Interview with debutant director Victoria Monai Richards
Welcome Victoria, we are very excited to have you today with us to discuss about your work.
Who is Victoria Monai Richards and how did the passion for filmmaking begin?
I am a Christian woman who strives to model my life after Jesus Christ. I’ve always had a passion for acting and directing…..let my family tell it, I’ve been “bossing them around,” my whole life! When I was eight, I convinced my mom to fly me out to LA for a chance to find an agent. I booked a variety of roles and dabbled in theatre; however, balancing acting jobs with school became too difficult. As a result, I leaned into my academics, ran track and played tennis; but I was always taking an acting or directing class or course whenever I could find one.
Later in HS, I was diagnosed as ADHD, but it was a blessing in disguise and eventually, I was able to use that diagnosis as a strength instead of a weakness in my art. As heartbreaking as Covid was, it gave me time to reflect on what my true passions were and with God and the support of my Mom, I quit track and took the leap of faith to get back into acting.
‘‘Directing my own stories has always been in my DNA, I just needed the opportunity to do it on a professional scale.’’
How did your time at IMG Academy and The University of Arizona shape you both as an athlete and an artist?
Capturing the dynamics of human relationships through film is my passion. I believe that the essence of our world lies in the connections we forge with one another. Recently, I embarked on a new project titled "Secret Garden," where I explored this theme in depth. The story follows Anna, a young girl who finds herself lost in a beautiful greenhouse. There, she encounters Ryan, a sick little boy confined to a room. As their unlikely friendship blossoms, they discover the transformative power of connection and empathy. "Secret Garden" marks my first foray into crafting a fairy tale narrative, a venture that has been both challenging and exhilarating. Currently, the project is undergoing post-production, and I am eagerly anticipating the opportunity to share it with you soon.
After your hiatus to focus on academics and sports, what motivated you to return to acting in 2020?
My passion has always been in art, not sport. Being great at something is not the same as walking in your purpose and that's the difference between sport and art for me. I stepped away from my professional pursuit of art because of my age and need to focus in school, but it never left my life or my heart. As I look back, I know that both tennis and track were necessary for discipline, team work, college, and social/emotional maturity. However, I knew sports wouldn’t be my life-long career when I had weight-lifting at 6am and another practice at 2pm in the Arizona "dry heat". I was willing and able to work hard, but hard-work minus passion felt like bondage and I'm thankful that God set me free. I wake up everyday excited to write, compose, create, pitch, research, review any and everything creative; no matter the time. I love what I do, I love who I am, and I'm thankful for all the experiences and lessons that God has in store for me.
CONVERSATION ABOUT: Tricked and Treated
What inspired the story of "Tricked and Treated" and how did the idea come about? Can you share the experience of co-writing the script with your mother?
Real life events inspired Tricked and Treated. It came about after, Nijah, Daisy and I, worked on another project together in 2021. Our chemistry, humor, and professionalism was obvious; we formed a genuine bond outside of the show. When my mom and I decided to write Tricked and Treated, Nijah and Daisy were our first picks. Roughly 75-85% of T&T are exaggerated scenarios that my mom and I actually experienced. Aunt Meek Meek is my mom's childhood best friend, PawPaw is a combination of my grandfathers - one who was in a nursing home during COVID and tried to escape, the rapture scene really happened and the list goes on. My mom and I were excited to bring something unique to the table and hopefully inspire others to do the same! Our goal was to create something that was God-honoring, light-hearted, ridiculous, and unpredictable. We wanted to create something that we could watch with our family and hopefully others could do the same with theirs. Co-writing with my mom was and is a beautiful experience:
1) She’s my best friend,
2) We share the same sense of humor, and 3)
She's the wisdom and I'm the youth, together we make Wouth!
Tell us about your character, Noble Kristian Silk Williams. What aspects of her personality and journey resonated with you the most? How did you prepare for your role as Noble, and what challenges did you face while bringing her to life on screen?
