We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Victoria Raigorodsky Mora a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Victoria, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and when I started college I thought I would be a Philosophy professor. I attended Buenos Aires University for two years and was relatively happy doing it, I loved reading and analyzing about ethics and justice and life’s biggest questions – but there was something missing. See, I had been taking voice lessons since I was nine years old, because I absolutely loved to sing, but that was it. Nothing more. This may be a good moment to clarify: I am not a natural risk taker. I do not like adrenaline, I dislike uncertainty, and most of all I am extremely fearful of failure. This is why my next step surprised everyone- myself most of all: I decided to drop out of university and enroll in a Musical Theatre program. With the encouragement of my ever-supportive parents who gave me a more than significant push, I started auditioning for the (few and far between) musical theatre productions in Buenos Aires. I was so lucky: I landed some roles, had a lot of fun, and created beautiful relationships, but again- something was missing. That’s when I took the biggest risk that I had ever, and would ever, take in my life: I decided to find a way to move to New York City. I auditioned for AMDA’s integrated conservatory and packed my bags for the adventure of a lifetime. Of course, after arriving in this new country, a plethora of both expected and unexpected challenges arise. My accent was too strong, I didn’t look the way they expected me to, I was too short, I was too loud, I was too old, and most importantly- I was an immigrant. If anyone has ever described the process of applying to a US work visa without a company sponsorship, they probably used the words “frustrating”, “near impossible”, “downright stupid”… it’s all that and more, so just consider applying for four. But I did it! I got the money, I got contracts, jobs, a network of wonderful people who believe in me and my talent. It wasn’t without hardship but, over seven year later, here I stand: I am happy, I am working and I am forever reaching upwards.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a musical theatre performer, a coloratura soprano with a strong inclination towards both intense drama and goofy physical comedy. I don’t take myself too seriously and I love putting myself in the hands of directors with vastly different viewpoints and methods of creating art. As most people in this industry I have stepped beyond the “acting” portion of my work to pursue different avenues in production, vocal directing and writing, but I have to admit nothing fulfills me as much as just standing on stage and pouring my heart out in a song or a monologue. A little bit about my theatre background: I had the best time playing Wendla in Spring Awakening, Ariel in the Little Mermaid, Little Red in Into the Woods, and touring Argentina and Brazil with Buenos Aires Players. Currently, I am lucky enough to be a part of the repertories of Teatro SEA, Pin Productions and Cuchame Theatre Company. These theatre companies have given me the chance to perform in both English and Spanish, in pieces that push the envelope and create meaningful art for people of all ages and backgrounds.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I thought, especially during the pandemic, that a lot of people had began to se the true value of artists- the way that books, films, music, tv, theatre enrich people’s lives (especially when some of those were taken away). To be honest, it seems they’ve forgotten again. It may sound simplistic and naive, and that’s probably because it is, but the best thing we can do to support artists and creatives is to pay them a fair wage, and investing in their work and creating new opportunities for them. In the changing landscape that involves technology and art and intrinsically intertwines them, it is of the utmost importance that we recognize the role of the people that are tirelessly working behind the pen, the lens, the microphone, and the entire creative pipeline without which all of the art we aire exposed to every day wouldn’t exist. There’s no doubt that what we do matters: we affect people in small and big ways, throughout their lives, with beautiful moments of vulnerability and self-reflection, or of joy and impossible-to-contain laughter. If society would just take a moment to really look inward, there would be no doubt that artists move the world- and deserve to be compensated with the dignity that such a task entails.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I always saw myself as a storyteller, someone with some life experiences worth sharing, but mostly a gigantic sense of empathy with the world that led to want to become someone else entire for hours at a time. I yearn to experience the life of others and maybe through a performance touch someone’s life- change their mind about an issue or simply have them forget about the messiness of the real world. Growing up I always loved reading books with third-person limited narration, because I could truly perceive the world from a character’s point of view, and, for as long as I continued reading, be not myself but a mythical creature longing for love or a magical wizard discovering who he is supposed to become. As an actor, I was lucky enough to go on to do that for a living, if only in a slightly more public manner- which means I get to share this experience with the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.victoriaraigo.com
• Other: Backstage profile: https://www.backstage.com/u/victoria-raigorodsky/ Actor’s access profile: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/victoriaraigo

Image Credits
Fuentes2Fernandez, Coleman Photo/Graphix