I’m wrapping up at Slack this week. I’ve been with these folks for 6 years, plus the 9 weeks I worked on Glitch the Video Game. I love the people there, and I’d recommend it as a place to work if you’re in tech and live in one of the cities Slack is located.
I’ve been in tech for 15 years now. Yet, since I was in college, I have wanted to work in dramaturgy, or as a lit manager for a theater. I couldn’t find work out of college though, and we were broke at the time, so I spent the next 20 years trying to grow up and have a “real job.” Focus on making money, because that’s the responsible thing to do when you have a kid. While I finally did land at a place that pays customer service what customer service is worth…I still really miss the creative path I’d hoped I’d be on by now.
The last year has blessed us with a little financial wiggle room for a bit. Along with that, it’s looking like the TMS therapy I did last winter has brought me into remission from depression, and I have a much better handle on my OCD/anxiety than I’ve ever had. So I’m going to try growing as a writer and theatre person again.
It is work that scares me a little. I mean, nobody wants to fail horribly when doing something artsy. I’m also afraid because I wasn’t able to find writing work the last time I looked for it, and of course I’ve done the very irresponsible “quit before you have another job lined up.” (believe me, my therapist has scolded me soundly for this, so you don’t have to.) 😘
I want to make promises, to hint at what you’ll see next from me, so you know you don’t need to worry that I’ll be a success. But what I really hope I can deliver on isn’t a project or a sold play, it’s that I’m focusing on my own growth again. I’ve been stuck for decades in mindsets that range from “poor fit for me” to “actively destructive to my spirit and self-esteem”, and now that I know what self-confidence feels like, I absolutely need to take it out for a test run.
(If you’re doing theatre in the NW Chicago suburbs and you’re looking for dramaturgy from a reference librarian, come find me!) 💖