Meet Evelina Gaivoronskaia | Actor, Potter, & Software Developer

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

Hi Evelina, why did you pursue a creative career?
I have always been surrounded by art. I started acting in theater when I was 6 and joined a pottery class by 7. After moving to America at 12, I found a lot of comfort in the universality of art. I wasn’t able to hold a coherent conversation for 6 months, so my peers lost interest in me. But after I joined the school winter guard team and spun the flag I snatched every single day despite the Midwestern snow, I finally was able to earn their respect through my skill. Although there were a lot of words I didn’t understand and even more I was unable to speak, I was still able to teach my friends through my body language.

I was lucky enough to be in a school with an amazing arts program and after 8th grade, I felt strong enough in my English to join a theater class and a year later I was able to get into the ceramics class. Moving from Russia to America usually means that you will not be able to come back for quite some time, so my art became my new home. It always felt warm and welcoming to me, a piece of my old self that remained unchanged despite the new cultural norms I had to adapt into.

I can still remember the only though that was in my head when my mother told me that we were moving to America as were thousands of feet above the Atlantic ocean: “Hollywood is only in America”. So acting became not juts a passion, it became a reason for me to live, to rebuild myself and my life in a country most of my favorite movies and shows were in. So after my high school graduation, I knew exactly what to do: I had to become a software developer to further fund the light that shined for me even during my darkest moments. I am so thankful that I am able to do so because for me, my artistic career is why I am still alive today.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I think that my Russian background makes me stand out regardless of where I am. Acting wise, I was trained with the Stanislavski method in the birthplace of it, so it now feels like second nature to me. This career is never an easy one, but in times where the post-audition radio silence gets to me, another thing that helps me is remembering how much my ancestors had to go through. Their unbridled resilience is in my DNA and the knowledge of that pushed me out of my slump and toward greatness a countless amount of times. I will be honest, having software development as a day job is not my idea of fun, but it definitely helps me support myself financially, as that can be a great challenge for aspiring actors. I often think back to my father’s decision to move to America. In order to get his family a better life, he had to make the tough decision of switching from a prestigious job as a realtor to a grueling factory job. I could not help but look up to him when I was faced with my own leap into the life I dreamed of. Through seeing his courage, I was able to set myself up with a foundation that brought me here today.

I think the greatest lesson I learned was the ability to make mistakes. Although I am still working on internalizing this, mistakes are inevitable. But it is not enough to just acknowledge this simple truth. In my opinion, one must be able to look back at their mistake without self hatred or shame and extract the lesson hidden in it. And then you have to act on it. You cannot sit and spiral, caught up in the notion that you are not and have never been right. You also cannot keep mulling over the events that lead to your mistake, trying to come up with a way to never make another one ever again. You will. It might even be the same mistake you made last time, or even a worse one. Therefore, you must extract as much as you can from your mistake and let it go. Grant yourself forgiveness for the reality of being human and start moving forward, regardless of your pace or further setbacks. I have bombed in class and even at a callback, and it made me so furious with myself I wanted to look for any way I can punish myself. But this only discouraged me further, made me fear my own wrathful opinions, and lead me to stalling any attempts at further progress. I was so scared that if I failed again, I would come down on myself even harder than before. But now I try my best to follow my beliefs above, although I know that I will mess up there too, I will yell and fume at myself again, but now I know that I shall forgive myself for that mistake as well and keep lovingly moving forward because that is what I deserve,

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First and foremost, I would take them to cafe Lucia every morning because I love their Wolf’s Baine latte. Then I would beeline straight for the High, as it has enough galleries to fill a whole day. I would also definitely take them to Piedmont Park, since the four false springs seem to have finally given way to the real one. We’d then scooter back home, through the warm air of the more suburban streets of Midtown as the sun sets. Then in the evening, I would take them to see a pretentious movie at Plaza Theater, as its light never fail to mesmerize me. We’d then pop a few block over to Kin NoTori Ramen Bar, which is the first restaurant I went to when I moved here and Ponce is literally across the street. I would also have to take them to the Spruill Art Center, where I do my pottery, as just being in that building fills me with motivation to create. The community that this center cultivates is like no other, so I would want my friend to meet as many of those wonderful artists as possible. For dinner I’d take them to Big Boss Chinese because not only is the food amazing, but the interior decor is right out of an 80’s movie. Plus they have a street fighter arcade machine, so there is no way to pass that up. Speaking of arcades, for a mandatory bar crawl, I would take them down Edgewood Ave, for some fun at Joystick and Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room. Another place that comes to mind is Six Flags Over Georgia. My apartment complex has a mural of it on a wall and I went there for my 20th birthday, so I think Six Flags is a must. After a whole day of coasters, I’ll take them to Tabla, for some of the best Indian food I’ve tried. On the weekend, I’d take them to the Beltline to meander around until we can make a selection from the many restaurants along it. And for the evening, we’d go to My Sister’s Room, as it is one of very few lesbian bars in the country. Hopefully this will be enough to properly tire out my friend, but if not, we can always do what I like to do in my spare time – walk up and down Midtown with a camera and try to capture some cool photos.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have to give so much credit to my roommate, Chris, who agreed to move with me to Atlanta when I sprung the question on them in the middle of our senior year theater class. They believed in my crazy plan to get a software job with no degree or experience to then start an even harder process of an acting career. We are about to sign our third lease together and I cannot even begin to describe how much they have supported me. They tape nearly every one of my audition, run countless of scripts with me, and love all the pretentious movies I drone on about. Even when I am in a self doubt spiral, they will tirelessly affirm my talents with love I’ve never felt before. I doubt I would’ve made it to Atlanta without them, so I ecstatic to see what more we will accomplish together.

Instagram: @evelina_gaivor

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/evelina-gaivoronskaia

Other: TikTok; @evelina.gaivor