Entertainment and the Pandemic: Why It Matters
Gigi Principe
I think it’s time we address the elephant in the room. This Broadway shutdown sucks but it’s not just Broadway. ITS ALL THEATRE IN GENERAL. No Broadway, no tours, no regional theatre, not even good old community theatre.
Saying this sucks it’s definitely the understatement of the year. And you have every right to feel whatever emotions you are feeling about this.
Me? I am beyond pissed. And depressed.
Let’s start from the beginning. I work in Times Square. I’m an actress who is lucky enough to have a nice day job.
March 12, 2020, is a day that I will never ever forget. I was there in the theatre district of Times Square. Right in Schubert alley where the Schubert theatre met the Booth Theatre. Everyone was still buzzing with rumors of what was going to happen to the theatre world with COVID-19 now in our midst. The minute I found out my phone was buzzing. My mother was trying to call me, Facebook notifications, new outlets, texts from friends. It was endless.
Broadway was really shutting down. And as I walked up and down the streets of those broadway theatres, I saw signs go up. Each theatre had one. I went into shock.
So this pandemic is one of the first disasters that I and most people my age can remember and are old enough to actually LIVE through.
The day after Broadway shutdown I was still called into work, and I went into every box office and I had to fight tears and ask what their policy was for going forward. It honestly felt like I was going to some sort of funeral because I was in mourning.
For the first time since graduating from my performing arts college, I felt so useless. I started to think “what if I did something else?” That was the scariest moment for me. The feeling that everyone who had ever told me that theatre would get me nowhere was right. This experience has been actually a little traumatizing for me, and I know I’m not the only one. Because I see so many posts from my friends who are actors who are going through it just as I am.
As time went on and still goes on, I realized that the people who told me that going into theatre and acting was useless still wasn’t right because even now as I sit here typing this out, listening to my Broadway recordings, working on different projects, and yes even feeling my depression I STILL wouldn’t change a thing.
Because In this time of trouble and unknowing. We are all still turning to theatre and entertainment and general. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and even Broadway HD. Yes, you can even watch Broadway Shows from the comfort of your own home. And everyone is turning to that.
So no I’m not changing my profession once this pandemic is over. To the students who are taking online acting, dance, singing, etc, classes keep going.
And to the actors, techies, costume designers, directors, producers, writers, ushers, box office workers, and everyone else in our entertainment industry, keep it up.
See you WHEN Broadway/tours/regional/Community Theatre is back.