Interview with: Victoria Emmons

This interview was originally for my young ladies' magazine, Visions of Virtue.  But, as of a couple months ago, God has changed the direction of my writing and VOV is currently discontinued.  I don't know if this is a permanent situation...God hasn't made that clear to me or not. :)
But anyway...please excuse any 'VOV', 'magazine', etc. mentions in here. :)  I think I caught all of them, but if not...just disregard them. ;)

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First of all, thank you so much, Victoria, for taking the time to do this interview for me!  Your willingness is an encouragement and I hope you’ll enjoy answering our questions as much as our readers will have reading them.

Miss Raquel:  Please introduce you and your family to our readers.

 

Victoria: My name is Victoria Emmons and I’m the second born of four sisters. We live in a cozy little town in rainy Oregon, and I love it. My family has always been one to try new things and not settle for normalcy. Yeah, we’re pretty weird. :) No, not really. We just love new adventures and learning new things.

About eight years ago, my sisters and I started a bluegrass gospel band called, The Emmons Sisters. We’ve recorded four CD’s, and toured pretty extensively in the Northwest. While our touring schedule slowed down this year due to our involvement in various film productions, music is still a huge part of our lives and we hope to record another album this winter.

Miss Raquel:  I hear that, besides acting, you and your sisters (with some friends) have started a band, called The Ivy Street Band?  Tell us a little about this.

Victoria: Yes, we are part of The Ivy Street Band. On the set of our first film, Come What May, my sister Christina and I would jam with two other musicians after hours. It began as a way to unwind from the day, but after a short while we all began to really look forward to those nightly jam sessions. An idea began to form…why not record some of our tunes? So we did.

We’ve recorded two albums, Neon Shore, and our most recent album, Dust, is set to be released this week in fact! I’m really excited about this CD and can’t wait for all of you to get a chance to hear what we came up with. You can check out our site: www.ivystreetband.com

Miss Raquel: Besides this music group, what are some other things that have been filling your days?  (We’ll talk more about the newest movie project that you’re doing in a later question…)  Now, I’m not completely sure of the age you were when you appeared in ‘Come What May’, but since making that movie, have you attended college?  Pursued a career?  Gotten a job?  Or are you a stay-at-home daughter?

Victoria: I was freshly out of high school when we filmed Come What May, and I really had no idea how doing that one film would change my life. I remember my director and producer sitting me down and talking with me how my life would be changing. They told me I needed to develop a plan, and that thinking through what kinds of films I’d be comfortable and want to do was necessary. I kinda thought they were crazy. I mean, Come What May was a one time thing, wasn’t it? I’d go back home to my normal life and figure out what to do with the rest of my life.

Well, that’s what I thought at least. But the plans of men fail, and God totally does have bigger and better things in mind for us then we can even dream of!

I did take some college classes via distance learning, but eventually, I had to put that aside due to an ever increasing busy film schedule. So for the past 3 ½ years, filmmaking has been what God’s put in front of me to do, and where the majority of my time has been spent.

Miss Raquel:  So, Victoria, you’re well-known in the Christian community – and in some secular ones – for the part that you played in the Provident Films movie, ‘Come What May’, as the leading female character, Rachel Morton.  (By the way, that movie is one of my all-time favorites…running a close second to FIREPROOF. :)  Have you always had an interest in acting?  How long have you pursued this hobby?

Victoria: You know, its crazy how God has brought this whole thing about. I don’t really think about it a lot. It’s what I do, the life I’ve been given. But once in awhile, when I actually stop to think of the journey God has taken me on, I just shake my head and laugh.

Growing up, I was never one of those girls who enjoyed getting up in front of people. I was as shy as shy can be. I never had aspirations to be an actress when I grew up; I never even thought it was possible. It was in highschool that I started to enjoy acting. My sisters and I were homeschooled and we participated in a homeschool speech and debate league where I competed with many different speeches. I was able to go to nationals in 2007 with three of my speeches, and that’s where, just for kicks and giggles, I auditioned for Come What May. And that’s how it began. :)

It’s kind of a crazy career, and one I never thought I’d do, but this is what God has for me for right now. Some days, it’s very overwhelming, and I just want a “normal job”! There’s not much privacy, I can be gone for months at a time, balancing family and friends gets hard, and the actual pressures of the job are many. But…God’s grace is larger than all that, and He really does daily give me the grace and peace to know that this is where I’m to be for now. I do enjoy it and love that I get to meet so many wonderful people, like you! :)

Miss Raquel:  Could you share with us a little about your experience playing Rachel Morton?  Did you audition for it, or were you hand-picked by the producer(s)?

