Why I Left The Theater

I have become a Vocal Creator because I choose to live aloud, rather than suffer inside myself. --Yours truly, Karen

FRIDAY

APRIL 17

Highlights From My Day

• Meditation, light, air, hydration, movement = 7:21am.

• During my morning movement, I did a random tai chi video saved to my YouTube playlist. The coach spoke of creating elasticity in the brain, and knocking on the door of life. Qigong Flow for Brain Optimization: https://youtu.be/EzIpx6-WX4M

• At one point, I went to pour myself a cup of my home brewed iced tea, which was still a touch warm, as I had just made it in the morning. So I tossed in some frozen pineapple. And then crystallized ginger. It was awesome.

• I watched day three of the Plant Powered Pantry Challenge. And now I really, really, really want an instapot. No worries kids, I'm on it.

@Yoqi.yogaqigong

@woodstockfoods

Today's Life Page

Something during this morning's meditation made me think about why I left The Theater. My previous profession has been on my mind a lot lately. Because they are not creating, they can't, not as they have. Everyone is at home in New York under quarantine. It's so colossally unfortunate.

During my final year at The Theater, there were already cracks in my job seams, signaling that it might be my time to go. Some were pesky and silly, and others were far more serious. But nineteen and a half years is a long time to spend anywhere. I fell in love while I was there. I buried a boyfriend, parent, uncle, and roommate during that time. My stories of Hurricane Sandy, a New York City Blackout, the September 11th attacks, the presidential election of Barack Obama, all involve The Theater.

And then one single person ripped the seam so badly, that I knew it was time for my curtain call.

It was late one evening, towards the end of our final performance of the day. The rest of the lobby staff and I were gathered around the closed concession stand. It was the point of the evening when even the silliest of ideas was funny. I was spinning coins on the counter, the way my dad had taught me when I was a child. Suddenly a penny slipped away from me and fell behind the counter. I'm not sure why, but we all started laughing.

A Duffus Security Guard came over and asked a Co-worker what was so funny. The Co-worker was only paying half attention when the penny dropped. He said, "I don't know. I think Karen just accidentally threw a penny at someone." He Genuinely had no idea.

"Could you imagine? A Jew throwing away a penny like that?"

"Excuse me [Duffus], but I find that offensive." My Genuine Co-worker did not find it funny.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot. You're a half of one. Sorry," Duffus said, not sounding the least bit apologetic.

I had no idea that this exchange had taken place. I think my other co-workers and I were onto laughing about the next silly item. But Genuine went directly upstairs and filed a formal complaint with our Immediate Supervisor. I found out four days later, when Duffus' Boss called me. I had known him for a number of years. We had a quite cordial work relationship, and he was always trying to hire me away from The Theater. He thought that I would make an excellent talk show, green room security guard. Not kidding.

But Duf Boss never called me on the phone. And when I saw that he had left me a message, I called him back right away. I told my manager at my Other Gig that it was an emergency, and could I possibly use the office phone. I thought something terrible had happened, that someone had died. But Duf Boss was just making sure that I was okay with what Duffus had said four days earlier.

"I don't know. What did Duffus say?"

And The Boss told me everything.

Right away I called my Immediate Supervisor to make sure that I wasn't in trouble for goofing off in the lobby a few nights ago. I wasn't. Whew. But then I met with The Theater's Resource Human, and They said that there was nothing They could do because Duffus and The Boss were contracted. And I tried, personally, professionally and every which way, to continue to report to work. This was my Theater, not his. But a lobby can be a very small place when you are trying to avoid an anti-Semitic Duffus, who makes your skin crawl. So my 19 1/2 years came down to a single email, containing my two weeks notice, and an escape, couch surfing vacation to Los Angeles.

The last I heard, Duffus was transferred to another theater, with a long time running show. And that he has since been let go for letting people with red hats and white letters go to the front of the line. I really hope this is a rumor, and not a fact.