Brian Stokes Mitchell on the Path to Recovery For the Theatre Industry

Brian Stokes Mitchell recently chatted with The Associated Press about how he believes that theatre can make a rebound, and when he thinks it will be able to reopen, as well as The Actors Fund, his COVID-19 diagnosis, and more.

On the topic of reopening, Mitchell admitted that he doesn't quite know what the timeline looks like.

"Will that happen in May, June, July, August? Who knows? It could be September before we get going. It could be next year before it gets going in full swing. Or it could be exactly when they say it is. We just don't know. There are more questions than answers," he said.

However, he believes that it will take several years for the performing arts industry to fully recover from the pandemic.

"This pandemic may be two years from beginning to end for most people. Not actors, or anybody in the performing industry," he said. "It's probably more going to be like five years because we have to recover from this. A lot of people not only lost their main job, but lost a backup job as well. A lot of people in show business, when they're not working, they may bartend, they may work in a restaurant. And those jobs largely have been cut back. And for a while they were stopped as well."

Read the full interview on The Associated Press.