Victoria: Well, I think I kinda answered this question already. The producers were doing open casting calls for the lead roles, and I heard about it online. Not even giving a thought to the acting portion, I emailed George Escobar just given him my encouragement and letting him know how excited I was to hear of the movie they were about to make. He emailed me back asking if I wanted to audition, since we’d both be in Texas for the speech nationals, and he was going to be holding auditions there that week.

It was a huge act of faith for them to cast both me and my friend, Austin Kearney for the leads as we both hadn’t had any experience in film prior to being casted. I was nervous about taking on such a big commitment, but I knew God was pushing me to take the leap, get on the plane to Virginia, and go make a movie. I’ve never regretted that I trusted Him on this, and it’s proven to have been such an enormous blessing in my life.

 

Miss Raquel:  Were there any specific ways that you felt you connected with Rachel Morton?

Victoria: Rachel and I had a lot in common. We both had experience in speech and debate. We both have strong pro-life convictions in regards to the unborn, and we were both going through things that would change the rest of our lives. Rachel’s pretty stubborn about the things that are important to her, and I am too. I have to admit though, that she makes a better apple pie than I ever will. The props department did a good job on that pie. :)

Miss Raquel:  Since being a part of ‘Come What May’, how has acting in it, impacted your life as an individual?

Victoria: I think the biggest way that CWM has impacted my life, is that it’s forever changed who I am. In a good way. My views on the world have been expanded through the whole process, and through all the travel, I’ve been able to see how big the world is and how many hurting people are out there. Instead of it all being about me, I’ve really discovered that becoming an actor is all about others. You do what you do for the joy and hope it brings those who watch your work. You pick the roles that will lift up and encourage people. It’s a responsibility, and one that I don’t take lightly. I don’t want to let down people, but live a life that brings them closer to the Lord.

Miss Raquel:  What was one thing that you thought as ‘Come What May’ came to an end?  What did you come away thinking?

Victoria: When I left Come What May, I was so sad. I had made so many wonderful friends, and I thought I’d never see them this side of heaven. It had been such an incredibly experience and I didn’t want to leave. The cast and crew of that film was something special. All the other films I’ve done have had their different blessings and hard times, but the set of Come What May was something special.

Miss Raquel:  I hear that you have been working on a new movie project.  Could you share with us a little about this one?  What role are you playing in it?  When is it coming out?  (etc.)

Victoria: Since Come What May, I’ve acted in Rosemary, Saving Winston, Life Fine Tuned, and Alone Yet Not Alone. Those last two we filmed this summer and fall, and they were both so different!

Life Fine Tuned is a story about a bratty rockstar whose life is falling apart due to her diva-ness. Yup, I was the spoiled bratty rockstar. :) That was fun. Alone Yet not Alone is a film set during the French and Indian war. I played a girl who was captured and eventually escaped from the Indians. This was an equally challenging and rewarding character to play, and I greatly enjoyed getting dirty and all the makeup and wardrobe that goes along with the time period. Both those films should be out next summer/fall.

Rosemary should be out in the spring, and Saving Winston should be out in January, and I’m so excited about that! I also worked on the movie Hero, which should be out this summer.

Miss Raquel:  Do you hope for more movies to be a part of in the near future?

Victoria: I’m open to whatever God has for me. If it’s time to move on to other things, I’m totally cool with that. But, if He has more movies in mind, I want to be up for that challenge!

Miss Raquel:  I know, for a fact, that a lot of my friends have been impacted by your life testimony as a young actress and also as a fellow Godly, young woman.  What is something that you hope people will see through your life?

Victoria: I want people to see the Lord through me. If, when they look at me, all they see is, me, me, me, then that’s completely not right! God’s given me this platform, a responsibility, and I want to use it to share His love and hope with everyone I come in contact with or who might watch one of my films.

Miss Raquel:  If you could tell every girl in the world ONE thing, what would you say?

Victoria: To every girl in the world, know this: you’re special. God has created you in His image, so don’t think you’re unworthy or not beautiful! You are. You’ve been created for great things, and He has a wonderful plan for your life. He’s placed you where you are for a reason, so love those around you with all your might!

Victoria, thanks again for taking the time to be interviewed!  We are so excited to be able to share this with our readers.  God bless you, dear!

Aww, thank you! I had an enjoyable time writing these up with my laptop and a couple cups of tea. :) It felt like you were actually here chit chatting with me through all of this. :)

 

The Ivy Street Band