Every day is opening night.

Pascale Armand

Pascale Armand

Here’s what’s true: Pascale Armand is always memorable onstage, whether it’s opposite Cicely Tyson in The Trip to Bountiful, as the leading lady in her LA Ovation Award-winning performance in Danai Gurira’s The Convert, or among the intricate ensemble of the groundbreaking, OBIE-winning An Octoroon. Her latest stage turn finds her not only memorable but truly unforgettable as the scene-stealing Wife #3 in the critically-acclaimed Broadway production of Eclipsed, which reunites her with playwright Gurira and finds her sharing most scenes with Broadway veteran Saycon Sengbloh and, in her Broadway debut, Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o. While Eclipsed is an often searing portrait of women in distress during the Liberian Civil War, it is Armand who brings to life the play’s unexpected—but absolutely essential—humor. That she also finds pathos in her portrait of a woman coping the best way she knows how during wartime is just icing on the cake. In between performances, we took a few moments to get Pascale Armand ‘On the Couch’.

What do you consider to be your best asset?
My observational skills.

What was your proudest moment?
Being the lead in Danai Gurira’s play The Convert.

What is your favorite drink?
Simple Kahlua and crème is my go to drink, but I’m currently falling in love with the Moscow Mule.

What is your favorite food?
Avocado.

What is your favorite condiment?
Ketchup.

What is your current obsession?
Getting rid of my Navient bill!

If you could give up one of your vices, what would it be?
Worrying too much.

What is the one professional accomplishment you long for most?
Financial security garnered from my artistry.

What is the one thing you waste too much money on?
I don’t waste money.

What is the one activity you waste too much time doing?
Surfing the internet.

What do you consider to be the single greatest threat to your health?
Sugar.

What is the single best trait you inherited or learned from your parents?
Self-sufficiency.

What is the single worst trait you inherited or learned from your parents?
To not be so trusting of others.

What in the world most thrills you?
Watching/learning about deserving people getting their due.

What current trend in popular culture most irritates you?
Notoriety for nothing.

What was the single most embarrassing moment you’ve ever experienced on the job?
It was the end of a preview and I couldn’t find my way to my spot for a group curtain call. A cast member tried to guide me to my spot where I was supposed to perch on a chaise. For the life of me, I couldn’t find my way in the dark and we were in the dark for a while. Applause is still going on and the lights finally come up and I am in a half-squat with no chaise in my vicinity. I turned my half-squat into a curtsey awkwardly in the light, with my cast mate and, I think, the audience laughing at me. They had been in the dark for so long that they knew something was up. When the lights came up, they saw what it was. I just looked stupid!

What is your favorite place in the world?
My nice, warm bed.

What is the most important trait you seek in a romantic partner?
The balance between being able to talk seriously and fall out laughing.

Do you prefer the company of dogs or cats?
Neither. I’ve never had a pet.

What would have to happen to make today the best day of your life?
I’d have to be wiping out my student loans – ALL OF THEM!

What is your personal motto?
What’s for you is for you.