Meet Katherine Vondy | Writer & Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Katherine Vondy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katherine, how do you think about risk?
The biggest risk I’ve taken to date was probably quitting the finance job I had in the early 2000s to go to film school at USC. I moved to Los Angeles sight unseen in 2004, and somehow, I’ve been here ever since. That decision has shaped my whole adult life. I suppose there’s an alternate timeline where I stuck with the finance job and am still living in New York, but I find it really difficult to imagine that bizarro version of my life. So much of what’s important to me—my friends, my creative projects—wouldn’t exist in that version, and that would make me a completely different person from who I am now.

I think it was easier to take risks when I was younger because I assumed the world operated in a more logical manner than it actually does. Back then, it seemed reasonable to believe that if I had a degree from a prestigious school and I worked hard, then success would naturally follow. As it turns out, the world doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes it does…but usually, it’s a lot more random! I’m more risk-averse now; I think it’s good to take chances, but it’s smart to build yourself a few safety nets in case you fall.

However, I also think it’s important to differentiate what feels risky from what is actually risky. It can feel risky to share your work publicly, but usually in those cases, the only potential danger is to your ego. That’s not really a mortal danger! So I’m diligent in seeking out opportunities that require me to put myself and my creative work out there, and while I get near-constant rejections, every so often I get a hit. Then, the delight from the hit gives me the fortitude to withstand the next flurry of misses.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a writer, director, and producer working in film, theater, and literature.

My original intention was to have a career in film and television, and I was very focused on that goal for a long time. My USC thesis film THE BROKEN HEART OF GNOCCHI BOLOGNESE had a pretty good festival run, but after a few years passed and I didn’t feel like I was making progress in that field, I decided to explore other storytelling mediums.

I’d always been interested in all kinds of writing, not just screenwriting, so I took a playwriting workshop with Jennie Webb. Through that, I wrote a play called THE FERMI PARADOX, which ended up winning the Davey Foundation Theatre Grant and giving me a little momentum in the theater world. I also started writing more prose and got organized about submitting to literary journals. Gradually, I built up publication credits, found opportunities to workshop plays with various theaters, and realized that although there’s a lot of pressure from “the industry” (whether it’s the film industry, the theater industry, or the literary industry) to define yourself as only one kind of storyteller, limiting myself in that way is supremely unsatisfying. (I often think of that Walt Whitman line: “I am large, I contain multitudes.”)

Now, I’m working on different projects across a variety of fields. A lot of them are writing projects, but I’m also producing some cool films, and occasionally I direct for the stage or the screen. I lead the new play development program of the LA chapter of The Vagrancy, through which I’ve met some amazing playwrights. The young actors version of my play WHO PUT BELLA IN THE WYCH ELM? was recently published by Stage Partners, and one of my flash fiction pieces just came out in THE WORCESTER REVIEW. I’m also getting ready to go to Spain for a residency at which I’ll be working on a novel. My creative resume has turned into a real grab bag!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There are few things I enjoy more than making itineraries! We’d escape Los Angeles for a day or two up in Santa Barbara wine country, making sure to hit up Demetria Vineyards for the views and The Hitching Post for dinner. If it’s summer, we’d check out a concert at the Hollywood Bowl and go to Shakespeare in the Park. If a Lost Moon Radio show is playing, we’d go to that too. We’d go on a cool hike–maybe the El Prieto trail that goes past Owen Brown’s gravesite or the Wendy Trail in Thousand Oaks– and to an author event at Skylight Books. We’d definitely eat a lot. Bestia, Bowery Bungalow, Din Tai Fung, Barbrix, Father’s Office, and Silverlake Ramen are some of my go-to faves, but I also love trying new places.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Special shoutouts today go to: The Vagrancy, especially Caitlin Hart and Jessie Lee Mills. Richard Bausch and everyone in his 2016 fiction workshop, particularly Jenny Feldon, Kristen Havens, Stacey Hegarty, Madeline Holler, and Aline Ohanesian. Amazing film producing partners William Kwok and Mary Posatko. All my writing groups, all my travel buddies, all the people I’ve collaborated with on a project or two or ten. The residencies and theaters and journals who have supported my work. My parents and sister.

Website: https://katherinevondy.com/

Instagram: @katherinevondy

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-vondy-238b316/

Twitter: @walkingdeadpan

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com

Image Credits
1) Hillary Baack 2) Tatiana Krokar 3) Katherine Vondy 4) Christine Kozlik 5) Still from THE BROKEN HEART OF GNOCCHI BOLOGNESE