Story & Lesson Highlights with Vita DeVoid of Hollywood

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Vita DeVoid. Check out our conversation below.

Good morning Vita, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
When I was first entering showbiz in the late 90s, I had a huge interest in stage magic and theatre, however – I’m no singer, and most theatre auditions require a sung piece for any role. The world of magic at the time usually featured only male talent, with not much consideration or room for women to come up in that facet of entertainment unless they were playing the role of “stage assistant”. I wanted to be the main attraction, but with not much available to me at the time, it took a back burner.

Recently, I’ve been training in up-close magic, learning mentalism, stage magic, and a few fun card tricks and object manipulation, which has seamlessly blended with my sideshow acts that I’ve been performing for two decades. It has been such a fun way to pass my time and even more fun to get good at new tricks, and the folks I’m around lately over in London with The Magician’s Table have taught me a wealth of knowledge as well as helping me fine-tune the things I could already do. Paired with that, I’m learning a lot more theatre acting and scripting which was very new to me, as I’m mostly an improvisational entertainer, so I’ve got a whole new adventure ahead of me in coming years as I soak it all in.

Call it a lucky double-whammy!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello you fabulous weirdos!

I’m Vita DeVoid, a stage entertainer, event host, cabaret and burlesque show producer, sideshow talent, magician, and burlesque headliner based in Hollywood!

I’ve been working in entertainment internationally since around 2002 as a full-time artist, mostly focusing on oddities and darker visuals, blending sideshow stunts and drag, character tributes, and comedy into my burlesque performances. Every single performance is bespoke to the shows I’m asked to appear in, so you’ll never see the same exact act twice – making the experience entirely unique to audiences.

Recently I’ve been spending a lot more time abroad in The UK, learning magic and expanding my theatre training as I’m evolving and elevating my repertoire. The more tricks in your bag, the more bookable you are after all – and boy do I want to do it all.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Oh wow, this is quite a question. Early me would be shocked.

I grew up in a very small town in Florida, surrounded by churches and hyper-conservative people and no creative outlets or resources. I spent every day bored out of my mind trying to just make art out of my abundant free time. I didn’t speak much as I was painfully shy, so I mostly just lived in my head plucking away at a tiny keyboard and sewing costumes I would never wear because outside of churches, there wasn’t much going on to wear them to. I would obsess over old glamorous black and white movies, learned swing and ballroom dance, devoured any vibrant musicals I could, and passed my time in the local library reading about space and esoteric history. Other kids in my town would probably say I was the weird artsy one, and was one of a handful of goths in the mid to late 90s at my high school. Got bullied a lot for that, but I felt fabulous in my eyeliner and black clothing.

I couldn’t figure out what to do for a career, as I wasn’t exposed to much in that town and my interests were so oddly varied that the concept of doing one thing forever was overwhelming – I was dead set on being some kind of fabulous vampire cabaret creature forever.

So I did just that.

I eventually moved to another city, launched a gogo career, spent my time creating burlesque acts for local bars, landed a few gigs and jobs working with drag shows, and it became so overwhelmingly busy for me that I had to quit any other work to support showbiz. Eventually, I ended up learning a lot of circus and carnival arts and sideshow, danced for gothic industrial bands, and carefully crafted a wierd and dark little career for myself. I touched base with a few old friends from my hometown and they actually said, “Wow, you actually turned being weird into a career!”

Turns out being a mostly non-verbal uptight goth kid makes for a great entertainer – who’d have guessed.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Don’t worry, kid- you’ll get everything you want, even if it seems like defeat after defeat.

Don’t listen to them.

Do what you want and devote yourself to the weird. That weird will save your life.

Also, please for the love of all that is holy, learn to take a compliment- people really mean them.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
“If you really really want something, and you work so very hard, you’ll get it!”

Absolute lie for the entertainment industry. Sometimes, it’s more about meeting the right person who sees a spark in you that they either love, or know how to exploit. Sometimes it’s being in the right room. Sometimes it’s sheer dumb luck. Sometimes the means of fame come from absolute viral humiliation.

An entertainer can train all their life, tunnel their vision, burn every outside influence out of their mind and dedicate themselves to their goals completely and still never make it.

Have a backup plan, and another, and another just in case. Spread your interests out, get good at many things. Something may eventually stick, some things may not ever work out for you. That’s just the way it works.

I got lucky – I’m not where I wish to be in entertainment just yet, but I’ve done some incredible things in my career that other failures actually led me to, and learned that sometimes when you don’t get what you want, it’s the best thing for you.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
All the spooky things about my image are not an act at all, and I have always been 100% honest about my lifestyle and who I really am.

Some who have followed my work for years will know that the most bizarre things I put on a stage are the biggest secrets I hold, performed and gutted out of me every single show.

I just hope that when I go, I’ll have inspired a few artists to do the same.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://vitadevoid.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vitadevoid

Image Credits
Self portraits (I took all of these photos myself)