COVID-19 Closures: Ava Martinez (NYU)

The COVID-19 pandemic continues change the world as we know it. As closures and performance cancellations have put actors out of school and work, I’ve been reaching out to the artists affected. Here are their stories.

I am sitting in my childhood bedroom playing on my phone, watching netflix, and counting down the days until I’m back in school - which was essentially my plan for spring break… but not my plan for the next month.

Due to COVID-19, New York University has shut down operations till April 19th and I am left like most students to figure out how to take a movement class online.

Anyways… Hi fellow theatre lovers, friends, and colleagues!

My name is Ava Martinez, and I am currently a freshman at New York University studying acting at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.

I have dreamed about college (and specifically going to NYU) since I was 13. Needless to say, there was a certain anticipation and excitement regarding my freshman year. I feel as if I have been robbed of the traditional freshman experience. I think about my friends, all of the things we will miss out on experiencing together, the physical acting work that I have no way of doing, and I feel so extremely angry, and sad, and disappointed.

I can’t help but wonder, when is the next time I’ll see my friends? NYU has a large international student population, and if most of them travel back to their home, it is likely that I won’t see them till September, and that breaks my heart. The uncertainty and the sadness in those last few hugs and moments is a feeling that I will never forget. I was in two productions at school, both of which have been postponed. I was preparing to audition for short films, for summer stock… and now none of those auditions are happening. It’s hard to not feel as if all that preparation was for nothing.

Now I am at the place where I have to turn those negative feelings into positive ones, ones that are going to get me through the semester.

NYU has yet to close campus for the semester, which is a bright ray of hope in my eyes, I know others aren't so lucky. I’m thankful for a strong wifi connection, for not only allowing me to connect to my friends, but to my teachers, and my collaborators. Within this situation, I do have a lot to be grateful for. Who knows, by the end of this, I could find this to be one of the most rewarding semesters I’ve ever endured. I have found a lot of comfort in continuing to talk with my friends. Through them, I feel as if I’m still in NYC, and we’re all just hanging out in one of our dorm rooms. I’ve also found a lot of comfort in the work. By sitting down and reading a script, working on a song, or just doing a quick ab workout, I feel connected to what I love and what I have chosen to do the rest of my life.

So what's next?

I’m going to keep going as I have been. I will continue to read scripts, work on my technique as an actor, and to find the best in this crazy situation. I look forward to seeing my co-actors over Zoom and we will be able to navigate this together.

I also think that's the most exciting part - no one knows whats going on, we’re getting new information by the hour. This is a learning process for everyone, not only for me and my classmates, but for actors and creators everywhere.

This is a truly unique opportunity for us all to learn about who we are as artists and how we navigate this ever changing field. We are resilient, and we will all come out of this so much stronger than we were before.

Here’s to growth in ways we would have never expected.

Ava Martinez is currently studying Acting at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, NYU Tisch.

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