Meet Victoria Male | Writer & Producer

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

Hi Victoria, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk is an essential factor in the creative process – to create is to take a risk. Initially, sharing my writing and ideas with others felt as risky and revealing as taking my clothes off in front of them. Whenever I sit down to work on a new project, I’m taking a risk — I have no idea if this idea will work, let alone if people WILL respond to it favorably, and invest in it. However, I also firmly believe that the best art exists because of risk – a recent example that comes to mind is the film “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once”. The filmmakers took a tremendous risk making the movie as weird and wonderful as it was, and because of that, the film excelled both commercially and critically. It was a risk to make something so different, but that’s why so many people loved it.

Because risk is so necessary as a creator, I’ve had to take a lot of them. It was a total risk to reach out to a manager acquaintance of mine and ask him to read my work – it was gutsy, and he easily could’ve said no – but that’s how I got repped and introduced to the industry as a writer. It was a risk to start a podcast with a college friend, especially since you can’t control another’s actions, but it led to three amazing years of collaboration, and over fifty episodes of our show.

Don’t get me wrong, I have taken dozens, if not hundreds of risks that haven’t paid off, or worse, blown up in my face, but it’s the only way anything happens. I think the more RISKS you take, and the more you survive the outcome of THOSE RISKS, the less scary THEY BECOME. I’ve learned to BEFRIEND the butterflies that I still get to this day every time I take a risk, but much like exercising a muscle at the gym, I’ve conditioned myself so that the butterflies’ wings don’t beat so loud in my stomach when I do.

So much of risk for artists and creatives is the risk of being vulnerable enough to put yourself out there. Many people seem to be too afraid to take a risk, but I can confidently assure you that putting your ideas into the universe won’t kill you, and if even if it’s met with rejection, you will recover. It’ll suck and you might need a while, but you will recover, and the reward of your risk will be that much sweeter.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Basically, I love bringing stories to life. Sometimes that means I write them myself or with a partner, and other times I’m facilitating someone else’s story as a producer. I created and produced a podcast for three years as well as worked in creative development and production on major studio films. Yet recently, I’ve shifted to focusing on writing more – both screenplays and short stories. I’ve had a dozen stories published in the last year worldwide, which is a little crazy to think about! This year I also began collaborating with the fantastic actor/writer/social media sensation Luke Millington-Drake, which has been AN incredibly illuminating, insightful, and downrightfun experience. As a storyteller, I’m particularly interested in exploring and celebrating the depth and complexity of the female gaze. I find myself looking to the past or mythology for ideas, which is a fancy way of saying I love to adapt rather than come up with a plot by myself!

My journey to where I am today, and I still feel that I have so much further to go, is a windy and quite bumpy road. I moved out to LA the summer I graduated college to participate in two, (very unpaid) internships – one in casting, and one in development. Both were such eye-opening experiences to the areas of the entertainment industry that I was drawn to, but the next three years of my career were very much “beggars can’t be choosers”. I did everything from research for an arts programming network, working as a personal assistant, and serving as a talent coordinator on a Hallmark movie to make ends meet and build my resume.

Things settled a bit more when I got a job working for The Montecito Picture Company and famous director/producer Ivan Reitman. I often tell people that I grew up at Montecito, because in so many ways, I really discovered who I was as A professional and an artist during my five years there. I learned to advocate for people and materials I was passionate about, as well as leverage my natural abilities to connect with others and execute ideas I had. That being said, I wasn’t the most experienced person Ivan could’ve hired, so I had a lot to learn and a lot to prove to retain my position at the company when I started. I believe the thing that set me apart, and ultimately got me through, was prioritizing building relationships and willingness to take initiative. I’m incredibly proud that I supported every stage of “Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s” development, production, and release, as well as championed inclusive talent at Montecito.

Yet after spending a few years reading scripts and participating in notes meetings, my urge to write again resurfaced. This time, I enrolled in a UCLA Extension screenwriting class to get the script out to keep myself accountable. I’m really glad I did, because the script I wrote in that class was the one that got me repped and major industry attention. It was the first time I ever felt that I was good enough to do the thing I really wanted to do: write. I’m still learning how to advocate for myself as well as I advocate for others, though!

