– Believes no one should take things they love for granted

MARK Anthony Luke-Edwards, one of Guyana’s leading comedians and performers in the acting fraternity whose work is deeply affected by the coronavirus, is now in talks to conduct virtual performances via Zoom and other online platforms.
Just before the outbreak of the disease here last March, Mark was working on two important projects that had to be postponed. One was the popular Link Show for which held-over shows were planned.

Mark, 40, is also a member of the National Drama Company which produces an annual literature show for children. That too had to be cancelled. “The teachers look forward to this because it helps them to teach the students. It gives them a clearer understanding of the book they’re studying,” Mark noted in an interview with The Buzz.

“COVID-19 has a direct impact on what I do because theatre involves people sitting close to each other, laughing loud; actors acting in close proximity to each other on stage and these activities are the polar opposites of social distancing,” Mark said.

“It’s kind of uncertain when we would be able to do plays, and stage plays and have crowds and gatherings to view plays again in the future. I’m a poet and we don’t have groups gathering together to listen to poetry either. It’s a direct, negative impact on everything I do,” he added.

While companies have also decreased the number of ads they’re hiring Mark to produce, he is happy that his nine to five job teaching theatre arts is still there. Thanks to this job at the Sophia Training Centre Mark can continue to be gainfully employed.

“So although the income is shortened, I am still not totally out in the cold. There are some of my other colleagues who mainly depend on this kind of thing and they probably are very much affected. Some are not fortunate enough to have a nine to five job and are mainly actors and poets, or performers,” he observed.

At the moment, Mark said he is in discussions with persons about being able to produce virtual performances with the help of zoom or social media. “That may be the way to go for now. But in terms of physical gatherings, that’s totally out of the question. We have to reinvent the wheel and look at how we are able to go forward.”

As negative as the impacts of the coronavirus may be, Mark said that they have taught him valuable lessons about life. For instance, he said he learnt that nothing in life should be taken for granted. “I took my talent for granted; I took the ability or the opportunity to perform for an audience and to do what I was born to do, and to do what I love on a regular basis, for granted.”

Mark can still recall those times he complained about not getting a break from work or having too much work. “But it goes to show that in life, you don’t take things for granted. Those things you take for granted can be taken away from you. Here I am unable to do the things that I sometimes complained about.”

Mark feels he didn’t take enough time to enjoy the things in his life and to consider the possibility that they may be things he may not be able to do anymore in the future. “Everything you have in life, embrace it and cherish it because you can lose it.”