I’ve been in the Film Industry for roughly 20 years, the last 18 of which were spent managing theatres in the Twin Cities. I’ve been considering a different career path for the last several years, working nights, weekends, and holidays for that long kind of burns you out once you pass the age of 40. But while I looking at the other side of the fence, I still held out hope that I would eventually work my way up to being a film booker. Each year I got closer to that goal, and the company I was with was open to that discussion once we had more locations opened. Then Covid hit.
I’ve been on furlough for the past year, and in many ways it has been great, which is a weird thing to say about living through a pandemic where you are essentially trapped in your house. I got to spend more time with my wife than I have in the ten years prior, I got to be around my dogs, and I didn’t have to be yelled at by angry customers every day. While far from a vacation, and there was still plenty of stress and fear, overall my wife and I came through it much stronger than we had been going into it.
I also had the time to work on my manuscript. It’s come a long way from the incredibly rough first draft I had originally written a year prior. I finally had the time to develop a writing habit, and more importantly, meet other writers. I went to online workshops, Meetup groups, and even formed a critique group. I have always thought of myself as a movie guy, and someone pretty deeply entwined with the local film community, as well as having numerous friends and colleagues within the industry. But writing was something different. I found myself well outside my comfort zone, and mostly enjoying it. For someone like me with anxiety, that’s big.
Last week I resigned my position at the theatre. My career in the industry ending at 20 years. I’m certainly sad to see those dreams dashed, but I like this new path that I’m on. I don’t know where it is going to lead but I’m having a lot of fun travelling on it.
Having an awesome partner and a couple of dogs with me helps too.