Local Businesswoman and College Professor Raquel Richardson Thomas takes her life story to the stage in the play Defining Measures. The tale of fighting against teen suicide, foster care, generational curses, drug addiction, death, pain, struggle plus triumph and reclaiming your power is a riving and graphic account of the now successful entrepreneur’s early years growing up in Columbia, SC.
This first stage play from Thomas is based on a chapter in her book “What Becomes of a Broken Soul” and is one of many untold stories from her life that she feels will help save young people with similar experiences. These experiences are life-changing for many young women preparing for college and leaving home for the first time. Thomas goes head deep into teen suicide as she was once a victim of and her experience of being in foster care. “I felt so much pain, I was ready to throw in the towel, wondering if God could hear my prayers.” “I learned that HE did hear me and was not only protecting me but also preparing me for an amazing life” Thomas states!
A standout high school basketball player, the main character (Rachel) is faced with personal and family secrets while living in a home filled with mental, emotional, and physical abuse. With an older boyfriend and best friend involved in a relationship outside the “traditional” boundaries of love, Raquel is struggling to define who she is. There are “Defining Measures” all around her; one mistake and she could lose herself.
Putting pen to pad became an escape, a coping mechanism for Thomas as a child, and now chronicling her life has given her an outlet to express her inner feelings and work through her past; giving her a freedom she’s never experienced. Inspired by South Carolinians Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman plus Tyler Perry who started his career with stage plays, Thomas has turned her pain into her passion and encourages others who may have had some setbacks and challenges; “I’m living my dream out loud and in color, Don’t give up, keep doing the work and it will work out for you too! ”.