Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Victor.
Melissa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
It all started a few months before the world shutdown. I was living in NYC. I had just finished performing in a new musical about Josephine Baker, and audition season slowed down. I found myself feeling very creatively unfulfilled. In response to what I was feeling, I did what I always do when I needed help, and I asked God to tell me what to do. I also had planned to find who I was outside of performing in theatre, secretly hoping that God would transition me to more tv/film projects. Instead, he told me on 3 different occasions to start a podcast for Black kids telling Black stories. Now I was not an avid podcast listener, and yes, I had dabbled into some creative writing work when I was in high school, but not once did I think I would write children’s stories and create my podcast. Since the directions came to me so clearly and it was not on MY list of dreams from myself, I knew that these were divine instructions, so I was obedient and bought a microphone off Amazon and watched youtube videos on “How To Start a Podcast.” I wrote my first story and sent it to my friends and family, hoping that they would tell me that the story wasn’t good, which would have been my excuse to not go through with it, but alas, they said the opposite and were super excited for me to create this world. So, I plugged in my microphone, read my first story, and published it, and at the end of January 2020, Stoopkid Stories was born. Six seasons later, here we are.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think that the process of creating your work comes with victories and obstacles. However, many of the challenges I have faced/are facing are those of every solopreneur. Being a 1 woman team is hard. Coming up with the idea, writing it down, recording, editing, posting it to the world, marketing, and showcasing it all while taking meetings with other creators and still finding time for myself has been the most challenging. Also, when you see other podcasters with teams who have the infrastructure to push their work takes a toll on you as a content creator, and it’s hard to not look at that and have doubts or want to give up. The endurance to keep creating is a tough one when working by yourself.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
First and foremost, I am a performer. I grew up singing in my church choir, shoutout to Historic St. Francis Xavier, and dancing in many programs throughout Baltimore City (TWIGS, Peabody preparatory, City College Marching Knights, to name a couple) and got the acting bug from Cahill Performing Arts Center. I continued singing with the world-renowned Baltimore City College High School choir. I went on to study music at The Catholic University of America, a quick drive down 295 in Washington, DC. I specialize in Musical Theatre and have performed at some of the top regional theaters across the country and Off-Broadway in NYC. I am most proud of my willingness not to give up on my 5-year-old dream to be on Broadway. The race to Broadway is challenging and not for the faint of heart, and many people drop out, but I am determined to make 5-year-old Melissa’s dream come true. With that being said, while still chasing my Broadway dream, the children’s media world has welcomed me and my passion project Stoopkid Stories, and I use that platform to inspire kids who look like me and dream big just like me. When I write my stories, I want to show that growing up in the inner city is fun and adventurous. Growing up in East Baltimore gave me a lot of great opportunities. I traveled the country swimming with Baltimore City Swim Club and met some fantastic people and artists through various Baltimore Park and Recs programs. I take those experiences and put them in story form so that kids who grew up like and who look like me can hear their stories represented. In media, Baltimore is often not given the best “light.” I aim to show kids who might have a different childhood experience a look inside the world of what it’s like to be a born and bred Baltimore kid who sat on the stoop eating chicken boxes and listened to DJ KSwift.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
As a person and a creative, I am very transparent in my work and with my process, so at this point, I’m not sure if anything is surprising. Haha. I pull my ideas for stories from real-life situations that I might have encountered or that I’ve seen my sister experience, or even stories I’ve heard in the classroom from back when I was teaching. People who listen, who may not know me personally, might be surprised that it’s just me, myself, and I am working on this show. I know I get a lot of emails from people addressing the “Stoopkid Stories team”…I am the team. However, I was allowed to turn my podcast into an entirely produced musical on stage. I don’t think many podcasters can say they’ve turned their show into a musical. In summer 2021, the curtains went up at Summer Theater of New Canaan, in Connecticut, with 5 brilliant Black actors, a phenomenal music team (3 members of the group being Baltimore natives), and audience members who loved the podcasts filled the seats of this outdoor theatre. I think that’s a cool thing about storytelling and a surprising fact about my show when I talk to other podcasters.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.stoopkidstories.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/stoopkidstories
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/stoopkidstories
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/stoopkidstories
