When Broadway and the entire world shut down almost three years ago because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I felt like one of the lights inside of me had been dimmed. It was a confusing, nerve-wracking, chaotic time in all of our lives. Nobody really knew what the future would hold for the entire globe. When you’re a college student in the middle of your program and now have to transition from in-person classes to now all online classes via Zoom it can cause a lot of frustration and breakdowns.
So, your college sends you an email the morning that the CDC announces that we are officially in a pandemic and you have no idea what that even means but you immediately must leave the campus but with the hope you’ll be back in three weeks time to finish out your semester in person. The next thing you know, forty-eight hours later you’re in LAX Airport, it’s a ghost town, the smell of cleaning supplies fills the air, people are wearing gloves and masks (which makes it feel as though we are entering into a zombie apocalypse or something), and it’s raining cats and dogs outside which is absolutely bizarre for Los Angeles, but there was no line at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in the airport so at least that was a plus. You have your iced caramel latte (made with almond milk, of course) in one hand, an entire thing of hand sanitizer in your other hand, and in your backpack a whole bag full of Clorox wipes so basically at this point, you’ve turned into Sheldon Cooper from The Big, Bang, Theory. Before you know it you’ve landed at Pittsburgh International Airport after a four and a half-hour flight of blasting a variety of musicals in your headphones to calm yourself down and your parents come to pick you up. Weeks go by and your body/sleep schedule is so messed up because of the time change (I did all my classes in Pacific Time when I was on Eastern Time. It wasn’t too bad though because I usually stay up all night anyways). You keep getting emails that the return to campus will be delayed, spend days missing your friends and reminiscing of all the “good times” you had wishing your time wasn’t being taken away, lose all of your belongings that you could not bring home from school and they get lost in the mail (a lot of my clothes were missing/damaged, and I lost all of my makeup, my rep book, and my VPS book?!). Finally, after a long two and a half years it’s your senior year and you can finally return to campus. The feeling however is bittersweet. On one hand you’re filled with joy and gratitude because at one point in time you didn’t even think that it would be possible to graduate in-person with your peers, but on the other hand, you’re filled with the sadness of what could’ve been and the grief of all the memories and people that you lost during this time.
While it’s been great getting to be able to finish out my college education in-person, the reality however is that it is not the same. So, I want to take a moment to say that my heart goes out to everyone (college, high school, middle school, elementary school, and pre-school students) that did not get the graduation, education, and opportunities (prom, school dances/events, sport events, dance recitals, productions, etc.) that you more than deserved during this time. I want you to know that I am so incredibly proud of you and you should be so, so, so proud of yourself!!! The good news is: We made it!!! What a wild journey it has been but honestly guys, if we can get through all of that (and I know many people have said this before, but it’s the absolute truth) we can achieve anything and everything our hearts desire.
Now on a more uplifting note, I can’t believe that for the first time since September of 2019, I will be getting to perform on stage live with an audience, maskless might I add (COVID-19 precautions are being taken so don’t worry! We all test multiple times a week, the audience will be masked up and will have to show proof of a negative COVID test as well, and we wear our masks during rehearsals!) with my classmates in our senior showcase production. I’m beyond honored and proud to be a part of this production. The talent in this cast is stellar and the range of these actors is unreal. I will be performing as Gwendolen in a selection from Oscar Wilde’s most famous and classic play, The Importance of Being Earnest. Gwendolen is a character that I have wanted to play for such a long time and I’m over the moon that I get to bring this character to life. I’m especially in awe that in this production that I am going to wear the same costume, my royal navy-blue ball gown, that I wore in my senior year during my high school’s production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s: Cinderella. To wear the gown that I wore as senior in high school and then to wear it again as a senior in an AMDA production is absolutely mind blowing and is such a full circle moment for me. I feel beyond blessed.
*Picture above: Melanie Gillott as Step-mother in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella
The pandemic has given me an entire new perspective on life and just how precious it truly is. While I was fortunate enough to have opportunities to perform during the pandemic virtually such as being in an online production that was filmed for AMDA (my house turned into a legit film set for an entire weekend) and a cabaret fundraiser online for the Geyer Performing Arts Center, performing live in front of an audience is a special experience that you only get to share with the people who come to see you that particular performance. Getting tested for COVID all the time, acting with a mask on, getting notifications about being exposed and then having to worry about being extra cautious isn’t an ideal situation but, I’ve certainly missed human connection. Getting to joke around and laugh with my friends at rehearsals, pushing each other to do our best, and getting to escape from the world for a minute when performing on stage-- it has been well worth the wait. The things that I used take for granted all the time, mean the world to me now. I’m so glad that you are here.
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