Covid-19 Does Not Have to Reinvent You as an Actor
Michael Oakes
To say the global pandemic of Covid-19 has hit the theatre industry hard would be a massive understatement. The industry itself is in disaster mode and many actors have found themselves trying to figure out how to navigate being in disaster mode themselves. For many, this navigation has led to finding other creative outlets like writing or dancing or filming ideas they’ve had in the past but didn’t have the time for. Being at home more is a great opportunity to invest in ideas you were not able to invest in prior, but it doesn’t have to be that. This does not have to be time for a reinvention, it can simply be a time to recharge.
Right now, there are thousands of plays being written and millions of concepts for plays coming to people’s forefront. Suzan-Lori Parks says that anyone can be a playwright, it just takes the right event to bring it out of you. Covid-19 and the subsequent shutdowns appear to be the right event. After all, actors are stuck at home with no way of acting like they were before. However, this does not have to be the right event just because you’re at home.
There is a guilt associated with lack of creativity as an artist, we always feel like we should be doing something. Sometimes, doing nothing is something. In an industry where it is easy to prioritize working over mental health, this is a chance to focus on the latter. This is a chance to examine all the habits you fell into while in the hustle of the entertainment industry. It’s a chance to examine what has fatigued you and what has excited you. It’s a chance to think about what art really warmed you in the work you were doing before, and which was just a paycheck.
More than anything, it’s an opportunity to breathe outside of the industry for a second. Even if you’re working another job to survive in this acting downtime, it’s a chance to reaffirm what you love about the theatre and to really look at what you miss and don’t miss. It shows you what change you want in your artistic life. All of this self-reflection is something major and something wildly helpful, even if it doesn’t feel like it. It can help you (possibly) get more rest and recharge to fatigued batteries, it can help you focus on what you want to do when everything opens back up, and it can help you refocus on yourself as a human and not as a vehicle for art creation.
You do not have to write a play during the shutdown. You do not have to choreograph something transformative during the shutdown. You do not need to memorize every Shakespeare play during the shutdown. Existing is enough.
Do the things that make you happy and the art will follow. Go outside. Do yoga. Have a cheat meal. Read a play you’ve been meaning to. Call your family. Do anything that brings you joy. The world outside is bleak enough right now, we don’t need to add the pressure on ourselves to create something transcendent in these times.
Focus on yourself, wash your hands, and we all can’t wait to see your work again when the world opens back up.