Meet Maybe Stewart | Theatre Artist, Writer, HR Specialist, & Tarot Reader

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maybe Stewart and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maybe, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I believe it was Seneca that said “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Sometime shortly after undergrad, I began adding a second part to that phrase: Opportunity is what happens when those in a position of privilege hold the door open behind them. By these definitions, I am an incredibly lucky person indeed.

I would not be where I am without the love and support of too many artists and local leaders to count. People that believed in me when I had no faith in myself. People who cleared the way to new opportunities for me at every turn, and taught me how to recognize and negotiate my worth. My early career was filled with overwhelming belief and kindness, even in the spaces where my naivety and lack of self worth was most taken advantage of. These years during and shortly after undergrad planted my roots deeply and broadly into the local semi-professional and professional theatre scene, which gradually opened out into nationwide and even international collaborations.

Some days, it still feels like I’m running blind from one opportunity to the next, hoping something will come of it. Other days, it feels like I’ve suddenly found myself living the dream. Granted, it’s a hard working dream, but I am actually living the life I envisioned for myself for so long. It still takes me by surprise every time another gig comes my way, and I still find myself looking back, stunned to find how many doors were held open to get me here.

Despite some of the labels I wear (trans, disabled, queer, neurodivergent, etc), I am an incredibly privileged person. I am where I am partly due to the years of blood, sweat, and tears I poured into my career — but my success is due in equal part to my privilege, and the still greater privilege of those white, straight, cisgender men that took a risk early in my career to hold the door open for me. That’s why my personal philosophy is to continue this pattern of holding the door open behind me, in the hopes that those less privileged than I can find power and space through my platforms. I am nothing without my collaborators, because theatre is nothing without community, and community is nothing without a vast wealth of diversity in lived experiences.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The process of creation, regardless of medium, has always been fascinating to me. Many of my most exciting works are born out of this fascination, driven by a desire to reveal the process through the work. This often leads to works that challenge or altogether refuse to fit within a single genre or medium, providing further opportunity to speak to greater structures in society that can and should be challenged. Just as my gender identity and physical disabilities refuse to fit within the boxes society provides, my art challenges form and structure, and focuses on subverting expectations.

To me, it has never been enough to look at any problem from just one angle. While trauma has a great deal to do with it, I have spent most of my life examining obstacles and stories from every possible angle before allowing myself to formulate an opinion on any topic. But this need to delve deep beneath the surface of any topic until all I can see is vast, variegated swaths of gray that leave traditional structures standing like nothing but foolish hills to die on takes on a visceral aspect in my work.

Years ago, one of my greatest friends once called me out for tying myself into a Gordian knot over every struggle I faced in life. My art is not only the Gordian knot of working through the inevitable challenges society poses to my identities, but the sword I use to slice through those challenges and find the closest thing I can to truth. Raw, unfiltered, divided from expectations, truth. I firmly believe that, when people are willing to set aside their pre-conceived notions of what life should look like and view each other from a place of empathy, bravery, and an open mind, we can create the change we want and need to see in the world. Art, for me, has always been the only place people can cross the divide and step in to such brave space, and I strive to bring that deeper kindness and understanding to life in all of my work.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Unfortunately, many of my restaurant recommendations — places for gathering and celebrating, spaces for community — were lost during (or because of) the pandemic. Of those that still survive, First Draft Book Bar, Welcome Diner, Xtreme Bean Coffee, Hurts Donuts, and Duck and Decanter are the go-to must sees.

Time spent wandering Changing Hands Bookstore and Fantasia Crystals is never in vain — the vibes are immaculate, I am constantly grateful for their ethical practices and beliefs, and they have both managed to create an absolutely beautiful, safe, and welcoming community.

Of course, I have to shout out my favorite local theatre companies. Stray Cat Theatre, in my opinion, is the most important local company we have. Their work constantly goes above and beyond, and they consistently produce the brave, poignant, thought provoking, vital new works that few other local theatres dare touch. Order Chaos Theatre Company has become a second home for me, and grows stronger with each new production they put on. And of course, the Festival of New American Theatre at The Phoenix Theatre Company is always worth the trip, and has a little something for everyone.

Finally, all of our local wildlife preserves are worth the trip, and could use the attention, In a time where indigenous species are dwindling right and left, places like the North Mountain Park are not only beautiful, inspiring, and worth the trip to visit, but are a gorgeous reminder of why conservation efforts are vital in this day and age.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
In the most recent chapter of my life, The Bridge Initiative, Fantasia Crystals, and The Herberger Theater Center have made the greatest impact. The Bridge Initiative has supported my theatrical career from the very beginning, and helped me bring an incredible number of projects to life. Their belief in me, and willingness to create brave spaces for my work to shine in, has been life changing. Fantasia Crystals and the wonderful crew there invited me and my wife into their little family so quickly, and have given me both the space and the support to get my tarot reading business off the ground again in spectacular fashion. The Herberger Theater Center (and especially the production leads, Tami, Tiff, and Greta) has always made me feel respected and at home, giving me the ability to be fully myself in their spaces while giving me the support necessary for me to thrive despite my physical limitations.

Website: www.maybestewartartist.com

Instagram: @maybestewartartist or @maybetarot

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maybestewartartist or https://www.facebook.com/maybetarot/

Image Credits
Durant Photography Reg Madison