Group of Cheerful People Clapping with Gladness

Yesterday, I got The Call.

T., who  hired me to do marketing on the fall show for his company, said he and his producing partner were discussing the best way to use my talent and my time, and they wanted me to keep my focus on one area of inspiration. Good idea, guys. (Especially since this is essentially pro bono work and if I’m not careful I would turn it into a full-time job.) What area did they choose?

Well, one evening I went to a production meeting where someone mentioned off-handedly that beautiful new the theater space being rented for the show was ours through the entire run, and we could use the space any way we wanted on non-performance nights. Space, the most expensive portion of the production budget, just sitting there waiting to be filled.

The morning after that meeting I woke up and wrote down pages of notes about a conference or series of workshops / presentations aimed at the Seattle theater audience which would simultaneously provide a platform for marketing the show AND give back to the theater community.

I was excited, energized, full of ideas, scared, stimulated, and struggling to keep the inner “Who-do-you-think-you-are?” voice at bay. The voices outside were completely supportive.

So, who do I think I am? Some kind of impresaria who puts on events? That is SO NOT ME, but I have all these ideas about theater and business and marketing and learning and teaching and creative innovative uses of space.

Questions abound: How do I get there? How do I make this happen? How do I learn what I need to know? What is the measure of success? Can I make money doing something like this?

The only thing that is clear to me is that most of the things that are calling to me are not things I can do alone. I feel nervous about committing to work that is so different from anything I’ve done before, but also, looking backward, I don’t see another crossroads to return to that is safer. What I’d really like to do is walk around spouting great ideas and having others around to make them happen!

Minions. I need minions. At the very least, I need collaborators.

Basically, I think I need to do this conference, and I think it’s a crazy idea, and I feel like throwing up.

I am completely in my discomfort zone.