I’ve been handed challenge after challenge, rejection after rejection, on my path. I find a lot of inspiration and solace in reading celebrity memoirs or listening to interviews, it helps to remind me that everyone struggles, and that it takes a Herculean amount of drive and persistence to succeed. I’ve also learned that you must be your own biggest hype-person, but there’s a way to promote yourself and connect with others gracefully and organically. I’ve learned that you need to invest time and energy in building solid relationships to sustain you during the periods of struggle, and to find a hobby or activity completely unrelated to the industry to keep you sane. Most importantly, that leading with kindness and gratitude earns you lasting allies and opportunities, no matter how tempting the short-term benefits of being brash and cruel are.

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?
This is a dangerous question, I’m a weirdo who loves to plan and have entertained a visiting friend or two throughout my near-decade in this city! I’ve learned to break days into geographical zones, since I’m usually the one driving, so I’ll give you ideal itineraries for a few of the neighborhoods I know best:

Beverly Hills
As a resident of the 90210, I take showing people the “real” Beverly Hills very seriously! Therefore, if it was a Sunday, I’d insist on starting the day at the Beverly Hills Farmer’s Market in the morning. It’s a hidden gem with great food, lovely vendors, live music, and a petting zoo! Next, I’d propose we walk off whatever we chowed down on at the Farmers Market by strolling the Beverly Hills Park greenway that runs alongside of Santa Monica Boulevard in that area. It’s gorgeous, peaceful, and you still get to marvel at the big fancy houses. Plus, the Spadena, or Witch’s House, is right off of the path. Then I’d say head to the Sweet Beverly cafe in the Beverly Cañon Gardens – another hidden gem in Beverly Hills – for an afternoon pick-me-up. As for dinner, I’d recommend one of the fabulous restaurants on South Beverly Drive, or I recently ate at the rooftop restaurant on top of the Beverly Hilton hotel, Sant’olina, which has excellent Mediterranean food and an awesome view of Beverly Hills.

West Hollywood

I’ve impressed a friend before with my “California-ness” by kicking off our day with a yoga class at Shiva Yoga on Fairfax and following it with a sauna session at LIV right around the corner on Santa Monica. After a shower, I’d venture up to Sunset Strip to get lost in Book Soup, and then grab drinks/dinner at Tesse or Saltie Girl just down the street. Though there’s a couple of comedy clubs right there on Sunset, my choice would be to catch a show at the Groundling’s or The Improv down on Melrose!

Los Feliz

My favorite hike in LA is Griffith Park, so I loved taking friends there for a taste of nature and LA history. Afterwards, I’d check out the Observatory and hit up Alcove Cafe & Bakery for lunch or Lassen’s for a post-hike smoothie. It’s easy to spend an afternoon browsing the shops of Vermont and Hillhurst, and then if one’s up to it, head back to Griffith for a show at the Greek.

Downtown Los Angeles
The Broad Museum makes for a great, budget-friendly day in DTLA. You can grab lunch at one of the food trucks that’s usually outside and then mosey over to the gorgeous historic hotel, The Millenium Biltmore, for happy hour. It’s such a glamorous place and man, if those walls could talk! In the evening, I’d recommend either getting dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in the city, Redbird, and/or checking out a concert at one of the many venues in the area. I recently saw Sammy Rae & the Friends at the Novo at L.A. Live and had a blast!

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?
Oh my goodness, I feel like any success truly takes a village of people supporting one another. First and foremost, I have to shout out my mother and my sister — they’re the ones who scream on the phone with me when I get good news, and also scream on the phone with me when I get bad news! Their indefatigable belief in me is what keeps me going, even when I don’t think I can.

I also have to shout out my manager, Cameron Cubbison, at Zero Gravity, he’s another relentless advocate of mine, and someone I particularly treasure since he saw the merit in my work when I was doubtful anyone would. My writing teacher-turned-mentor, Matt Harrison, also deserves a shout out for bringing out the best of my writing and encouraging me long after I finished his courses.

My current writing partner, Luke Millington-Drake, and my former podcast partner, Kristen Chavez also need to be recognized, because I can be handful, and the fact I’ve remained friends while collaborating with them is a miracle!

Finally, I’d like to shout out the podcast The Screenwriting Life with with Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna. It’s a fantastic, and incomprehensibly free, resource for writers that I’ve recently discovered which has been a source of instruction, inspiration, and comfort for me.

Website: victoriamale.com

Instagram: @VictoriaMale1

Twitter: @VictoriaMale

Image Credits
Photo of me holding microphone: Monica Duarte Bards and Sages Cover Art; Denny Marshall An Even Greater Woman Cover Art: Andre Moura Photo of me in front of green and black step and repeat: Brooke Olsen