Many industries have been impacted by COVID-19, one of those being live performing arts. Earlier this year, Broadway League said, “Broadway performances in New York City will be suspended through the remainder of 2020 due to COVID-19… Returning productions are currently projected to resume performances over a series of rolling dates in early 2021.”

Because of this announcement, photographer Matthew Stocke created a photo feature for Broadway.com where he interviews performers, technicians, and other Broadway personnel in front of the theatres they worked in. When presented with empty streets and a locked stage door, many performers felt unsure about the future of their careers. 

“I thought we were going to be shut down for three weeks and I knew how to keep my body in shape. I knew to keep my choreography fresh in my mind,” Jessica Ernest, a performer in the musical CHICAGO said. “Then it got pushed back and I stopped reviewing the numbers, stopped working out, stopped really paying attention to myself because I didn’t have something to work towards. And the depression set in. What do I have to work towards? It’s the uncertainty of everything—our lives and our careers. Will I get the virus? Will my family be OK? Will the show reopen? Will I have a job to go back to? Will I be in good enough shape when it happens?”

Broadway employee Matt DiCarlo hoped that this year would bring new successes for him after he stage managed the award-winning musical, Beetlejuice. However, he now has a new perspective.

“We always say, ‘My theater family,’ ‘My extended family at work,’ ‘My show family.’” Matt DiCarlo said. “That’s what I miss the most: the community of it all. We do theater so that we can all be in one room and experience something together. I can’t wait for that.”

Although Broadway’s doors are shut, the community stays connected, as seen in the hashtag used in social media these past few months: “this is only intermission.”