The New Yorker: On Thursday, March 12th, the morning after the N.B.A. suspended its season and Donald Trump banned travel from Europe, the actor Emily Cass McDonnell was in rehearsals for an upcoming production of Annie Baker’s play “The Antipodes.” In the play, a group of people sit around a table brainstorming for a project, the exact nature of which is never fully defined. In the last scene, as an apocalyptic storm brews outside, the group’s leader arrives and calls the whole thing off. That Thursday, the finale took on an oracular significance when, weeks into rehearsal, McDonnell and the rest of the cast learned that, due to safety measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, their show was being cancelled.
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I was in Europe on March 12th, let’s just say my mom was a little, understatement, stressed when that Trump announced that he was banning travel, but we got back so it all worked out (and we didn’t have to pay ridiculous amounts of money to get back, the tickets we booked were from 4 hours before the borders closed… we were lucky!) This isn’t something that is going away soon. For me personally, I don’t think that fact has set in. It's still really the beginning (or end depending on where you think the shit really hit the fan) of week two of this major shift. Yes, the memes are funny but they are going to get old fast. Things are going to get worse before they get better. I am finding it a little hard sometimes to read about the entertainment industry and all that is happening because 1) it is very disappointing for those in productions and events 2) it is upsetting to the community that supports and wants to see the work of these artist 3) artist and creativity sometimes feel like they have to be paused because there is the stuff that comes first (I could probably think of many other disappointments that come from the spread of this virus but I think we are on in the same boat. It is upsetting and we have to make the best of the situation) people are dying, people are losing their jobs, there are people that don’t know what to do (so I think for many of us that are dealing with the stress of having to take online classes should be very thankful for the situations we find ourselves in, even though it is hard many of us have a lot to be thankful for, so stay positive and do the best you can to take care of yourself and the people you love). I know that my comment doesn’t speak directly to the article but I find it hard to read and only think about what is happening on a small scale. This virus is bigger than CMU, broadway, the entertainment industry, etc. Stay creative people, don’t let what is going on stop you, find new ways to express yourself and be optimistic that once this dies down you’ll be able to show your community new things that you’ve been working on amounts the crisis.
There have been many articles in this blog about the corona virus and its effects on the entertainment and creative industries that rely on free lancers and contractors. It's so hard to imagine a world where Broadway and film productions close, but that is the reality we face ourselves now. Designers, crew hands, stage managers, producers, directors, actors, dramaturgs, singers, all have been thrown into this reality with little warning and for some, without so much as a backwards glance. Finding work for creative peoples in the world's current environment is almost near impossible, as most of the jobs are created with groups of people in mind. Weddings, parties, corporate events, galas, plays, musicals, concerts, all have now been basically banned as leaders across the country and world try to contain the spread of the virus. The second to last paragraph of this article really resonated with me; it described the disapproval artists now face for their lack of financial preparedness. Many artists live paycheck to paycheck and have few savings. It is the nature of the job. It's almost a guarantee of free lancers and contractors. The government is so focused on helping the bigger industries survive the virus in hopes of stabilizing the economy, that they forget to look at the cultural organizations and workers who are now facing an existence without creativity. It will be interesting to see the work that comes out of this virus, but only if these creative peoples have enough money to get through this.
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