Today we’d like to introduce you to Vic Terry
Hi Vic, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been writing since before I could hold a pen. As a kid it would be like “dictated but not read,” I’d tell stories and have my mom and grandma write them down for me. I was always so fascinated by the ‘behind the scenes’ of entertainment, and knew from an early age that it was a world that I wanted to be a part of.
I grew up watching a lot of comedy, stuff that my parents dug – ‘Austin Powers,’ ‘Best in Show,’ anything that came out of SNL – but since I was too little to really get it, I didn’t actually realize how funny it all was, I just knew that there was something going on that I was drawn to. This built the foundation for my writing style, my sense of humor, and the types of characters that I create. I love finding the humanity and the tragedy in these over the top cartoonish characters, doing and saying ridiculous things in a piece and playing it completely straight because they have no idea what type of story they’re in.
I started taking acting classes in high school and found myself getting really into theatre. The collaborative atmosphere and community vibe immediately pulled me in, and I decided that this was the path that I wanted to take rather than film, which was what I had always imagined myself pursuing up until that point.
I got my degree in theatre and had a blast, but as I approached graduation I had this gut instinct to switch gears. As my colleagues planned out their futures of moving to LA and New York and making it big, I felt this overwhelming sense that if I did the same I would lose all of the passion that I had spent my whole life trying to find. I was terrified of turning my art into a career, and so I wound up getting a job at a flower shop instead… which was the best decision I could have possibly made.
I spent the next six years working with and learning from some of the coolest and most talented people that I’ve ever met. It was an era of both personal and professional growth, and being immersed in the event industry gave me a chance to develop the skills that I needed to find my true calling. Whether it’s a wedding, a movie, a party, a stage play – there’s a certain process that goes into putting all of the pieces together and making something happen, and a certain thrill that comes from when it finally does. That’s how I knew that I wanted to be a Producer – I wanted to be the person who made things happen.
In 2019, I realized that it had been a while since I’d done anything in the theatrical realm, so I decided to write a play for myself and my best friend (and scene partner, now partner partner) Michael – purely out of a love for performing together. It was “Desperate to be Seen, Horrified of Being Known: a Ghost Story,” a two character one act play that has taken us on one hell of a ride, become an award winning touring show, and lead to the creation of our production company Good Vibe Cinema.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
That’s sort of a tough question. While I definitely wouldn’t say that things have been easy, the majority of those hardships have been more personal rather than professional or creative… and weirdly enough, a lot of the traumatic stuff that I’ve experienced as a person has also helped to shape me as an artist and to keep me going down the path that I’m on. I’m really proud of the person that I’ve become and the work that I’ve created, and so for me it just makes more sense to keep moving and looking forward. As for my artistic accomplishments, yeah it’s been quite the hustle! But there’s truly nothing that I’d rather be doing.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Good Vibe Cinema is a San Diego based production company in the business of good vibes and good times. Through Super 8 film, theatre, and a variety of live events, Good Vibe Cinema invites audiences to live a life where every moment feels like it was meant to be on the big screen.
Something that sets us apart is that only do we create art, we create experiences. Having a background in event work, I think that it’s just as important to make the environment in which we consume art an art in and of itself. Take the San Diego Halloween Film Festival (co-created with Cassidy Bartolomei of Noble House Media) for example – it’s just as much about enjoying a killer Halloween party and connecting with fellow artists as it is about showcasing the actual films themselves. In fact, community and connection is the driving force behind everything that we do. How could it not be? Art is an incredibly vulnerable and personal thing – both for the people creating it, and those experiencing it. It’s something that naturally brings people together, and we’re incredibly proud of and grateful to get to play a role in that.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Michael and I performed ‘Ghost Story’ for the first time in 2019 at an open mic style Halloween party that I hosted. After the incredible response that we received, we decided to keep the ball rolling and submitted it to the San Diego International Fringe Festival – which was scheduled for June of 2020. Our piece was accepted, but with everything that was going on in the world, the festival would eventually be postponed. We laid low for a while, but when the summer of 2021 rolled around, Covid-19 was still going strong, and the San Diego Fringe Fest was postponed for yet another year, we decided that it was time to take matters into our own hands. That’s when we got the Super 8 camera – a Yashika Super 800 Electro from 1974 – and when Good Vibe Cinema was born. Despite my love of film and childhood dreams of finding my way into the biz, at this point in time I had no filmmaking experience and even less tech savvy… which was a big part of what attracted me to the Super 8. This camera had been designed for regular people to make home movies. It was simple and accessible, and because you can’t see your work until it’s been developed, and you can only do so many takes with a limited amount of film, there’s a certain raw theatrical quality to it that very much appealed to me. But getting into film wasn’t the only big shift that came out of this time for me, it was also the realization that I couldn’t wait around for opportunities, I had to create them. The next Halloween, Michael and I put on a packed variety show at a local bar and brought ‘Ghost Story’ to life again on our own terms, and once the world re-awakened we were ready to start making moves together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goodvibecinema.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodvibecinema/
- Other: https://ticketstripe.com/ghoststory
Image Credits
Riley Lekos
Jeff Lewis
