Tony-nominated actress Elizabeth A. Davis (“Once”) chatted about starring in the new Off-Broadway show “Maybe Tomorrow.”
It was inspired by a true story, and it explores the complex wear and tear wrought on a relationship of nearly one decade. It runs from March 15th through April 6th at A.R.T./New York Theatres.
Can you tell us about your new show “Maybe Tomorrow”? What can we expect?
“Maybe Tomorrow” is a beating, bleeding heart as much as it’s a psychological twist and turn. Folks should expect to cry, laugh and then run out of the theater to research the neuroscience behind depression and psychosis.
What’s it like working with Dan Amboyer?
Dan Amboyer is deeply kind and so alive in his creative choices. I feel totally safe to plumb the depths of this thing with him. We are definitely locked arms!
It’s wonderful to also share parenting stories with Dan and feel the unspoken joy and weight of that. He’s a gift!
What do you love most about your character?
Max Mondi has written my character Gail with such blistering truth and honesty. If I had to choose one thing I love the most about her it would be that Gail makes me feel seen.
It’s as if I have a friend in this character. If Gail was real I would want to have coffee with her. There is nothing caricature about Gail. She persists despite fumbling in the dark.
How did it feel to earn the Tony nomination for “Once”?
I was knocked out. I had no anticipation of such a thing happening, so the experience felt clear and pristine. It was simultaneously terrifying as I felt the weight of responsibility to try to live up to the honor.
I suppose I still feel that responsibility to give my best to a craft that chose to honor me in that way.
What is the best advice that you’ve ever been given?
Failure can be your greatest ally if you choose to use it well.
How does it feel to be a part of the digital age? (Now with streaming, technology and social media being so prevalent)
I have mixed reviews on the whole thing, family! The process of making theater is slow, meticulous, and doesn’t give you instant gratification.
I prefer that marination process and think it’s essential to art and life. So while I think it’s astonishing we can do all that we do online, I’m a bigger fan of IRL. (Elizabeth says as she scrolls Instagram!)
What is your advice for young and emerging actors?
This can be a life-long pursuit. So let it shift and change a million times. Dont get discouraged if it doesn’t look the way you thought it would right off the bat.
Commit to the craft of it and do the silent work when no one is looking. Seek collaborations for the purpose of learning your own aesthetic. Manage your self-talk well. Don’t entertain cynicism.
What does the word success mean to you now?
Success is having the space to work on projects that creatively fulfill me. It’s putting my kids to bed at night in an apartment we own.
It’s the luxury to get coffee at my favorite spot and linger for an undetermined amount of time.
Success is having ideas and those ideas finding a tangible place in the world. It’s having my health and being in the phase of life where I have my children and my parents gathered around my proverbial table.
What would you like to say to your fans about “Maybe Tomorrow”? (What’s the one thing you want them to get out of it)
I want anyone who is on this journey with me to take away the need for gentleness with ourselves and in marriages and partnerships.
I also want those who are interested in a family to know that having kids and having a creative life are both possible. The fine print of it all is definitely bonkers, but I stand by the big idea of it as truth.
For more information on “Maybe Tomorrow,” visit its theater’s official website.
