Craig Waletzko

Bright

Irony: Artists Unaccustomed to Safety Nets

As a couple of (mostly) working actors here in the city for more than twenty years, my wife and I have grown accustomed to the anxieties and uncertainties that are a normal part of a career spent in the arts. When the downturn hit last fall, we were worried that this time around, the in-between-gigs-time would be rockier than ever. Sure enough, my Broadway show closed in January, shortly after her last commercial stopped running. On top of that, her SAG insurance ran out, our co-op got hit with a huge maintenance assessment, and our eldest daughter’s orthodontist said we couldn’t put off her braces any longer.

But here’s strange part: Unemployment insurance benefits have been extended way past the usual 26 weeks – and they’ve actually increased the top payment by $25 a week. (That’s my younger daughters’ piano lessons!) And once we started on COBRA, we found a state program that covers half our premium, then a new 6-month federal program that covers the whole thing!

Don’t get me wrong. The long-term fear is as real as ever. But from a day-to-day anxiety perspective, it’s actually not the worst time to be an out-of-work actor.