Meet Gregory Iannarilli. A 27 year old guy that grew up in Rhode Island. An avid traveler and dreamer, Gregory’s story during the Covid-19 pandemic is one of hope and love. So Greg, tell us about how this crisis has affected you? Well about a year and a half ago I landed my dream job. I’m “currently “ a lighting and video technician for one of cirque du soleil shows that travels around the world. At the time that I got the job I was living in Las Vegas so I packed my life away into 3 suitcases and flew to Europe where I’ve spent the last year and a half traveling around seeing new things, trying new foods, entertaining new audiences. It’s truly been a life changing experience. What happened? Last October-December I was in the Netherlands where I met a guy off of an app and went on a date. We are still together 6 months later. Life was great! I was living my dream and feel in love at the same time. We were in Germany when we starting hearing about the virus. One by one different shows in our company started to dance their performances. We had 1 week left in the country before we were going to move to Italy for 3 months. Most of us including myself were extremely concerned about going. Italy at the time had the most cases. Our company told us they were still planning on going and if anything changed they would let us know. Anxiety was mounting as I didn’t want to go but I didn’t want to loose my job either. A few days later they canceled Italy on us. And decided to extend our German tour another 2 weeks. 2 days later they chopped out audience size in half to reduce the risk. Both artists and technicians during this show (being our last show) were shocked, nervous, scared, and furious with how things were developing. The next day they told us to pack everything up. I ended up leaving before it all came down as I wasn’t going to be let into the Netherlands due to restrictions. I managed to get in and spend some time with my boyfriend. As travel started to slow down and fewer and fewer planes were going to America, I finally caved in and got a flight back to the US. I got to NY and drove to my parents state and quarantined myself until I could reunite with them. I’m here now, and have been for the last month. My lease is up in Las Vegas next month. I’m going to end up moving out and hunkering down until I know what to do.
How are you feeling? I am still trying to stay positive. I have my health, my family, my amazing boyfriend who I can’t wait to travel back to! There’s little to no chance I will have my job back or that the show will resume but there are plenty of positives to see in the world during this pandemic, not just bad ones.
BIO Gregory went to university in Virginia where he got his BFA in theatrical lighting design. He’s been living in Las Vegas for the last 5 years. In his spare time he enjoys playing tennis, swimming, hiking, computer drafting, and working out. He also used to be a circus performer in his youth and still enjoys practicing acrobatics, gymnastics, and the tightwire. NOTE If anyone has a lead for a job for Gregory, please email us at hello@gayze.com
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