and YouTube.

To stay up-to-date with Ladonis, follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. SCALES is available on Revry and YouTube, and you can follow the show’s Instagram for the latest news and updates.

Photos Courtesy of Patrick Ladonis