Noble is a Jesus loving, southern-belle who struggles with vanity and releasing control to God. She tries to take everything into her own hands, instead of leaning on God and family for support. Her PawPaw going missing becomes the last thing she can bear without finally cracking and revealing a troublesome secret to her family. I am originally from the south but I do not have a southern accent in real life; however Noble is southern to the core, biscuits and gravy southern, so it was fun leaning more into my southern side. To prepare, I watched pageants with southern-belles, talked to family members from South Carolina (no offense), and practiced the speech pattern.
My mom is from the South and my dad is from New York, so I’ve always seen extremes in culture that I appreciate and am thankful to have been exposed to. My greatest challenges were actively directing while in character, going in and out of two accents, adjusting on the fly, and ensuring key story elements weren’t missed. I was blessed and thankful to have the experience and support that I needed to make T&T a special treat for everyone to see!
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in your directorial debut with "Tricked and Treated"?
As a first time director or first time anything, you don't know what you don't know. So, for biggest challenges, I'd say communication and compromise were at the top of my list. Very early, I realized that over-communication was my friend and necessary for success as a director. In pre-production, I realized how important clear and over-communication would be to ensure efficiency on set, so I leaned in and embraced that leadership trait. Compromise was the other big challenge for me and I learned quickly that being solution oriented was the best way to overcome unforeseen obstacles.
As a first time director, I didn't want to bend at all, but in film, the weather, time, budget, and locations don't always line up and I learned the value of adjusting on the fly. In the end, it will all work out, you just have to trust God and keep moving forward!
How did the support of your family and Hollywood legends influence your journey in making this film? Can you talk about the role of faith in your life and how it has impacted your career and this project in particular?
Throughout this entire process, my family supported me with words of encouragement, prayer, and in-person visits. There is no sacrifice that my family won't make for me and I couldn't be more thankful to have that unconditional love and support.
Working with Hollywood legends from actors to writers to producers, was a dream come true. Tichina Arnold was phenomenal and passed down wisdom to everyone on set. Tommy Davidson's joy, wisdom and confidence were admired by everyone and I was thankful to have both him and Tichina join my first project.
From a faith perspective, this entire experience was like walking on water. The only explanation for my mom and I to move to LA and within one year, write, produce, direct, star-in and film my first feature-length film during a strike, is God. “But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” (Exodus 9:16) “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” (John 9:3) God showcases his power through His children, and I’m thankful to be chosen to represent Him.
What are the central themes of "Tricked and Treated" and what message do you hope audiences take away from the film?
The central theme is the power of friendship, family, and prayer. As the main character, Noble, experiences a tough season in life where she has to rely on her friends, family, and prayer to get through it! T&T showcases that true friendship and family isn’t just about partying, drinking and gossiping, but holding each other accountable, making sacrifices, and walking on the path of righteousness together!
Prayer is our way to communicate with our Father, we must not neglect it when going through a storm, but draw even closer to God in prayer, as He is the one who offers true peace and restoration. We wanted to send a message to turn to God and not to distractions in the good and bad times!
In future projects, do you plan to explore similar genre intersections, or are there other genres you're eager to explore?
I absolutely love the comedy genre, so expect many more laughs and lessons coming your way from the Richards family! I plan to explore other genres, but I'll always endeavor to allow comedy to play its part. Laughter is truly the best medicine so being able to provide that in any capacity is something I’m very passionate about. Just call me Dr. Richárds.
Were there any memorable moments or funny incidents during the filming process that you can share?
There were so many great moments on set, but the most memorable were probably the birthday celebrations. Every time someone had a birthday, we’d all just break out in dance, eat cake and celebrate for 20 minutes at lunch! A few times it felt like we were in a music video or club for the way we turned up, but it was a great time, every time !
This marks the conclusion of the interview featuring our esteemed artist, Victoria Monai Richards. Our community is growing steadily, with a continuous influx of skilled filmmakers and screenwriters joining us. Explore our other interviews, and consider scheduling one for yourself to showcase your creative endeavors.
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