‘Trying to make things work’
The pandemic has hit moms hard. In her new TV role, Danielle Brooks records the toll.
Danielle Brookswanted to find away to stay creative during lockdown. So she’s starring in a TV show about it.
Set in the early months of theCOVID-19 pandemic, “Social Distance” is an eight-part anthology series — focusing on one person or family each episode— about navigating the uncertainty and unexpected circumstances of this singular moment in history. In the third installment, the former “Orange Is theNew Black” star plays Imani, a working singlemomtrying to figure out howto care for her daughter while also keeping her job.
Nowstreaming onNetflix, “SocialDistance” was shot remotely under various stay-at-home orders designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus. That meant Brooks, a newmom to daughter Freeya, filmed her episode fromher parents’ home in South Carolina— and shared the screen with her mother, Larita Brooks, who plays a patient with ALS that Brooks cares for at a nursing home.
This interview with Brooks has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: In those early days of the pandemic, it became something of a joke guessing howlong before this timewould be the basis of aTVshowor movie. “Social Distance” was the first to be announced back inApril. Whywas this project appealing to you?
A: Part of the sanity is getting to continue to do things that you love. And keeping creative, for me, is a part of what keeps me out of spiraling into depression and sadness. I actually did a little Instagram show, or Instagram short film, with my friend Jordan E. Cooper. We did “Mama Got a Cough.” We did that just out of purelywanting to get our creative juices flowing becausewe’re artists, we can’t stop. And so, when Jenji (Kohan) and Tara (Herrmann, who are executive producers on the series) hit me up about “Social Distance,” Iwas completely into it because I love to learn. Iwas like: This is a coolway for me to be exposed to the other side of the table, and see howthingswork with the lighting, the sound, picking locations— even if they are in your mom’s house.
And then the other layer of itwas when they asked if mymomwould be involved. First of all, mymom is a fantastic actress. Unfortunately, they didn’t give her any lines because she would have slayed them. She played awoman with ALS, and she has a lot of ’tude. I justwanted to make memories with her. Andmy brother is in it aswell, he has a very small cameo. I justwanted to create things thatwe can look back on and say,“We did that together during a pandemic.” And because it’s on television and onNetflix, it’s something thatwewould tell Freeya about when she is old enough to understand whatwas happening during this time. She’ll get to say: “Oh, look at what mama and grandma and uncle created together.” Andmymomopened her home for this, whichwas very generous of her because it can feel very invasive. Itwas cool becausemy familywas able to understand a little bit more about what I do. I remembermy momsaying, like, “I (have) a lot more respect for you, Danielle, and what you do because this is not easy.”
Q: You play Imani, a singlemomtrying to figure out howto keep her job while making sure her child is taken care of — a situation so many parents find themselves in.
A: I think Imani is a number ofwomen who are single mothers, or even not single mothers, and trying to support their children as best they can in a pandemic. And are trying to do it in the most safeway possible. I say that becausewewatch herwatch her child through video on her phone. There’s no one physically there to be there for her child. There’s a lot of people trying to make ends meet. I definitely knowa few Imanis, for sure, trying to make thingswork during this time when there’s just, financially, no support. And there are a lot of people who have to live paycheck to paycheck. I’m glad they allowed room for thiswoman’s story to be told.
The same with the characterMarsha (that) Stephanie Blake plays. She’s trying to figure things out as well— teaching and trying to figure out howto maneuver and make lesson plans online. It’s just a whole new world that people are having to step into and navigate. What I thinkwe find through this episode is that we’re all in it together. And howcanwe really look out
Danielle Brooks attends the ESSENCE BlackWomen in Hollywood luncheon in February.
for our neighbors and be there for each other during this time. It takes a village to stay afloat.
Q: Do you think the child care issues get enough attention?
A: This is a new topic for me. It’s not something that was even onmy radar until I had a baby. I didn’t even think aboutwhywe haven’t spent time talking about it more. But nowthat I amin it, I definitely think it’s worth people talking about it and sharing their stories. Art reflects life and life reflects art and the more we see it, the morewe talk about it.
I’ve been blessed to be financially stable, but it’s not cheap to have someone look after your child and to continue trying to reach for the dreams that you have; trying to continue towork
at the level that youwant to work at. I think that’s why women start to lose themselves, is because youmight not have the resources to help you continue to be yourself. I think the part that is left out of the conversation is the sacrifice thatwomen make being mothers, and a part of that is giving up the things that you enjoy and love and that bring you happiness. Some of that comes from not being able to afford child care. That’s something that, whenwe first had Freeya, wewere definitely debating on, like, “What dowe do?” And I knew Iwasn’t not going towork. But that light bulb does kind of flicker. Do I just sit out for a year? Do I sit out until she can go to preschool, just to save money? And I’m not willing to sacrifice that. So she is coming with me
everywhere I go. Everyone has different situations. But speaking formyself, it’s taught me to advocate more formyself, and to advocate for what I need. So I definitely try to add that into contracts: “Youwant me, I come with a baby and a nanny.”
Q: And Iwould assume it puts things in perspective, in terms of even have the ability to make a choice, because a lot of people can’t make the choice.
A: That is the crazy thing. A lot of people don’t have the choice. That is whywe have to continue to talk about it. It’s hard to even encouragewomen to tell your boss what you need, because every situation is different. Some people can’t. They don’t have the luxury to say that.