Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1251534
51 SAG-AFTRA | Spring 2020 | sagaftra.org MOVING FORWARD AS THE WORLD STANDS STILL I was working on season two of Special on Netflix and had a Friday call time when production was shut down. By that Sunday, the plug was pulled. I'm a freelance actor, so I'm used to being on and off-call for work, but I think the anxiety of the unknown is exacerbated right now — especially for actors who always feel like their next job is their last one. I've regulated my day-to-day routine by being inside with my wife and two young daughters, and my niece and two family friends are staying with us. There are big changes, but we all want to do our part. I've taken to locking my phone for a few hours a day and only go online to promote Better Call Saul, and have been working out using online fitness videos and reading the stack of books on my nightstand. I believe in the human experience and the things that will come in the wake of disaster, and there's a great opportunity to recalibrate and reset our world and our responsibility to other people. I hope that this shocks the world into caring about other people and changing things for the better. — PATRICK FABIAN I was assigned to work the beauty show at Jacob Javits Center in New York and a cycling event at a NYC gym, when they were both canceled because of the outbreak. It was really a matter of safety for all the staff, since everyone was going to be in close proximity to one another. Right now, I'm keeping in contact with my family in North Carolina, cleaning my apartment and taking online classes, attending webinars and meetings on Zoom. Even though employers aren't sure when work will start, they're still casting, so I'm also taking time to perfect my self-taping skills and shooting myself for print castings. My stimulus check from the CARES Act came in the nick of time, and I've applied for unemployment assistance, but the delays for approval are affecting everyone, and there are not enough answers. I'm proud of the things SAG-AFTRA has done because, normally, as gig workers, we don't always know when we're going to work. We are a special group of employees, and I appreciate the work our leaders are doing with the government to keep our needs in the forefront. Work is going to be a whole lot different when things are over. I've been reading about how things are likely to change: actors are not touching on set, and being close to someone and even eating from the same bowls or table won't continue. It's going to take a minute before we get used to 'the new normal.' — AVIS BOONE