March 12 marks one year since the Broadway shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With stages dark, theatre creators have found themselves without both their passion and their livelihood, forced to navigate the pandemic without a return date set.
But just as performers are taught, acting is reacting, and many artists have discovered new ways to keep themselves occupied without the typical structure of an eight-show week. While waiting for the curtain to rise again, actors have worked to find meaning in their downtime away from their art. Falsettos’ Nick Adams reflects, “For me, the gift to come out of this time has been a chance to sit with my life. BE with myself. With my partner. With our animal. Look outward at what is happening outside of my career. Look inward at who I am.”
Read how performers from Six, Tina, and more have been coping with a year of the Broadway shutdown.
"When I received [this prompt], I stopped everything I was doing to take this photo. It’s me at my pandemic realest. I have gotten to know my computer on a deeply intimate level this year. It has given literal windows into other lives and led me to some of the most important artistic collaborations of my life. For that, I am grateful." Jay Armstrong Johnson
"With everything that came with 2020, finding the headspace to really slow down and take one day at a time has truly been an anchor for my heart and soul. I'm so grateful for my friends, family, and even my occasional hot cup of tea, that has reminded me of what I've had all along—how love can turn even the darkest day into the brightest one." Adrianna Hicks
"My days have been filled with more costumes and imaginative play than if I were performing 8 shows a week. My audiences of stuffed 'lovelies' or baby dolls bare witness to everything from low-key tea parties with Elsa and Elaine Stritch to musicals about singing burritos or unicorns barfing rainbows in order to save the planet. And like any successful Broadway show... we are in desperate search of a great book writer... Lynn Nottage? Rick Elice?? Anyone? Anyone??" Stephanie J. Block
"My husband and I made a bold choice to create family memory lemonade out of Covid lemons and embarked on an epic adventure with our daughters via our camping trailer and AirBnBs. We were privileged to have this choice available to us. We already had our camper, my husband remains employed and able to work remotely, and we lined up great renters for our home. I have a small roster of private vocal coaching students in addition to overseeing my girls’ schooling, which has now included so much extra American history and geography. I’m truly grateful that we’ve been able to make the most out of this time, spending so much of it in nature’s beautiful scenery. I also can’t wait to be back in my favorite habitat: the stage... an altogether different scenic wonder!" Jenn Gambatese
"I am able to spend more time with my uncle. He survived COVID last year. [On this day], we celebrated his 82nd birthday." Myra Lucretia Taylor
"I’ve spent the past year searching for light. Any chance that I could, I've tried to stand in the sun, hoping it would fill me with the strength I needed to carry on and believe that my dreams are still achievable. I cling desperately to hope." Jelani Alladin
"A couple of years ago, I took up figure skating as a way to clear my head and focus my energies on a different skill. When we shut down, so did the ice rinks. So I (literally) had to pivot, get outdoor figure skates, and learn to be at peace with my gravelly parking lot. Adapt. I’m back at the ice rinks now, but still go out to the uneven, leafy lot once in a while to remind myself that beautiful things can still be created in rocky territory." Lesli Margherita
"I don’t know what I would have done without this basement during the shutdown. It’s been my savior: mentally, physically, and emotionally. My body was so used to being put through a marathon 6 days a week that when the world stopped, my first thought was joy and fear at the same time. Joy: simply because I was going to finally have time with my family at home and let these bones rest. Fear: because I didn’t know what was going to happen to my body and mind without that physical schedule. Down here is my happy place. I get to play and dance with my son, do my 'AK workouts'; run, give myself a barre, lift on the tonal, and jump rope. It’s not 8 shows a week at Moulin Rouge! The Musical, but it has kept me healthy on all levels." Robyn Hurder
"i spent a long time feeling terrible about how unproductive I was being. Then, I spent time trying to forgive myself for all that judgment. Now, I'm just grateful for creativity, whenever it comes and in whatever form. I turn to songwriting whenever I can in an effort to heal and find hope. I'm so grateful for music right now." Gavin Creel
"From Zoom meetings to self-tape auditions, this pandemic has largely seen me in front of my blue screen. I've always held a piece of Harry Potter with me though—my laptop sits on top of all the books!" Nadia Brown
"These are pictures of me doing what has kept me sane through this pandemic: getting good doses of nature. Hiking, boating, cycling, and maybe, running... on occasion. Basically making a real effort to tune out the white noise and listening to the birds instead." Carmen Cusack
"Exercise has been my savior this year. It has been a really tough time for so many, and there isn't a clear end in sight yet. I try to stay active somehow, even in the cold weather, because it seems to help my mood. When I finish a run and I'm exhausted, it's the closest thing I've felt to the 'good tired' at the end of a show." Carolee Carmello
"Life this past year has been fuzzy and imperfect. I’ve been learning to roll with it, and to embrace the imperfections. We’re all just trying our best, and that is enough." Caitlin Kinnuen
"I’ve grown a lot closer with my laptop for sure. I’ve also found space to really deepen my understanding of who I am and how I operate. I’m so grateful for that." Austin Scott
"For me, the gift to come out of this time has been a chance to sit with my life. BE with myself. With my partner. With our animal. Look outward at what is happening outside of my career. Look inward at who I am at 37. Who I really am without running toward a goal or trying to be what I think someone wants me to be. Remembering why I run that race in the first place. Why I love it so much. It has given me space and time to sit with who I am, reconnect and rediscover that person." Nick Adams
