Miranda has worked for a construction company for three years, mostly conducting on-site safety inspections involving lengthy travel. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Miranda started working from home, and inspections for her projects were temporarily paused. As months passed and restrictions eased, Miranda received an email from her boss letting her know that she would be expected to travel by plane to a location for a week to view and survey a construction project. Not only is Miranda worried about travelling and putting herself at risk, but the nature of the project also means that she will be in contact with many people once she gets to the construction site. At the same time, many of Miranda’s colleagues are of the opinion that COVID-19 is “not a big deal.” Miranda is unsure about how to let her boss know that she is not comfortable with travelling for this project. Miranda has also been hoping for a promotion, and she worries that refusing to travel for this project would ruin her chances.
Camera Shy (*Sensitive)
Julie is a junior in high school who is very committed to theater. Julie, like many of her friends, is self-conscious about her appearance. She has noticed that one friend in particular is struggling with an eating disorder, which concerns Julie. When Julie served as a counselor at an all-girls summer camp, she was struck by how comfortable all of the campers looked in the photos. It sort of “hit” her that she had not seen pictures of herself or her friends looking un-self-conscious in a long time, and she says she is sick of feeling insecure and watching her friends struggle with the same issues. Her experience at the camp helped her to realize that she wants to use theater to help young women be successful and to feel empowered.
Drama Drama (*Sensitive)
Beth is the director of a repertory theater and teaches at a school of drama. While Beth feels that collaborations in theater are most often wonderfully exciting and generative, she has experienced some that are chronically bad and some that have reached a critical point at which she has asked an actor to leave the play. She remembers casting an actress who turned out to be a non-functioning alcoholic, and she realized soon after rehearsals started that the actress had to be fired. However, she said that she felt “a terrible sense of responsibility to this woman,” and she wondered if she might be precipitating a crisis in the actress’s life by letting her go. Beth nonetheless maintains that there “was no question that this was the right course of action.”
A Clothes Call
Li is a journalist in her forties who works for a New York newspaper. She chiefly covers immigration issues. Recently, Li wrote a story on “people smuggling,” and interviewed a man who had been smuggled into the United States. He eventually landed a contract with a clothing company, and opened a factory in New York City. When Li visited the factory for the interview, it quickly became clear that, for all intents and purposes, this man was actually working in a sweatshop. The footage from the interview was sure to embarrass the clothing company, and Li was afraid it could be enough to lose this man his contract. Li’s producer ended up using the footage, and, sure enough, the clothing company called to complain.
A Life Worth Living
Dr. Bernard Lown is a cardiology professor and practicing cardiologist in his seventies who lives and works in the Boston area. Years ago, Lown had a patient who was an artist, a painter, who Lown felt needed an operation. The operation was extremely successful, and Lown considered the case resolved. However, when his patient came in for a follow-up appointment, it turned out that, as a result of his surgery, this man had lost the use of his right hand. He could no longer paint, and now “life wasn’t worth living.” Years later, Lown remembered the painter when he met with another patient who had been told by her other doctors that she needed a risky heart operation Lown asked her what she wanted to do with the rest of her life; she was a professor, and she quickly responded that she wanted to summarize her life’s work. He encouraged her to pursue her writing in the time she had left, and to avoid the operation. She lived six more years, and completed her writing in that time.
Marketing Me (*Sensitive)
Heather is twenty-two and a senior theater student. In her senior year as an undergraduate, she is struggling with messages she gets from teachers about how she should try to market herself in what she is “best at.” Heather says that she doesn’t want to be “pigeonholed,” or not win a particular role because she does not look a certain way. She struggles with issues of body image and questions whether she is “pretty enough” to be successful. Although she does not rule out the option of plastic surgery, she struggles with the idea that a change in physical appearance can make someone more or less appealing and more or less qualified for a role. She would like decisions to be based on skill and talent.