Isabella Olaguera was beginning to feel "useless" and without purpose when she found herself out of work in March for the first time in four years.
Like many crewmembers in Hollywood, the New York City-based assistant director (who has done work for Facebook, WNBA and Equinox, among other companies) saw her employment plans obliterated due to the novel coronavirus and subsequent entertainment production shutdowns.
It was a tough blow for someone who usually faces a dry work period in the winter, followed by a busy spring. After she penned a Facebook post asking how many of her friends were in the same situation, the post, along with the multiple comments it inspired, became the opening anecdote in a Hollywood Reporter story about.