Hey guys! I am coming at you today from Salt Lake City, Utah where I am here prepping (not as a coach, but as an actor) a really cool project that, unfortunately I can’t say too much about right now because we haven’t announced, but what I will say is that it is a very cool project with a provocative story, an amazingly talented director is on board, we have a solid production company, an awesome cast & crew, and I’m excited! I am also excited to be bringing you this firsthand account, this birds-eye view, of what production looks like in a Covid world...
Now, obviously up to this point I can only report back to you what I’ve experienced so far which is this mandatory 14-day quarantine, so that’s what we’re going to look at today…the Pros & Cons of this 14-day pre-production quarantine.
Let's get into it!
So having been in quarantine now for 13 days, there are 3 Critical Areas of Quarantine that I want to look at today:
1) Time. The exact time commitment for quarantine is 2 weeks, or 14 days, or 336 hours, or 20,160 minutes, or 1, 209,600 seconds of your life! Now, I always like to end on a positive note, so let’s look at the “Cons” first.
Con: It’s 2 weeks! That is a heck of a lot of time, and if you just focus solely on the amount of time it can certainly feel overwhelming. So how you choose to look at it is key (#perspective), which leads us to the “Pros”!
Pro: The biggest pro is the fact that this period of time is not just quarantine – it’s quarantine with a purpose! You are here for a very positive reason and there is a huge light at the end of this tunnel (#purpose), and it’s that purpose centered in the work that’s going to help fill the time and make it incredibly productive and fulfilling. Quarantine provides a distraction-free environment in which you have 2 solid weeks to focus in on the character, do backstory, journal, research, allow your mind to explore and really dive in deep! This is a luxury and honestly, kind of a genius element because I’m telling you that by the time I get to set I’m going to be so relaxed, centered, focused and ready to dive into the work...and excited!! Now, on the other hand there’s only so much prep that you can do with the character every day so you want to make sure that you balance it out (#balance) so that you don’t risk burning out on the character. It’s really important to keep it fresh, so I would recommend filling your time with other creative endeavors as well.
2) Isolation. This is probably the biggest challenge of quarantine.
Con: You are going to be spending 14 days by yourself. This is where we want to be so grateful for technology that allows us to connect with our families, connect with our friends, and feel like we’re not alone. Human beings are social creatures and we need that interaction. I know that we’re all experiencing that sense of isolation even out of quarantine right now because we have to stay 6 ft from each other, we can’t reach out and hug and touch, and these are really important elements of humanity. So I know you’re feeling it as well, and we’ve just got to get through this time together.
Pro: There are no distractions. No schedule. No obligations. Nothing that you literally have to do. How often do we get to indulge in something like that, while at the same know we’re getting paid for it? Because yes, you do get paid to self-quarantine! Oh, I almost forgot, there is a visitor that’s going to come and see you during your quarantine and this you can certainly look forward to! This visitor is known as the Health & Safety Officer for production and this person will be coming to administer a Covid-19 test whether it’s a saliva test, or nasal test. How fun!
3) Restricted Movement.
Con: I can’t leave the property. That kinda sucks! Quarantine is going to challenge your sense of physical freedom, and we all love our freedom. It is an essential ingredient to being human and an essential ingredient to life.
Pro: It’s only 2 weeks, and reminding yourself that it’s for a short period of time and that at the end of those 2 weeks you get to go play on set, well this helps your restricted movement to not be suffered in vain! You have something to look forward to, again it’s all in how you look at it (#perspective).
Ok, so that is my take on the Pros & Cons of quarantine and now before we close I have a couple of really quick tips for you…
Tip #1: Plan ahead, especially if you’re traveling.
Tip #2: Stock up. If you have essentials that you need every day in your routine you'll want to make sure to stock up ahead of time and perhaps even find out the address of where you’ll be staying when you arrive and have that stuff shipped out. For example, I knew that even if they [the production co] put me in a box somewhere I was going to get my workouts in, because physical fitness is a really important area of my life and I have a solid commitment to it. So I had my weights and my yoga block shipped out so that it [the package] would be waiting for me when I arrived. And as soon as I got off the plane I told the driver I need to go to Target and Trader Joe’s so I could stock up and load up and I had my lists ready and prepared. I even packed up my Nutribullet so I could make my green drink. I swear by this drink – if you haven’t tried the recipe yet, the video is on the channel. Check it out.
Tip #3: Take Care of Business. Be sure to take care of your bills and make sure everything is pre-scheduled because you’re not going to be in your normal routine. Like, I’m here for 7 weeks. That’s a lot of time for me to be away from my home, so I had to do an enormous amount of planning so I wouldn’t be stressed during this time which would allow me to focus on my character and really do the work in a relaxed manner.
