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[0:00] Mo Brady: You're listening to The Ensemblist, the only podcast that shows you Broadway from the inside out. Welcome, I'm Mo Brady.

[0:14] Mo Brady: As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across the country, it's creating concern for many of us in the theater industry. For those of us who make our living by occupying the same space as others to share stories in real time, the coronavirus is posing a real threat not only to our lives, but to our work. This week, the Broadway League released a statement advising against stage door activities and increasing sanitation efforts in response to the coronavirus outbreak. But I've been wondering how COVID-19 has been affecting life backstage at Broadway theaters for folks like today's guest, Adam Jepsen.

[0:48] Mo Brady: Adam is currently one of two actors playing Sven the Reindeer in Broadway's Frozen. Prior to clomping around Arendelle, he performed in the ensembles of Chicago and Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella on the main stem. He joined me in the studio yesterday to talk about how the coronavirus is affecting artists like him working on Broadway. Here's our conversation.

[1:08] Mo Brady: Hi.

[1:09] Adam Jepsen: Hi.

[1:09] Mo Brady: Would you introduce yourself and tell us what neighborhood of New York City you live in?

[1:12] Adam Jepsen: Yes. I am Adam Jepsen. I live in Astoria, Queens, and going on my ninth year of living there. I've never moved to New York City the whole time.

[1:21] Mo Brady: Oh my gosh. I know. What's your job? Where do you work?

[1:23] Adam Jepsen: Right now I'm working at Disney on Broadway. I play Sven in Frozen.

[1:28] Mo Brady: So when was the first time you remember hearing about coronavirus at work?

[1:31] Adam Jepsen: At work, probably with my dressing roommate, Andrew Prosey, who also plays Sven with me. Yeah, I think we kind of just talked about this thing about how it's like breaking, and we kind of were pretty isolated in the show. So we talk about a lot of stuff during half hour, but we probably talked about it and kind of started speculating quite early with how quickly it was moving. The first time we talked about it kind of with other cast members, we talk with Ryan McCartan a lot, who I love. We probably started talking about it like a week and a half ago. And at that point, which is so crazy, only a week and a half ago, I feel like it had just started showing up in Washington State. And then with that Princess Cruise Line cruise. So only like a week and a half ago. And now, you know, here we are.

[2:16] Mo Brady: What have you heard from your company manager, your stage manager right now?

[2:21] Adam Jepsen: Well, it first started off with Sharpies for signing. So they were like, don't accept Sharpies or pens from audience members to reduce, I guess, contamination, right? I think that started late last week. Early this week, we're going to provide Sharpies for you guys in this box, please do not take any photos, please like remain kind of far away from audience members. And then two days ago, or maybe it was even yesterday, they said there will not be no signing at all. And then also yesterday, we're broke, of course, is with a Broadway usher at the Booth Theater and the Brook Atkinson's Theater, I believe. And that was kind of the first time that management came to each of the dressing rooms that happened last night. And they said, this has hit the Broadway community in terms of an actual human being.

[3:05] Mo Brady: So let's unpack a few of those things. So you said no signing at the stage door, no photos. So does that mean you're just like walk out of the building and you like, say hi, thank you. And like people are handing stuff to you. And you have to say like, No, I can't.

[3:16] Adam Jepsen: Kind of. Yeah. It's usually quicker than that. Like, I feel like it's probably a little different for me too, because I'm so covered in the show. So people don't recognize me as much.

[3:25] Mo Brady: You don't wear the reindeer costume when you leave.

[3:26] Adam Jepsen: I don't, you know, and I look a little different in real life. Yeah, it's, it's kind of just been a little more distant of a relationship with the audience. But it was definitely a smart move.

[3:36] Adam Jepsen: Close quarters, very close quarters, you know, people touching each other. A lot of the actors in the show actually have to kiss each other, the ensemble kisses each other, a lot of the leads kiss each other, you know, people are sharing water bottles, water bottle tanks, putting their hands in candy jars. It's like, it's everything when you start to think about it. I mean, that's at every workspace, right?

[3:53] Mo Brady: You had mentioned this news about the Broadway usher who was...

[4:00] Adam Jepsen: Yeah, so that was the company manager coming to your dressing room and letting you know?

[4:02] Adam Jepsen: Yeah, I think that they, there were some announcements made over the PA. But I think this was kind of the first time that it was like, in person. Let's talk about this. I think that I'm sure management could also sense like, that a that we've probably read this article and that people have been texting it around or emailing it around. But it was the first time that it was like, oh, this could also affect our business, especially because they also believe yesterday, Washington State, the governor announced no public spaces or events above 250 people, which of course, it's like, we can kind of just feel it coming our way as well. And to be honest, the main thing with the actors yesterday was a lot everyone was like, what, you know, are we still gonna get paid if we get time off?

Does this cover or is this covered under the show's insurance? And I don't think anyone's quite asked company management that yet. But certainly the actors are kind of like, will we get paid? What does this mean? How long will we be off for? Because you know, we hear about Facebook closing down for a month, Google, it's like, are we all of a sudden going to have a month off? And are will we get paid for that? Will we not? Yeah, it's it can be a really scary thing. I mean, actors typically deal with the idea of a show closing at a sudden notice too. So when you're in a show like Frozen, that's quite secure, really, it is that she came in and assured us like, this does not mean our show will close.

But there are shows out there that, you know, just opened that unfortunately, it's like, is our show going to close is I mean, it's serious. And people don't realize that this could really cause people employment. And I also know a lot of other actors that are unemployed, that we're supposed to have stuff that starts in the next month. And a lot of it has either been canceled or they're like, we're certainly holding off until we know like, things have been postponed. So it's it's really crazy. My friend also works on a cruise ship and she was supposed to go out I think this summer and it's kind of like they just canceled Princess Cruise Lines for two months. I mean, this is really people's jobs and livelihood. It's crazy. It's so crazy.