Kelly MacFarland yanked the Band Aid right off. That’s how she describes her transition from Insurance Salesperson Who Does Comedy At Night to Kelly MacFarland, Comedienne. We explore her story and others in the Live Podcast recording of The Art of the Day Job in Workbar’s Cambridge Café on April 20th. Hosted by the Women in Comedy Festival and emceed by Improv Boston Musical Director Jeff Greenwald, we will explore the blur and balance of our creative and professional lives, featuring Kelly MacFarland and guest panelist Johannes Flecker PhD, of the Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship.
As a nod to the Improv nature of the evening, the audience has a voice, too, and after happy hour together we’ll figure out how to stay sane, how to stay focused, and how to make a living alongside - and because of - our creative outlets.
Meet the Players:
Kelly MacFarland
MacFarland started her nocturnal side gig of standup comedy around the same time she began her entry-level job selling insurance; she improved at both until she reached a breaking point. “If you are in a job and it makes your soul hurt, then that faint coughing you hear in the back of your brain? The person being choked is you.”
She thinks that we have a hardwired affinity for the safety and certainty of a steady day job, and she feels the sadness of that comfort. After overcoming the daunting first steps towards being a sole proprietor of her own brand, she admits, “I can’t imagine working for anyone else ever again!”
In a way, she has achieved the Holy Grail of Creativity: making her art into her day job. One of her secrets was to transform the adversity, doubt, and loneliness dotting her path into the material that would rocket her from insurance salesperson, to festival headliner, to opening for Louis CK at the Wang Theater. “100%, entertaining people is my biggest passion. Probably shouldn’t tell my husband that, but I want to do this until I’m really old.” Then she wonders, “Do I have to retire?”
Jeff Greenwald
The mind behind The Art of the Day Job knows a thing or two about balancing the yin and yang of his passion and profession. He’s an executive by day and an artist by night - a percussionist, music director and ethnomusicologist who performs regularly at Improv Boston. Seeing the number of people working to find a balance between their creative and corporate careers, he conceived of this Live Podcast to explore the topic and to connect with others in the same boat.
The time is right for this event, given the connected nature of our modern lives. “This might be the Golden Age of walking this balance. There’s a lot of talented people who have to do their creative thing, and a lot of ways to do it.”
Johannes Flecker
He’s got his doctorate in business, he’s an award-winning creative entrepreneur, and if there’s a way to incorporate music into your business, he will find it. Flecker grew up in a musical family in Austria where the creative outlet of music was woven into the culture of his Alpine hometown. The standout from the Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship composes and conducts his business, Sound Leadership, from his coworking desk at Workbar and has spent years perfecting the art of the day job.
Josh Garneau
Apparently, in the world of Improv Boston, even the tech guy is funny. Josh Garneau came over for a podcasting sound check inside the Cambridge Café, and noted that our wireless mics wouldn’t pic up ambient sounds, so our speakers might need gentle reminders to speak into the microphones. “Except,” he paused, “there’s really no polite way to pantomime to someone that they need to raise the mic up.”
You
Tickets to the event are $10 (including open bar) and are available here. Workbar members can attend free. Beer/wine happy hour starts at 5:30pm, sponsored by Brooklyn Brewery, with Mediterranean food sponsored by VERTS . Podcast recording beginning at 6:00pm sharp. Bring yourself and your creative outlet.
Dave Gentry is a fan of progress and recess. He believes in Olde English, new fortune cookies, and he answers to #davertido.
