A picture of Victorina taken by her mother while going for a walk
With a bright, dimpled smile, wide brown eyes frames by thick lashes and long curly brown hair, five-year old Victorina Qualizza is the definition of a commercial kid. Couple her adorable looks with an outgoing, quirky personality and it’s not hard to imagine why her parents, Lora and Dante Qualizza, would have wanted to immerse her in the frenzied entertainment industry.
“It was something she showed interest in and she’s always very dramatic, so we thought it would be something she should try,” says Lora. “She also has good memory. She can hear something once and be able to repeat it.”
Victorina was signed up with a dance school that doubled as a talent agency at four years old and has since Victorina has auditioned for numerous commercials. She has since switched agencies upon recommendation, to a more concentrated agency, landing her more auditions not only for commercials, for companies such as Crayola and Aqua Doodle, but movies as well.
“[Auditions] are fun,” says Victorina. “I got to jump on a couch on one of my auditions. I got to do it over and over again.”
She answers every question with a cheeky, mischievous smile, getting constantly distracted as we sit at the coffee table having a tea party, as is normal with any five-year-old. She points to her shirt with a picture of Hannah Montana on it when asked who her favorite actress is, then busies herself with pouring some tea (water) and arranging the cookies in a floral cupcake tin. After constant prodding, she finally answers what she dislikes about auditioning. “Eating,” she says, crinkling her nose to prove her point. She then goes into an elaborate story about having to eat a “real cracker” as she calls it, numerous times.
Her mother, on the other hand, requires much less prodding when it comes to the downside of trying to get her child into the entertainment industry.
“She has to be taken out of school and they give you very little notice,” says Lora. “Sometimes they give you a call at five or six in the afternoon and you have to have her there by 9:30 the next morning. It doesn’t give you a lot of time to rearrange you schedule.”
Like any loving parent, Lora tries to do best by Victorina, saying that a positive part of the whole experience is that “she enjoys it and has fun. She gets to meet a lot of people.”
At the moment, Victorina has not yet landed any auditions although she has been called back for a few commercials. This, however, doesn’t seem to deter Lora in her decisions about continuing to keep Victorina signed up with a talent agency.
When asked whether or not she will continue she said, “I think so. But sometimes it does get challenging because of the schedule.”
Isabela and Gabriela
ooowwn… so cute! Nice story =)
Cindy St-Laurent
I used to want to go into acting as a child but my parents decided for me that they wanted me to have a normal childhood and to do acting later on if I was still serious about it. I honestly think it was the right choice for me, but its nice to see that she gets to do what she loves.
Julia Vergara Carnero
Nice story, Marissa. I think if children like to act, then it is a good idea to try showbiz at such a young age. It makes children more outgoing and makes them try new things. But as soon as they don’t enjoy it, it should stop, parents should never push their children into it for wrong reasons. Victorina seems like a child who really enjoys it.
Sheetal Reddy
I’m never sure what to think about children in the entertainment industry, because at an age like Victorina’s, I feel like they don’t have much of a say of whether or not they want to be there. It’s nice to see she likes it, though, and yes, her childhood is going to be a lot more interesting, compared to her peers’.