Tales from a Time of Covid 19 – Third in a series

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Y.G., good friend, immensely talented composer, multi-instrumentalist wrote:  Covid 19’s impact has been both good and bad. The good part was that I had more available time to complete pending projects, spending more family time, and connecting with friends.

I always find new ways to keep busy…. I can’t stay quiet for a single moment, so that staying active is a must for my creative process. I have not considered changing paths as a creative person…I just continue my fight for the arts and music for as long as I can do it and there are people to listen to what I do.

Our dear friend L.J., a gifted actor, writes eloquently: My life as a “working” artist pretty much ended with the start of dialysis in 2016. I was no longer able to maintain the schedule of a working artist. However, I did maintain my participation in a small play reading group, one that did occasional performances. That sadly went out the window with Covid.

One creative outlet actually continued and even increased with Covid. For some years, I have been on the screening committee for the South Florida LGBT Film Festival. Since we had always screened the films virtually (we were sent links to screen the films), Covid has been no obstacle to this work. Thank goodness, as I’ve always found it very rewarding.

Another creative outlet that ended with Covid was my work as a panelist for the Carbonell committee, which involved attending and evaluating live theatre. As live theatre shut down, so did my work.

Rafael de Acha http://www.RafaelMusicNotes.com

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”