This week our guest writer is Thais Menendez, a Cuban-American bilingual actress, educator, and yogi based in Los Angeles.
Welcome to Together Apart, a community effort to establish mindfulness, connection, and presence, even when we cannot be physically together. Each week we will feature guest writers from various careers, places, and moments in life to discuss how they are Living More in the time of COVID-19.
One performance canceled. Then another. Then an entire theatre’s season. One carefully-crafted email after another, all announcing the same disappointing news: across the country, theatres were making the difficult but necessary decisions to postpone or cancel their shows due to COVID-19 concerns.
As an actress, teaching artist, and yoga instructor, I am part of an expansive community of freelance artists who construct their lives around performance contracts, part-time jobs, and other side hustles. Over the past month, my friends and I have watched our jobs close, or disappear altogether. We’ve shared troubling stories about applying for unemployment, or fears about the future of our art form altogether, alongside bread recipes and film recommendations to fill our suddenly empty schedules.
Over the summer, I took a great leap of faith and moved across the country to Los Angeles to further my growing acting career. I looked forward to the challenges of a bigger market, but I never imagined a global pandemic would be among them. Here in LA, casting and production have slowed to a near halt.
So how do we, as artists, stay connected and present in the meantime? There is no easy answer. Some days are full of energy, collaborating with close friends and devising new script ideas over FaceTime. Other days, we binge-watch a new Netflix series and call it research. More often than not, I am thinking about what to eat next, or rage-quitting a workout halfway because I’m tired and annoyed and also kind of scared.
It’s easy to give in to the doom and gloom, but even as the uncharacteristic rain falls here in southern California, I know one thing is certain: gratitude helps. Taking a moment to stop and think of the healthcare workers or the grocery store staff helps. Finding an online yoga video helps. Doing a short meditation helps. Appreciating the roof over my head, the food in my fridge, and the love from my family and friends help.
As artists tend to do, we overcome. Performances of all kinds have been live-streamed, actors have gathered to read plays over Zoom, and teachers continue to hold virtual drama classes. But we all know it’s not the same. And it’s okay to admit that. We are doing the best we can. Someday soon, artists will be called to action once more, and until then, I will be quietly baking giant chocolate chip cookies and tending to my flourishing plants.
Want to share your Together Apart story? Email us.
For more about Thais, visit her website.
