San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
‘It’s hard to plan for the future when you just don’t know’
On March 12, Chandra Anthenill and her La Jolla Playhouse crew were en route to Barnett Elementary in Ramona for one of the theater’s Performance Outreach Program (POP) Tour performances when it happened. “We were right in front of Barona Casino,” said Anthenill, a freelance stage manager. “The street was flooded, and we were on the side of the road. I called someone back at the Playhouse to tell that I didn’t think we were going to make it in time. They said, ‘Come back, we have to talk to you.’ ”
She and her crew drove back to La Jolla, and there, amid cupcakes — it was her birthday — the news came: Gov. Gavin Newsom had just issued an order that said gatherings of 250 or more were no longer allowed, essentially shutting down the Playhouse’s POP Tour and countless other productions across the state.
“A lot of people in the room were very sad,” said Anthenill, who received one week’s pay after the tour’s abrupt closure. “I was pretty numb to the news. The show was ending in three weeks anyway, so I didn’t see it as a big deal. It didn’t really dawn on me how big of a deal it was until later that day when I got an email from Cygnet that they would be postponing my contract, too.”
Meanwhile, her husband, Kevin, got word, too, that the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, where he was on contract, would be closing for three weeks. The school’s production of “In the Heights,” for which Kevin was doing some sound and video work, was postponed.
“But I saw the writing on the wall,” Kevin, 33, said. “I had my doubts about the timing. From the beginning, we were both in the camp that expected the closures to be longer than that.”
In the weeks that followed, Chandra and Kevin quickly realized that the Covid-19-induced shutdown was indeed a big deal — and it would definitely be longer than three weeks.
Nearly six months later, the biggest concern they had early on is still the biggest concern today:
“The uncertainty,” Kevin said. “The back and forth of it’s open, it’s not open, it won’t be open for a while. That uncertainty — it’s hard to plan for the future when you just don’t know.”
Because of Kevin’s status as a sole proprietor, he did not qualify for unemployment. Chandra, thanks to her Actors’ Equity membership, qualified for unemployment and the $600-a-week federal unemployment benefit.
What’s the biggest worry now? Bills? Health insurance?
“I was lucky enough to not have health insurance be my immediate worry,” said Chandra, who added that she had enough weeks through Actors’ Equity to keep her health insurance through the end of the year. “But it’s becoming more of a worry now we know many theaters won’t be opening until 2021. In addition to that, there’s just this general worry of how are we going to pay the bills.”
“For me,” Kevin said, “the biggest worry is, how long is this going to go?”
In the meantime, like many, they’ve altered their lifestyle. “We’ve stopped eating out,” Chandra said. “I’m trying to avoid going to the grocery store several times a week. And we used to have our friends come over a lot. Obviously, that’s not happening anymore.”
In March, the couple adopted a dog, a Havanese mix they named Jerry. Chandra has taken to the kitchen and has been doing most of the cooking and housework in their Chula Vista home, allowing Kevin to do “whatever work he’s able to get.”
“I hate it,” she said with a chuckle, quickly adding: “But I’ve mastered making my own sourdough starter. So I usually make one to two loaves a week. That has been lovely.”
They already had a garden,
Kevin said, “but it’s definitely expanded” since the pandemic began. They’ve mostly sheltered in place, but recently ventured out for a bike ride on the Bayshore Bikeway along San Diego Bay.
When they’re not keeping themselves busy in quarantine, there are those moments when they remember what they’ve lost.
“I miss the process of creating theater,” said Chandra, who’s worked for many theaters all over town, including the Old Globe, San Diego Repertory Theatre and San Diego Musical Theatre. “Being the stage manager, I got to watch so many shows and so many actors in the middle of that creative process . ... I don’t really get to see that anymore, and I miss that.
“My hope is that we get through this and are able to go back into theaters and do the traditional live plays,” she said. “But I also hope that once we get back to that, we don’t forget about online presence. Going digitally during this pandemic has really helped theaters reach audiences they would otherwise not be able to reach.”
As for Kevin, “I definitely miss the audience,” he said. “When this is all over, I hope and pray for the survival of theater — as much of it as possible.”
“For me the biggest worry is, how long is this going to go?” Kevin Anthenill