“My Economy” tells the story of the new economic normal through the eyes of people trying to make it, because we know the only numbers that really matter are the ones in your economy.
As the Writers Guild strike continues, productions and workers across the country are feeling the impact. Kenya Morgan, a costume coordinator based in Atlanta, is one of them.
“We are partway through a production shutdown because we are one of the productions in Atlanta that were directly affected by the writer’s strike,” Morgan said. “So what’s happening now is we are packing up and prepping to turn the lights off temporarily, until we’re back.”
As a costume coordinator, Morgan makes sure that her department’s bills are paid, prepares financial reports and helps coordinate assistants.
“It takes an army to make a lot of these productions happen,” she said. “I look at it this way: The costume designer is kind of the head of the octopus, and all of us are the arms.”
But that octopus will stop functioning, at least for now.
“My last day is June 16,” said Morgan. “It is eerily similar to a regular production wrap. Only, as I coined it last week, this is the rehearsal wrap.”
Breaks in employment are common in the entertainment industry. And while Morgan’s not sure how long this production will be paused (she supports the WGA strikers and their goals), she’s keeping her fingers crossed.
“I do not regret coming into this industry at all. Not even when I’m worried,” she said. “In general, I feel I’m where I should be.”
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