Extra

I work part time for a test prep company. I teach classes, generally, but today I did a little marketing work. My job was to go down into the Loop and hand out fliers (flyers? Fliers? um... handbills) for a GMAT event at the U of Chicago Gleacher Center.

Let me just take a moment to say that if you are not an improviser or other type of performer, please understand that performers might be pretty good at public speaking. They might be decent at dressing up in a stupid costume and handing out candy. They might be good at a kid's birthday party or a haunted house. BUT! Just putting a kid on the corner with some fliers and saying "You're a performer! You'll be GREAT at handing out brightly colored pieces of paper to strangers who hate that you exist because all fliers are immediately useless trash by virtue of their mere existence" doesn't mean that all will go well.

Most guys like me got into performing as an outgrowth of inherent social awkwardness and vague insecurity. I can talk to large numbers of people because they can't reject me to my face in any individual way. I can even talk to people individually if I'm in costume or otherwise not myself. One on one personal contact? Less fun for this guy.

I was up a lot of the night working and battling a sinus headache, so I was hardly in top form. Still, Charley and I (Charley's a comedian too! You guys will be great at it!) did what we could, distributed the bulk of the fliers, and called it a day.

Turns out the fliers didn't have the location of the event on them. Or a phone number to find out the location of the event. I hope people listened to our half-hearted newsie-calls. Otherwise, they are wanderin'.