As the exclusive online media partner for the Screen Nation Digital-iS Media Awards we will be featuring each of the nominees in the lead up to the awards ceremony on 17th December. The event, which is in conjunction with Vox Africa (Sky218) and sponsored by Google and Afrinolly, will celebrate the best online content produced by black British and international digital media creatives across short film, web series, music promos, blogs, magazines, social networks and more. Tickets to the awards are sold out but you can still attend the after party – click here.
You might recognise Tanya Vital from Emmerdale, Holby City or urban fantasy thriller Sokorates alongside actor Wil Johnson. She’s up for the Favourite Web Series Actress award and we caught up with her to find out a little more.
On why she decided to join the cast of Sokorates, Tanya said:
"I think the Director Ricardo Barker, Wil and I were all under the same impression that the work wasn’t coming to us at the rate that we would have liked and we were not being seen for, or offered, the types of work we wanted to create so we should somehow get out there and create our own.”
Many have turned to the web for this exact reason as it offers a platform to tell your own stories as well as gives audiences content that they have been craving. We’ve heard from many of the nominees that seeing an initial idea grow into something watched worldwide is a proud moment – the same goes for Tanya.
“My proudest achievement to date has to be Sokorates. We all worked so hard with little to no budget to create a type of show that wasn’t being done by people like us. Ric gave me a chance to be a superhero – when will a short, brown, northern girl ever get that chance again?”
Having spent some time working on two big British programmes Emmerdale and Holby, Tanya has some interesting insights about the world of an actor.
“The acting profession is like a huge anthropological experiment and there are lessons to be learnt about life and human nature around every corner. I think somebody said it best when they said ‘Life’s a marathon, not a sprint’. The same is true of the acting profession.”
When asked about her plans for the future, Tanya is quite candid about her thoughts on diversity in the UK TV and film industry.
“I graduate from RADA in January and then after that the world is my oyster. The cons of this industry are that unless you’re in a soap the work is sporadic, but the pros are that the work can take you anywhere in the world at the drop of a hat. It’s no secret that there just isn’t enough work here for people of colour so maybe America will have me? Who knows.”
Finally, on why should people vote for her?
“Because it’s our time to show that there is culture and diversity beyond Watford Gap. We created a unique type of show and frankly it’s good. Series two will be coming soon.”
To vote for Tanya to win the Favourite Web Series Actress Award, click here.
To vote for Sokorates to win the Favourite Web Series Award, click here.
To find out more about Tanya, see the links below:
Twitter: @TanyaVital
