This has been a good chance for me to learn and to do a lot of reading about the BIPOC community and what’s been going on with them. But also some policies such as Defunding the Police and learning about this, and it has been very eye opening.

The actor must take the audience on an emotional journey and feel like there’s danger. I tell my students when I’m writing or directing in the theatre or acting, I want my audience to pay for the whole seat but only sit on the corner of it

I’m still on the heels of generations of artists and BIPOC artists who have really tried to mobilize this conversation for decades before me. I’m just riding that wave along with them in terms of this generation. It’s a deeply personal conversation when it comes to the representation of the kinds of stories or the kinds of artists that we want…

I have very little patience for people getting excited, almost defining themselves through Covid for their achievements. I’m thinking, “No, no, every generation has something that will be trying.” Yes, this is new as it hasn’t happened to our generation obviously, but we can’t define ourselves by it.

I tell this to my students all the time: “We are too poor, too over worked, too tired in this industry for you to be here for anything less than a love of theatre, and a love of making theatre.” Covid has really reminded of that…

While he doesn’t make a point of attending non-union or community theatre, Tony reminded Peter and me that if you just want to act, remain non-union. Tony is the first person to admit he doesn’t judge people and is aware that, yes, there are probably some good non-union actors out there; however, if you want to make any money, to make credits in theatre that count, if you want to be seen in ‘shit’ on stage that people attend and go to, you have to go union.

You mentioned Black Lives Matter and BIPOC movements... I would actually say that Black Lives Matter and BIPOC awareness has grown. And I hope that awareness never goes back to normal.

Truthfully, I have experienced a lot over the course of 2020 and have little desire to pivot. I’m taking the necessary room to recharge and enjoy valuable time with those I love. I’ve sacrificed so much over the course of my career for a job I truly love, and I have no intentions of putting my energy elsewhere until someone tells me I am done.

I think it was high time that a lot of things got shaken up a little bit. There were a few companies and people in power who were stagnant and lazy. Now, all of a sudden, every single company had to adapt at the same time, and it has actually created a larger sense of community again.

The other thing I will carry forward is a real ‘talking to myself’ in a kinder fashion around downtimes, around when you’re laid low. In this case, I think the constant stress of the pandemic eats away at you, and early on I felt certain I would not work at all this year and that whole community seemed to be exploded.

The producers check in on us constantly to keep our spirits up and to ensure us that we have a job waiting for us. The producers want that we won’t return unless it is truly safe for us

Oh, geez, all we do as artists is pivot. We are well versed in this technique. I’ve pivoted so many times in my career that full circle isn’t just an idiom. It’s all or nothing, feast or famine (OK, those are just idioms)

I want to be grateful. I never again want to complain about the long days or the uncomfortable shoes or any of the little gripes that I have been guilty of complaining about. I want to stand there at the curtain call and be reminded that this is why we all do this wild profession. We do it to share stories with others…

I applied for Native Earth’s Animikiig Creator’s Unit and have been working with Falen Johnson as my mentor/dramaturg. Sometime in the fall, I managed to finish the first draft of my play Niish. That was a really huge accomplishment for me…And then I got a call from Tara Beagan saying she selected me as her protégé for the Siminovitch Prize!

In a world where what we do is linked to the gathering of other humans, that’s a really unsafe Petri dish at the moment. It’s really softened my heart even more and given me more inspiration and more respect when I see people other artists going, “How else can we do this?”

We can’t be so product driven right now. We have to be sensitive to ourselves and each other. And I hope this brings us to a more compassionate and humane industry when we emerge from Covid.

In the fall my creative energy came back and I decided to embrace another artistic passion of mine: music. I’m a trained classical singer and pianist, and the journey to discover my own style has been a satisfying one. In November 2020, I decided to release my first EP of alt-pop music, called Tides.

I do well when I give myself deadlines, writing challenges, and to-do lists. I scheduled a Zoom reading with some actors who have been generously helping me develop my play Cenotaph. This forced me to finish a draft worthy of their talents and watching Yolanda Bonnell, Aldrin Bundoc, Graham Conway, and Michael Chiem read my silly play lit a much-needed fire under my ass to keep writing.

Covid gave us a moment to gather our thoughts and to slow down for a moment. There is some good in this slowing down period for artists. For some people, it feels like they can never catch their breath.

I want everyone to be able to return safely and for audiences to feel welcomed but also taken care of. I don’t want to rush anything. Even though I’ve had to confront the injustice of how certain things can be open while others have to remain shut, I understand the motivations and financial interests, it just feels like artists get the rough go of it again.