“This was the first time I saw Diane Paulus in person. I can still feel my seventeen-year-old self attempting to adjust my body into some professional seeming posture as the oats and mini chocolate chips trudged down my throat.”

Initially it’s going to be very difficult for institutions to assure audiences that it’s safe to come back. Once, we are able to assuage any fears, I think everyone will be overjoyed to get back in their seats. Artists are a sturdy folk. As soon as we are given the “all clear”, we are back at it with hearts open.

Wouldn’t it be great if our society used this pandemic as a chance to look at some big stuff? It seems like the ideal time to address economic injustice, the minimum wage, a universal basic income, workers’ rights, health care, education funding, long term care, household debt, homelessness, poverty, climate change. I hope this experience makes us all a bit more compassionate, more patient, and more grateful for what we do have.

It is my honor to introduce you to Eva Noblezada. Eva is a two-time Tony Award-Nominated Actress for her work as Kim in the revival of Miss Saigon and most recently as Eurydice in Hadestown.

“What does it take to work in the arts on both sides of the world? It’s not a question that many of us can answer, but for Marie Dinolan, it’s simply a fact of life.”

“It is my honor and privilege to introduce you to Nia Sciarretta. Nia is Production Stage Manager at The Asolo Repertory Theatre”

As an artist, one of my biggest joys is to be in a room filled with fellow artists, creating work together and ultimately sharing that work with our community. Not being able to do that right now – or for the unforeseeable future – is of course extremely challenging and scary. But all artists around the globe are in the exact same position – so, staying patient and shifting my focus to my TODAY is what is most important right now.

I would like you to meet the amazingly talented Matthew Gardiner! Matthew serves as Associate Artistic Director at Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA.

The most important thing right now is taking care of yourself. It's important to eat right and have a healthy mind, body and spirit. What's inspired me is waking up in the morning and saying, “Today I'm going to create something” whether it's writing down two lines in my journal or trying out a new recipe. Creating things keeps me motivated and inspired!

“Chekhov’s work relies upon a wealth of knowledge and understanding of cultural attitudes; attitudes specific to a national ethos, a man’s life, and a moment in time. Simply knowing you need to prepare emotional subtext is not a high enough bar of entry for an actor attempting to penetrate the work and world of Anton Chekhov. So says Ekaterina Golovina.”

I’ve never felt more resolute in my choice as a performing artist, if I’m being honest. I feel with all this time to myself, I’m starting to see the picture the artist and the adult I want to be - which is curious to find among the chaos…it’s hard to slow those excitement gears turning. But hopefully, we’ll all be able to explore those pieces again -

“Great plays. The community. Great artists. My colleagues, friends. Memories. Moments. The anticipation excitement and hope on the first day of rehearsal. Working with designers, volunteers, stage managers, bartenders who are all infinitely better at their jobs than I could ever be. And the audience. The people who pay good money to see what we do because they love it and want it in their lives. Without them we are nothing.”

I'm trying to spin this otherwise difficult situation (as all the production companies and studios are shut down) into an opportunity to create an arsenal of work so that once the quarantine has been lifted, I can hit the ground running with a collection of scripts to pitch, as well as the continuation of a feature-length rockumenatry about the band ‘Moby Grape’.

The idea for ‘All the World’s A Stage’ was to see if we could create a theatrical piece even though none of us were in the same place. I am quite happy with how it turned out. I was kind of learning how to edit the videos as I went along so I admit the technical aspects of it may not be perfect but, as a first attempt I think it turned out alright. I’m already thinking about what we can do next.

I’m a storyteller. I want the act of sharing stories. In all facets of my life, whether it’s literature, film and television, playing video games or theatre, I’m always been fascinated by the art and act of storytelling. Good story is a way in which we communicate thought, idea, values, history. It’s a way in which we share our collective hope for humanity. I also love bringing people to bring people together to tell story, to watch story, to listen to story.

I have been impressed with all the various theatre/arts initiatives for on-line readings, phone-plays, involving the audiences etc…I’ve also been thinking about the point and purpose of theatre from all quarters and how theatre criticism serves that as best as possible. I’ve spent this time thinking about what truly makes an inclusive audience and theatre practice.

I think it’s going to be difficult to get people out of their houses because we have been working from our homes for so long that we won’t want to leave them. We have music we can play from home, ‘Netflix and Chill’, On-Demand films, and sports. Why bother leaving when we have all this at our fingertips?

I packed as much as I could into two suitcases. I was going to take an Uber after work the next day to the car rental, and then drive home. The next day at work (luckily, I have always worked from home/remotely for Marketing) the news continued to get worse and I knew I needed to leave New York ASAP and that it possibly couldn’t wait.

Professionally, the most difficult aspect of COVID - 19 was sending our beloved artistic teams their contract termination notices. It was an awful time for every theatre artist, full of gut-wrenching news and decisions, but I’m glad the government seems to be creating support systems for contract workers and small businesses.