Chicago Reader Magazine Article!

I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Melissa Perry, a journalism student at Northwestern University, about the impact the pandemic has had on the performance industry. Her article was picked up by the Chicago Reader Magazine and was published today. We discussed how artists have lost their jobs and their way of life, and are now floating around, scrambling to find jobs, find anything, to financially sustain themselves while hanging onto the threads of hope that our industry will be back soon. Those threads of hope are getting thinner and thinner as the pandemic stretches on.

I am so very grateful to be a part of such a strong and adaptable community of performers, artists, and friends, and being able to unite and support each other through struggle, depression, hope, anxiety, fear, motivation, or lack of motivation. Everyday I ask myself, who am I if I'm not a performer? This is all that I know to be. The mood swings are harsh, and I can't help but throw myself into the dark doom stew of wondering if spending money on virtual classes while money is tight, and training at home to continue practicing and improving my skills is the right thing to do- or if I should just quit and focus on having a more stable life, find a stable "normal" job, redirect my focus from traveling and performing all the time to settling down and start planning on what I've always eventually wanted to become, a mother. But something keeps calling me back. The love of performance has flowed through my veins since I was a child, and I cannot, for the life of me, bring myself to let it go. It's not time for me to leave it behind yet. So taking voice lessons in the closet to not upset the neighbors it is. So moving tables and desks out of the way to take virtual dance classes in our tiny apartment while banging my fingertips and toes on furniture it is. And patiently waiting for our industry to come back, it is. The day we finally get to return to a cramped, smelly, sticky, humid audition holding room and see everyone's mask-less faces, I will bawl my eyes out, hug every single person, and kiss the floor.

The article can be accessed HERE