Sanity and calm. Trying not to panic about everything. My family.I really wanted to come down here [to Mississippi] because if stuff’s about to go down, I want to be with my family and a dog.
What was most important to you before you had to social distance?
Making money. I left a very stable job to do Almost Famous [the Musical] which I’m very proud of, but you have pivotal moments of when this job’s gonna start and when the next one will start again, and when hopefully the big shabang will happen. I was really focused on making it from paycheck to paycheck.
What’s the first thing you’ll do when this is over?
Fly back to New York and assess my apartment situation, because I’ve just up and left it. Then probably get together with friends that I haven’t seen. Hug someone. I really want to hug someone.
What are you doing to pass the time?
Netflix is a godsend. My mom taught me how to embroider. One of my favorite things when I come home for the holidays is to watch movies with my dad and mom. Now that I’m home, we’ve watched a lot of movies which is really nice.
What makes you happy right now?
FaceTime, being healthy–I think that in these times you have to kind of focus on what’s ahead of you and what’s right in front of you. I took for granted being in the best city in the world. It’s weird to think a city that you love is going through something. It’s almost like a family member is going through something and you don’t know how to help them.
What would you tell yourself two months ago with the knowledge you have today?
It’s gonna be ok. Even though the worst is yet to come, it’s comforting to see that the other countries that have gone through so much already are now on the up. You see those news articles about the pollution in China now–that it’s almost gone-or you see that the canals in Italy have dolphins and wildlife. As actors, we have to trust the process–you and I have to do our best to remain calm, to not play into the pandemonium of pandemic and just kind of take it day by day. When this was first starting out, I was working on a show and it was all exciting and then all of the sudden it just kind of went away. It’s crazy to think that I didn’t appreciate it more. I just want to keep going; remain calm. It’s going to be good whether we come back tomorrow or in two months. There’s a reason behind everything.