Tip #4: Bring Extra Fully-Charged Power Sources. Just in case mother nature brings on a weather situation that blows out the power! (Yep, happened to me first day of quarantine!)
Let's get into it!
So having been in quarantine now for 13 days, there are 3 Critical Areas of Quarantine that I want to look at today:
- Time
- Isolation
- Restricted movement
1) Time. The exact time commitment for quarantine is 2 weeks, or 14 days, or 336 hours, or 20,160 minutes, or 1, 209,600 seconds of your life! Now, I always like to end on a positive note, so let’s look at the “Cons” first.
Con: It’s 2 weeks! That is a heck of a lot of time, and if you just focus solely on the amount of time it can certainly feel overwhelming. So how you choose to look at it is key (#perspective), which leads us to the “Pros”!
Pro: The biggest pro is the fact that this period of time is not just quarantine – it’s quarantine with a purpose! You are here for a very positive reason and there is a huge light at the end of this tunnel (#purpose), and it’s that purpose centered in the work that’s going to help fill the time and make it incredibly productive and fulfilling. Quarantine provides a distraction-free environment in which you have 2 solid weeks to focus in on the character, do backstory, journal, research, allow your mind to explore and really dive in deep! This is a luxury and honestly, kind of a genius element because I’m telling you that by the time I get to set I’m going to be so relaxed, centered, focused and ready to dive into the work...and excited!! Now, on the other hand there’s only so much prep that you can do with the character every day so you want to make sure that you balance it out (#balance) so that you don’t risk burning out on the character. It’s really important to keep it fresh, so I would recommend filling your time with other creative endeavors as well.
2) Isolation. This is probably the biggest challenge of quarantine.
Con: You are going to be spending 14 days by yourself. This is where we want to be so grateful for technology that allows us to connect with our families, connect with our friends, and feel like we’re not alone. Human beings are social creatures and we need that interaction. I know that we’re all experiencing that sense of isolation even out of quarantine right now because we have to stay 6 ft from each other, we can’t reach out and hug and touch, and these are really important elements of humanity. So I know you’re feeling it as well, and we’ve just got to get through this time together.
Pro: There are no distractions. No schedule. No obligations. Nothing that you literally have to do. How often do we get to indulge in something like that, while at the same know we’re getting paid for it? Because yes, you do get paid to self-quarantine! Oh, I almost forgot, there is a visitor that’s going to come and see you during your quarantine and this you can certainly look forward to! This visitor is known as the Health & Safety Officer for production and this person will be coming to administer a Covid-19 test whether it’s a saliva test, or nasal test. How fun!
3) Restricted Movement.
Con: I can’t leave the property. That kinda sucks! Quarantine is going to challenge your sense of physical freedom, and we all love our freedom. It is an essential ingredient to being human and an essential ingredient to life.
Pro: It’s only 2 weeks, and reminding yourself that it’s for a short period of time and that at the end of those 2 weeks you get to go play on set, well this helps your restricted movement to not be suffered in vain! You have something to look forward to, again it’s all in how you look at it (#perspective).
Ok, so that is my take on the Pros & Cons of quarantine and now before we close I have a couple of really quick tips for you…
Tip #1: Plan ahead, especially if you’re traveling.
Tip #2: Stock up. If you have essentials that you need every day in your routine you'll want to make sure to stock up ahead of time and perhaps even find out the address of where you’ll be staying when you arrive and have that stuff shipped out. For example, I knew that even if they [the production co] put me in a box somewhere I was going to get my workouts in, because physical fitness is a really important area of my life and I have a solid commitment to it. So I had my weights and my yoga block shipped out so that it [the package] would be waiting for me when I arrived. And as soon as I got off the plane I told the driver I need to go to Target and Trader Joe’s so I could stock up and load up and I had my lists ready and prepared. I even packed up my Nutribullet so I could make my green drink. I swear by this drink – if you haven’t tried the recipe yet, the video is on the channel. Check it out.
Tip #3: Take Care of Business. Be sure to take care of your bills and make sure everything is pre-scheduled because you’re not going to be in your normal routine. Like, I’m here for 7 weeks. That’s a lot of time for me to be away from my home, so I had to do an enormous amount of planning so I wouldn’t be stressed during this time which would allow me to focus on my character and really do the work in a relaxed manner.
Tip #4: Bring Extra Fully-Charged Power Sources. Just in case mother nature brings on a weather situation that blows out the power! (Yep, happened to me first day of quarantine!)
The Working Actor’s PPE:
Prepare + Perspective = Enjoy!
Prepare + Perspective = Enjoy!