Our lives have been irrevocably changed. We aren’t sure how or when things will revert back to normal or if they ever will There are things we know. We must stay inside. We cannot gather in groups. We must stay six feet apart when we go outside. We must wash our hands. We must not go to the emergency room unless absolutely necessary as our health care systems are overwhelmed. That is all we know.
As theatre artists, we rely on coming together as a group to participate in a shared experience and now we can’t do that. So where does that leave us? I am here to tell you I have no idea. But I can also let you know that I am doing okay. Perhaps I am doing okay because I have weathered more change than most, founding En Garde Arts and producing site-specific shows in the downtown New York theatre for 13 years, running a global division for Disney for 9 years while based in LA, and then returning to New York to relaunch En Garde Arts for a second time. And then there were 5 miscarriages, donor egg procedures and twins.
I’ve decided to start a blog. It’s a way to reach out and I hope to hear back from you. I don’t want to repeat grim statistics. Perhaps we can take a hopeful tact in the midst of this shit show.
First, Let’s talk about the good:
- You can work in your pajamas
- You can finally learn how to cook.
- You can imagine a different life other than the one you have and see what appeals to you about it.
- You can check in with friends and loved ones and families. For the first time I have gotten both my children who are seniors in college, my husband and I, to connect once a week over zoom. It took a pandemic but it happened.
- You can be philanthropic. Give to Trickleup — http://www.trickleupnyc.org/?action=index&controller=storefront%2Fpages. This is a great way to support your fellow artists.
- You can support your local restaurants and beauty salons by buying a gift certificate.
And in closing, here’s a wonderful quote I ran across:
“Pandemics can also catalyze social change. People, businesses, and institutions have been remarkably quick to adopt or call for practices that they might once have dragged their heels on, including working from home, conference-calling to accommodate people with disabilities, proper sick leave, and flexible child-care arrangements.” — Ed Young, Medium
That’s all for now. Stay safe and well.
—Annie
Anne Hamburger (Founder & Artistic Director) founded En Garde Arts in 1985. As its Artistic Director and Creative Producer, she is responsible for pioneering site-specific theatre in New York in the 80s and 90s, using its streets and historic landmarks as her stage. Hamburger produced the work of artists that are now internationally renowned: Anne Bogart, Charles L. Mee, Tina Landau, Jonathan Larson and Reza Abdoh, with large scale predominantly outdoor work. In 1999 she went on to launch and run Creative Entertainment a global division for Disney where she brought the finest theatre artists into the parks for the first time in their history. She then returned to NYC and re-launched En Garde Arts in 2014. In its second incarnation, En Garde is developing theatre that has social change at its core, assembling some of the finest most visionary artists working in the theatre today. En Garde’s producing structure is highly collaborative, encouraging artists to explore storytelling through music, movement, multimedia and site-specificity.
For her work, she has won 6 Obies, 2 Drama Desk Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, Lee Reynolds Award and the Exceptional Merit in Media Award from The National Political Women’s Caucus.
Anne is a member of the League of Professional Theatre Women and is the recipient of an Exceptional Merit in Media Award from the National Political Women’s Caucus. She graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama.