New Year and New Adventures!

Greetings and Happy New Year! I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

This past year has certainly been a roller coaster to say the least. I along with so many friends and colleagues faced the crippling effects the COVID-19 pandemic had on our industry and job security. In the blink of an eye, the life we had grown so accustomed to had vanished and we were left jobless and confused. I know I speak for so many people when I express how jarring that was.

I myself was getting ready to embark on a brand new adventure - my first cruise contract abroad the Voyager with Regent Seven Seas. In fact the day I supposed to travel to Tampa to begin this dream contract, I found myself on a train to Seattle to quarantine with family and reconfigure what my next steps would be. And of course at that time, we all thought it was just a two week vacation; what a crazy idea that was.

But with great hardship comes the opportunity to overcome and grow. I was very grateful to have had a home to go to and a supportive family to be with as we all waited to see what lie ahead. After a few months of waiting and wondering (and working in the backroom at my local grocery store), I finally was able to get back to New York City and boy was I happy to see my city again. It looked a little different, as to be expected, but the energy was the same and that excited and reinvigorated me - so much so that I decided to make a little industry pivot: I became a licensed real estate salesperson in the State of New York!

While this is by no means a permanent job switch as my heart will always be in the arts, I found myself really enjoying getting to use my brain in new ways. One of the issues that plagued me during quarantine was the this feeling of helplessness, this frustration that I couldn’t help anyone in the ways I used to doing so. Suddenly I was presented with a chance to help people in some small way and I jumped on it. Now two months in, I am incredibly grateful to have the means and opportunity to explore this new avenue of work that has enhanced my skillsets as a business person as well as connect me with new people and new experiences. (So if you’re looking for real estate in New York, don’t be afraid to reach out!)

But of course, as I mentioned, my passion will forever be in the arts and I am anxiously awaiting the glorious return of New York theatre and theatre around the world. I am excited to see film start to come back in safe ways and that has certainly been another avenue I have enjoyed exploring and will continue to dive in more in 2021. In fact, I am looking forward to some background work I have lined up for this coming year on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and The Guilded Age and I look forward to taking in those experiences and hopefully being on more sets in the future.

So there’s a little update about me. There is a still a lot that is uncertain, but life is moving forward in ways none of us could have expected; might as well jump on and enjoy the ride.

Until next time, have a Happy New Year and a fabulous Monday. Sending all my best!