Quarantine Q/A: KATHLEEN BERGER

Kathleen Berger

by Gil Benbrook

Our series of "Quarantine" interviews, which focus on individuals involved in the Phoenix theatre community and their reaction to Arizona's stay at home mandate, continues today with a conversation with Phoenix actress Kathleen Berger.

The COVID-19 virus and the recent protests in support of racial injustice have affected us all in many ways. The theatre community has been harshly impacted with show closures and postponements. We hope this series of daily interviews will be a way to provide some personal insight into what people are doing during this period of time while highlighting familiar individuals from the theatre community in town.

Was there a show you were in or involved with or preparing for when the stay at home order started?

"I was getting ready to music direct Suds at Fountain Hills Theater, and was music directing productions of Shrek, Jr. at schools in the Tolleson Elementary School District as part of a program offered by Theater Works. "

How have you been personally impacted by our current situation?

"Three people I know are dead. Many more have caught COVID-19 and are experiencing symptoms from extremely mild (headache, low fever) to severe (respirator). 

I am closing my agency as of June 1, and have essentially lost all income for the rest of the year. It’s a time of horrible uncertainty for the arts, all my artists’ contracts for the foreseeable future were cancelled, and I cannot justify having babysitters at the house right now, so work isn’t possible. "

How has your daily routine changed?

"Honestly? It’s better. I feel horrible saying that, but it’s true. Before, I constantly felt guilty because I was either with my toddlers and felt I was neglecting my clients, or working and felt I was neglecting my kids. Now, I don’t have a choice. I mom all day (and all night), cook a lot, keep the house clean, and work out 6 days a week. If it weren’t for, you know, a highly contagious, potentially fatal virus raging throughout the world and my shrinking income prospects, I’d probably be pretty pleased with life. Provided I could still do shows, of course."

Kathleen Berger (right) with Hector Coris in
A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Fountain Hills
photo by Stephanie "Tippi" Hart

What do you feel will be different when theater restarts?

"Whew. That’s a tough question. I think we’re going to have to see smaller-scale works for at least a while, with smaller audiences permitted into the theater to encourage distancing. Outdoor theater, such as Fountain Hills is doing right now, is also a possibility with strict rules to keep everyone healthy. I don’t think theater as we know it will be back to normal for a long time."

When do you think that’ll happen?

"Best case scenario, I think, is rehearsals starting in September. Unfortunately, because we opened the state too early (thanks, Ducey!), I suspect we’re going to see a huge uptick in cases that will kill any possibility of starting in summer, and may extend the time frame to 2021, even. "

What have you been doing to stay creative during this time?

"Singing on quarantine cabarets for Fountain Hills Theater, and last weekend and the one coming up I’ll appear in their WONDERFULLY innovative Drive-In Theater! Park in the theater lot, sit in the comfort of your a/c, turn your radio to a specific station, and watch wonderful singers while you hear them over your speakers! We’ve put this together with minimal rehearsals, taking our temperatures as we enter the space, everyone masked except when singing, always observing distancing, and generally doing everything possible to make it a safe and comfortable environment for all. This is why Peter J. Hill has been my go-to director for more than 30 years.- I trust him absolutely to never, ever put me in danger. I spoke with several medical professionals, including an epidemiologist, about this project before committing to it and got their seal of approval, as well. "

In addition, I’m involved with a VERY cool recording project called Social Distance Opera (http://www.socialdistanceopera.com) run by my client and WONDERFUL tenor Joshua Collier. He’s engaged pianists/conductors to record piano/vocal scores of operas, and cast them all. Each singer will record their part, and he will mix it into a full recording for distribution! The first one I’m doing is one of my all-time favorite roles, crazy (like a fox) Donna Elvira in Mozart’s ingenious Don Giovanni. The second one…well, I can’t reveal what it is yet, but let’s just say it’s not a role I ever imagined singing, and, like Little Red, I’m both excited AND scared to take it on.:

Any binge tv shows you’ve watched?

"Um. Daniel Tiger. Dude. I have toddlers. And I’ve now seen Flushed Away and The Little Mermaid like…60 times each. Please send wine. "

Any new hobbies you’ve taken on?

"Exercising like a fiend. I’m doing Lynzee Foreman’s cardio dance classes 3x/week and her Stretch and Tone 1x/week on Zoom, and Phoebe Fennell’s Pilates classes (all the sway from Germany) on Skype. I will BY GOD go into the Apocalypse ripped AF. "

How has this experience changed you?

"I can’t decide if I’m actually angrier than before or just more vocal about it, but I’m pretty ragey. My best friend said it feels like the end of the world, in the sense that it feels like the fall of the Roman Empire or something. It does. It’s sad and infuriating. Worst of all has been the discovery that so many of our fellow human beings are happy to behave like selfish, shallow assholes. I mean, why? It’s so much easier and adds so much more to the world to look out for each other. To care. Like it or not, we’re all in the world and we have to live together, and we’d damn well better figure out a way to start being decent. 

My heart is breaking for my Black friends right now. Not only are they disproportionately affected by COVID-19, they are traumatized by the murder of yet another Black person by a bad cop and the fact that it takes WORLDWIDE protests to get said officer and his enablers appropriately charged. I want nothing more than to be protesting at their side, but the pandemic is still raging and I still can’t risk the health of my mother or my children. So I’m trying to assuage my guilt by donating to relevant causes, calling out racism anytime I see it (even - ESPECIALLY - if it comes from someone I love.)

I don’t know, at this point, what it will take to effect true change in this country. I do know this: equality benefits everyone. There is exactly zero downside to racial equality and justice. None. The only reason to oppose them is our ingrained racism, and that’s not a good excuse. 

I know this, too: Black Lives Matter."

What is the one thing you’re most looking forward to now that Arizona and most states have lifted the stay at home order?

"I’m not changing my behavior right now. I’m staying home and taking all the same precautions as before. We opened up way too soon, and I suspect by the second week of June we will see why that was a bad, bad idea. "

Kathleen Berger and her father Marty Berger in Follies - TheaterWorks
photo by Wade Moran