Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria Blade.
Victoria, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up in Michigan where I started acting at the age of ten. I auditioned for the musical Annie and snagged the lead role despite forgetting the lyrics to my song mid-audition. I must’ve nailed those jazz squares in the dance audition though! From then on, I was active in performing throughout school and received a fantastic acting education at Western Michigan University. In college, I started songwriting with my soon-to-be husband/super cute art student Joshua Tabbia. We married and began our careers in Chicago.
In Chicago, I studied at the School at Steppenwolf and began booking theatre, commercials, and TV, including my first recurring role on Chicago Fire. I also started my first band and became an avid songwriter, often composing indie-folk tunes for original plays. After five years working in Chicago, it was time to experience life elsewhere and we moved to Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
While living in NYC, I continued acting in commercials, TV and off-Broadway, but my proudest achievement was writing, directing, and starring in my short film Alien Baby, a comedy about the weirdness of childbirth. Alien Baby toured the indie film festival circuit and won several awards. This marked an important creative transition for me from being solely an actor to actor/writer/creator. I loved living in NYC because I met a lot of people who were taking a lot of risks creatively. A lot of people there are pro-active and extremely hard-working. It motivated me to continue writing my own projects and to stop waiting around for someone else to make my dreams a reality.
This brings us to Atlanta! My main passion as an actor/creator is TV. I did a lot of research and was blown away by how much the TV/film industry was consistently booming in Atlanta. My husband and I were ready for another change and decided to make the leap down south. Since relocating about a year ago, I’ve booked several exciting roles, including a recent guest star on DC’s new series DOOM PATROL and an upcoming guest star in a comedy series. (I’m not allowed to give full details yet!) Plus, several more upcoming roles for HBO, the CW, Disney and IFC.
This year, I also released my debut solo album ‘Lo-fi Love Songs’; a collection of indie-folk songs chronicling my personal creative journey over the years. Released on my husbands indie record label Already Dead Tapes. And I recently released a music video shot all around Atlanta with local filmmakers at Brand Red.
https://www.victoriablade.com/music
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The life of a freelance artist, in my experience, is anything but smooth. Maybe there are a few smooth moments here and there, but I think the trick is to enjoy the work. To find as much pleasure in the process as possible. My biggest challenge came after moving to NYC and having very few opportunities there. I hustled really hard there and the jobs were hard-won. But it taught me to dig deeper and that’s when I discovered I could write my own roles and create my own projects. Living there was incredibly difficult financially as well. But it made me a stronger person and a fierce creator.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I love bringing humor and joy into the room! Whether it’s an audition, on set, or your living room on your TV! I show up extremely prepared so I can let everything go and have fun. I love working hard but my attitude is carefree. I bring confidence and authenticity to all of my work. My main goal as an artist is to inspire people and to reach their hearts. That’s where change and connection happens.
With music, I am really proud of myself for writing, recording and mixing my album ‘Lo-fi Love Songs’. It took a lot of focus and learning to get the songs exactly how I wanted them. Go listen! https://www.victoriablade.com/music
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.victoriablade.com/
- Email: https://www.victoriablade.com/contact
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoria_blade/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victoriablade/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Blade_Victoria
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/album/6cmjCBWKZKaUNl7z2UPPEM
Image Credit:
Stephanie Dimiskovski
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