If you have any interest in making film, TV or comedy, stay way the hell away from Victoria Nones. She is the classic conman who can talk a great game to get you excited and get you committed, then she will let you down and lie to your face so hard you to think that it was your fault all along.
I had been doing improv comedy in Chicago for a while, and had run into Women in Comedy on the scene a few times, though I hadn't met Victoria specifically, when I heard that there was a program for female comedy writers to produce their pilots in Chicago. Honestly, I was psyched, because I didn't really want to/couldn't afford to move to LA or NYC, but I always wanted to write for a TV show. I applied with most of a pilot I had written, it needed work, but I gave it a shot and I GOT AN INTERVIEw
On the call it sounded awesome. So awesome. She told me there would be a supportive grou[ and that we would work together to make all of our pilots and shorts happen. She told me she had people who would help us shoot it on donated time and we could get donations to our stuff written off through the non-profit she had (Women in Comedy),, just it was really what I needed and was so excited about it that when I got in with what now I think was a barely half developed script I didn't even think about it I just joined.
The first class was kind of weird and I wasn't super sure how this was going to go but I figured that there must be some cool people in the program, and I really wanted to know how to produce. I think Victoria also does, but she seems to think she already knows and she really does not
Our homework had nothing to do with anything movie related or script related, it was crazy and then NONE of our homework ended up having anything to do with figuring out making our scripts. It was extra bad because mine wasn't even done and I was getting zero mentorship in doing writing. We did learn about joke structure and how to do standu[ bits which was great, but what about TV script structure??? I felt like a bunch of our class time was a total waste so I started kinda trying to figure some stuff out on my own. Not like I could ask Victoria anything because anytime I did it was so personal like I was attacking her and then she just ignored my worries and said we'd do it later. We haven't.
But the really annoying stuff came up fast, starting with the fact that Victoria just left us for a full month out of a si month program to go be on a REALITY SHOW. She just LEFT this program that we all were really dedicated to and she did it a bunch of times. Even when she eventually came back weeks went by without learning anything about how to plan our shoots. The mentorship came only from people who came to speak, who actually knew what they were talking about. Victoria Nones doesn't know a single thing about how to produce a TV show or even what to ask people for, she gave us absolutely nothing.
The "crew" she had promised turned out to be college kids from a school without a serious film progra, who she expected to work for free. The "equipment" she had lined up? She expected those college kids to provide it, for free. Oh yeah, and we're shooting over the SUMMER. Guess when school is NOT happening. So all that fell through because she didnt even actually have any of it she just had us go to a school event and try to grab these students as they were leaving. I cannot say how much of an idiot I felt like trying to explain what I needed for my shoot when I for real had no idea. This is weeks into a program that's supposed to teach me that!!
She told us people could write off the work they did on their taxes as a donation. SOMEBODY INFORM THE IRS cause she had to come back later and say that was wrong, that people could only write off cash donations. She takes 20% of whatever money gets donated too as a "fee" for her insight into production even though she knows literally nothing about anything.
She forced us to give criticism not anonymous so she could react and basically punish us, and I heard from another girl in the program that Victoria said to her face literally her movie was not going to get done like YEAH we have no creew, thanks for screwing that up. And her script isn't even done because this program has been a bunch of lies and an ego trip for a total conwoman who paints herself as being all about helping women and instead has wasted four months of my life and honestly has gone to new lengths of lying saying that she didn't promise us anything when at very least she promised us crew over the summer. The thing that sticks in my mind is she said that we aren't trying to make Hollywood quality. Like ok, what is Chicago quality? Going based on Victoria's talk, it's not good thats for sure
The best part of this program was the women I got to meet who are funny and awesome and are the only reason I'm even still in this stupid program. Victoria Elena Nones and her weird crazy incompetent behavior as a producer, teacher or enterprenur with no clue about how to make this program a success has to be the most toxic environment I've been in in this entire city
Women in Comedy might as well be run by Harvey Weinstein. he knew how to make a goddamn movie.
Stay far far away from Victoria Elena Nones and Women in Comedy, because she will make tons of promises and utterly screw you. I have been trying to read and learn outside of the program, so what the hell is bieng accelerated???
