How This Young Performer Is Coping With Quarantine In Australia

In comparison to the United States, Australia does not have widespread community transmission of COVID-19. As of April 16, 2020, there have been 6,468 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia.

Though the country is fairing better than others, the road to recovery is long.

I recently heard from fellow performer, Oliver Clisdell, a 19-year old student from Australia professionally studying Musical Theatre at the National institute of Dramatic Arts in Sydney. We chat about his concerns for the theatre industry, how Australia is coping with COVID-19, and his hopes for the future of the business.

Read our conversation below.

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Oliver Clisdell

Where are you spending your time in quarantine?

I am currently spending quarantine at home with my two parents and my nine year old sister in Sydney, Australia. 

How has the pandemic changed your way of life? How are you coping?

I was studying Musical Theatre at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney. We were forced to close down campus and move online on March 19th. So I was doing Shakespeare classes, improv classes, scene work and dance classes all online. Never have I ever had to do a dance class in my living room. Although slightly inconvenient to my learning, it is working in the sense that I can act, sing and dance anywhere. I still feel that I am learning as much online as I would have in the classroom. However this is because I am open to all ways of learning, because I know that once I start to have negative thoughts about the class, I will block knowledge and won't be able to grow. So I am coping with the pandemic pretty okay.

There are days where I am up and down, which I know many people have, but I know that we are all going to get through this.

What’s getting me through this, is knowing how many people are banding together to support one another. It is amazing to see these acts of kindness. It just shows that the world is an amazing place and a helping hand isn't too far away. 

Do you have any other sources of income that are helping sustain you through this crisis?

No I don't, my job had to cancel most of my shifts and I have tried looking for more work during this pandemic, so currently I am not earning anything. I tried to be creative and efficient and went through my wardrobe and and decided to create a Depop shop, however no one has bought anything. 

Have you had to file for unemployment? Have you had any success?

Thankfully, I haven't, because the way the Government in Australia is working, is that people who have lost their job, or can't attend their job anymore will get a weekly salary provided by the government that will eventually be paid off in the future. I was offered by my work to apply to this, but I said that someone else out there needs that money more than I do, because I thankfully am not living myself or paying rent or buying my own groceries.

What are your biggest concerns with the theatre industry moving forward?

My biggest concern is that companies will have to raise the prices of their tickets for their shows, to recoup the money they have lost during the pandemic. Theatre won't become as accessible and I fear that not many people will go due to the expense of the show. For example, Six the Musical had a sold out 3 month run in Sydney and they were due to have to tour to to three other cities in Australia and New Zealand. However these tickets were already pretty expensive due to the popularity of the show, now I fear that they will only increase in price to pay for what has been lost during the pandemic.

I also fear, here in Australia, performers are slipping through the cracks and aren't being looked after by the Government. They previously cut the arts funding, aren't providing government pay during the pandemic, and are continuously looked down upon because they don't have the typical 9-5 office job. I fear that this pandemic will only push performers further down and we will have to regain strength ourselves.

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From Sydney, Australia, Oliver Clisdell is currently professionally studying Musical Theatre at the National institute of Dramatic Arts in Sydney. He is due to further his studies at AMDA in NYC in 2021.