Pascale Armand

Photo Courtesy Of Pascale Armand

WHERE WERE YOU BORN AND RAISED?
I was born in Brooklyn, NY. I lived in the U.S. until the age of 14 when my family moved to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which is where my parents are from.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FONDEST CHILDHOOD MEMORIES?
One of them is when we got a video recorder and my sister and I made a video of ourselves just acting foolish. There was no editing, no real production value (I think I was nine or 10 years old, so she was about seven or eight years old.), we just pressed record and started acting stupid. Then we would watch it over and over again and laugh. Just silliness.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN YOUR CAREER PATH?
At Georgetown University, during my undergraduate years in college, I got involved with the Black Theater Ensemble as an extracurricular activity. I was a psychology major. It was apparent to me that I loved acting when BTE became more important to me than my coursework. I graduated and started working in theaters around Washington, D.C. I got into a couple of shows and someone told me that I was good, but needed technique. Hungry to hone this skill, I was like, “Where do I get that?” They suggested New York University. I got an application, filled it out, went through the audition process and got in. The rest is history.

WHAT IS YOUR TRAINING AND WHAT DID YOU GAIN FROM THE EXPERIENCE THAT WEREN'T IN THE “BOOKS”?
My master's degree is from the Graduate Acting Program of the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. On-the-job training has taught me that there is always something to learn, even from a bad experience. It may be the worst thing that ever happened to you, but you learn, if confronted with a similar situation later, how to deal with it. Nine times out of 10, you'll handle it better. It makes up the personal wisdom you gain as you go through this life.

HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A ROLE AND WHAT’S THE HARDEST CHARACTER YOU’VE EVER PLAYED?
I try to read as much as I can. Sometimes it's not enough to read and you need to see and hear things for yourself, which is when the internet comes into play. Youtube is a wonderful resource for seeing and hearing how people express themselves. If I am working on an accent, I will especially use Youtube, but then also find someone to speak to who is from the same place as my character. It's great to watch that person as they speak to me. If that's not possible, I'll speak to them on the phone. If that's not possible, I'll have them leave me a voicemail message and listen to it over and over. I get it in however I can. The hardest role I have ever had to play was “Jekesai/Esther” in Danai Gurira's “The Convert”.

WHO DO YOU PORTRAY IN “ECLIPSED” AND CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE NUMERATION ATTACHED TO EACH CAST MEMBER?
I portray “Bessie,” also known as, “Wife No. 3”. During the Liberian war, villages were raided by rebel gangs and, amongst other atrocities, the fate of thousands of women was to be kidnapped and become sex slaves to the men. In “Eclipsed”, the commanding officer (who is never seen throughout the play), has four wives. I play his third “wife”.

WHERE SHOULD ONE GO FOR BRUNCH, LUNCH OR DINNER PRE OR POST SHOW?
Oh, I don't know yet. We're in the middle of previews right now and the schedule is grueling until we open on March 6. I haven't really had a chance to really sit down and dine on Broadway yet!.


HOW MUCH FUN ARE YOU GUYS HAVING ON-SET AND HOW DID LUPITA NYONG’O COME UP WITH HER INSTAGRAM “SPECIAL SKILL SET” QUESTIONNAIRE?
We are having a good time. We've developed a nurturing environment amongst us, which allows for cutting up sometimes! I don't know how Lupita came up with her Instagram questionnaire, but she is very smart and adept at using social media as a tool to promote the show and acquainting us to her “Insta” fan base. She just told us what she wanted to do and we all agreed. She gave us the questions ahead of time and told us that we had 15 seconds per video.

IF YOU WEREN’T AN ACTOR WHAT PROFESSION WOULD YOU OCCUPY AND HOW DO YOU SPEND A DAY OFF-BROADWAY?
That's a tough question. I really don't know. I so enjoy what I do as an actor - the opportunity to step into someone else's shoes and bring someone else's story to light, bring focus to stories that capture and reveal what it means to be human. That's so interesting to me and I am blessed to be able to say that this is what I do with my life. My day off right now is spent running errands doing things I can't get done during the week because I'm in the theater all day. I try to squeeze it all in.