Women In Comedy Reviews
If you have any interest in making film, TV or comedy, stay way the hell away from Victoria Nones. She is the classic conman who can talk a great game to get you excited and get you committed, then she will let you down and lie to your face so hard you to think that it was your fault all along.
I had been doing improv comedy in Chicago for a while, and had run into Women in Comedy on the scene a few times, though I hadn't met Victoria specifically, when I heard that there was a program for female comedy writers to produce their pilots in Chicago. Honestly, I was psyched, because I didn't really want to/couldn't afford to move to LA or NYC, but I always wanted to write for a TV show. I applied with most of a pilot I had written, it needed work, but I gave it a shot and I GOT AN INTERVIEw
On the call it sounded awesome. So awesome. She told me there would be a supportive grou[ and that we would work together to make all of our pilots and shorts happen. She told me she had people who would help us shoot it on donated time and we could get donations to our stuff written off through the non-profit she had (Women in Comedy),, just it was really what I needed and was so excited about it that when I got in with what now I think was a barely half developed script I didn't even think about it I just joined.
The first class was kind of weird and I wasn't super sure how this was going to go but I figured that there must be some cool people in the program, and I really wanted to know how to produce. I think Victoria also does, but she seems to think she already knows and she really does not
Our homework had nothing to do with anything movie related or script related, it was crazy and then NONE of our homework ended up having anything to do with figuring out making our scripts. It was extra bad because mine wasn't even done and I was getting zero mentorship in doing writing. We did learn about joke structure and how to do standu[ bits which was great, but what about TV script structure??? I felt like a bunch of our class time was a total waste so I started kinda trying to figure some stuff out on my own. Not like I could ask Victoria anything because anytime I did it was so personal like I was attacking her and then she just ignored my worries and said we'd do it later. We haven't.
But the really annoying stuff came up fast, starting with the fact that Victoria just left us for a full month out of a si month program to go be on a REALITY SHOW. She just LEFT this program that we all were really dedicated to and she did it a bunch of times. Even when she eventually came back weeks went by without learning anything about how to plan our shoots. The mentorship came only from people who came to speak, who actually knew what they were talking about. Victoria Nones doesn't know a single thing about how to produce a TV show or even what to ask people for, she gave us absolutely nothing.
The "crew" she had promised turned out to be college kids from a school without a serious film progra, who she expected to work for free. The "equipment" she had lined up? She expected those college kids to provide it, for free. Oh yeah, and we're shooting over the SUMMER. Guess when school is NOT happening. So all that fell through because she didnt even actually have any of it she just had us go to a school event and try to grab these students as they were leaving. I cannot say how much of an idiot I felt like trying to explain what I needed for my shoot when I for real had no idea. This is weeks into a program that's supposed to teach me that!!
She told us people could write off the work they did on their taxes as a donation. SOMEBODY INFORM THE IRS cause she had to come back later and say that was wrong, that people could only write off cash donations. She takes 20% of whatever money gets donated too as a "fee" for her insight into production even though she knows literally nothing about anything.
She forced us to give criticism not anonymous so she could react and basically punish us, and I heard from another girl in the program that Victoria said to her face literally her movie was not going to get done like YEAH we have no creew, thanks for screwing that up. And her script isn't even done because this program has been a bunch of lies and an ego trip for a total conwoman who paints herself as being all about helping women and instead has wasted four months of my life and honestly has gone to new lengths of lying saying that she didn't promise us anything when at very least she promised us crew over the summer. The thing that sticks in my mind is she said that we aren't trying to make Hollywood quality. Like ok, what is Chicago quality? Going based on Victoria's talk, it's not good thats for sure
The best part of this program was the women I got to meet who are funny and awesome and are the only reason I'm even still in this stupid program. Victoria Elena Nones and her weird crazy incompetent behavior as a producer, teacher or enterprenur with no clue about how to make this program a success has to be the most toxic environment I've been in in this entire city
Women in Comedy might as well be run by Harvey Weinstein. he knew how to make a goddamn movie.
Stay far far away from Victoria Elena Nones and Women in Comedy, because she will make tons of promises and utterly screw you. I have been trying to read and learn outside of the program, so what the hell is bieng accelerated???