PORT MOODY (NEWS 1130) – Actors based in British Columbia and others in the closed film industry expressed concern about their ability to qualify for federal assistance when applications were opened on Monday.
“Everything is stopped. All the actors, the whole team, we are all part of the gig-economy, so we are completely out of work, ”explains actor and playwright Hiro Kanagawa.
Kanagawa notes that the government describes the payment as being available to those who have “no income” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We will certainly try to take advantage of the CERB that the government has set up. What worries me is that what I learned is that if you have an income, you will not be able to claim that $ 2,000 a month, “he said.
In addition to being an award-winning playwright, Kanagawa has appeared in a number of CW and NBC science fiction dramas, this past work brings in residuals, which means that he still earns income even though film production and was stopped.
“If these residual payments for emissions we have made in the past disqualify us from CERB, then this is going to be a huge problem for many people,” he said, adding that the money “leaking” from a project recently completed could mean a delay in qualifying for aid.
UBCP / ACTRA President Keith Martin Gordey gave an update on support for members during a COVID-19 pandemic. pic.twitter.com/dQNpHRECSA
– UBCP / ACTRA (@UBCP_ACTRA) April 3, 2020
But he considers himself relatively lucky.
“There are a lot of people in the industry who have stores and studios and they are really suffering,” he says. “I’m just an actor, I just have to look after myself and my family.”
Kanagawa notes that his agent, manager and the production companies he worked for all have rent to pay and staff to worry about.
Beyond the routine worry about mortgage payments and groceries, Kanagawa is concerned about the long-term effects on live theater.
He says his wife, Tasha Faye Evans, was to start rehearsals for Bard on the Beach right now.
“They depend so much on ticket revenues and much of the spring season has been wiped out, and it looks like a lot of the summer season is going to be wiped out,” he said. “The arts are a huge economic engine. They really generate a lot of economic activity. “
He hopes help will be available after the closure to support the local scene.
“It will take a very small sum of money in the grand scheme of things to fix things for the theater industry and I hope that will happen so that we do not lose these theater companies which have become institutions. “
He is less worried about the rebound in the film industry, but says that social distancing is impossible on the film set, nothing can start again until worries about the spread of the virus have been eliminated.
“Like everyone else, I have a mortgage, I have children to raise, I have groceries to buy,” he says. “Like everyone else, we are obviously very worried about things and it is a very stressful time but my point of view is that there are a lot of p[CLIP]those who are suffering a lot more than me right now. “
