When I sat down to put into words the things that have been on my mind about this whole pandemic, I had no idea what I wanted to focus on. Did I want to focus on the illness? Did I want to focus on the panic? Did I want to focus on the outcomes? Did I want to focus on the isolation this is going to cause? Did I want to focus on the future? I just had no idea, so I decided to sit down and talk about all of it. I know that this is a theatre blog, and that this topic isn't necessarily a "theatre" topic, but right now, this topic is a humanitarian one, and one that is very much a part of the theatre world right now.
As a whole, I am not a person who worries about many things, at least not externally. I have always prided myself on my ability to stay calm in times of craze and I feel that it is a strength that I have that is helpful in my career (both at the university and in the theatre). When I first heard of this whole thing, I just brushed it off like many people did, as just some illness that is going to make some people sick all over the world, but overall we will be able to go on with our lives like normal as we did with other illnesses (ebola, H1N1, SARS, etc.). As I started reading articles and listening to news broadcasts, I realized that this was going to be something that was going to be pretty dang bad. I still stayed calm, I am still calm, and I probably will always be calm. Am I underestimating the severity of this illness? Probably more than I should...but am I taking my precautions? Of course I am. I'm doing what I've been told, wash my hands, use hand sanitizer, cover my coughs and sneezes. What I haven't done is go out and try and buy packs of toilet paper, or sanitizing wipes, or anything like that. I did get some food, but I was getting it for a party that I was going to attend that has since been cancelled, but now I have some dips that will last me a few days each. Should I have more food just in case I'm not allowed to go out of my apartment for a few weeks? Probably, and I will probably go get some more in the next couple of days just in case. BUT, one thing I am NOT doing, is blaming those who ARE freaking out. This is some scary sh...stuff. This has killed many people, and will continue to kill others, I'm not naive enough to think that this isn't dangerous. I understand people feeling like they need to stock up for months worth of items, I understand Government officials shutting everything down. For anybody that knows me well, knows that this time of year is my favorite when it comes to sports! Outside of theatre, College Basketball is my life in the month of March, and while I'm bummed I can't cheer for my Blue Devils (yeah, I said it, you still love me), I get it. Of course I feel horrible for the seniors who have worked their whole lives to get to March Madness, and I feel bad for those schools who made the tournament for the first time in 18 years because they were one of the few schools who were able to play their conference tournament and win it. I would've loved to have watched the Final Four and see a team cut down the nets, and make a bracket with Alessandra that gets trashed after the first weekend. But I get it. It's up to us to keep each other safe and the NCAA and NBA and NHL and every other sports league that stopped their playing of a GAME did their job for the good of others.
I see people getting mad at Universities and School systems for closing because they think this is a joke of a pandemic, but just one look at Italy and Spain and you'll see just how serious it is. I don't want to get into the politics of it all, and I know that some people aren't necessarily mad at the fact that schools are closed, but more just worried because of the unknown of how they are going to keep their children at home and still make money to put food on the table. All I ask is that we all have some humanity in this hard time. Humanity for those who have to make these terrible decisions, humanity for your neighbor who is going through these times with you, and humanity with the people who may be stuck in your household with you for the next few weeks. It's amazing seeing NBA players and teams saying they are going to pay the workers who depend on their games for income. It's great to see that Spectrum and Charter are willing to offer free service to students who are now going to be doing work from home, even though not all people have internet. I tend to try to see the silver lining in bad situations, and one that is easily seen in this is that not all humanity is lost. I hope when we come out of the end of this people will look back and realize that we do know how to be nice to each other and lets keep it going when times are "normal."
Now, how has this whole thing affected me? The main thing this is going to alter is my theatre schedule. Right now, it's all kind of up in the air, but I have full faith in Asheville Community Theatre that they are going to do what's best for their staff, the casts and classes in their building, and the patrons who come and watch the shows. Who knows what is going to happen, but I do know that it will all go back to normal eventually. We will all be inside the walls with the casts that have become family. We will create the art that we've worked on for weeks and months. We will get back to hugging each other (which not doing has been something very difficult for me) and being the place we all want to go to every day. The one constant thing in the theatre is the ghost light, and one look at my right arm reminds me that the light in the theatre is still on, and the light in our hearts are still on and we will not let it dim and die out.
What will the future hold? Who the heck knows? I know that the next few weeks are going to be pretty hard on me. I'm an introverted extrovert. I need human interaction to fuel my life. So please, text me, call me, FaceTime me, Skype me, lets chat about theatre or sports or life. My number one love language is physical touch, which is the one thing we should not be doing at this time. It will be hard that I don't get high five, fist bumps, hand holding, or hugs for a couple of weeks, but I will get through it.
We all will.
And I know this because I know this will end. When? In the next week? In the next two weeks? In the next month? Who knows? But I know that we have been a pretty strong civilization for the past few thousand years, and we will get through it and we will learn from it. All I ask from all of you who read this, and I hope you read it multiple times and share it with others...just be kind. It doesn't matter how scared you are, it doesn't matter how much of an overreaction you think everything is, it doesn't matter if you have to stay in a house with 10 people for the next month and you drive each other nuts...Just. Be. Kind. It's the only way we will get through this, and it's the only way we will be stronger because of this, and it's the only way we will be true brothers and sisters and siblings to humankind.