Thursday, October 2, 2014

Dispatches from Canvasser Hell: A Throwback Thursday Photo Essay

A few weeks ago, I was going through old journals looking for an essay I had started about remakes in ancient Greek theatre.  In the process, I uncovered a trove of feelings and musings chronicling the six years I've been on the East Coast.  In many cases, it was thrilling to see early musings of what would eventually become full-length plays.  It was also comforting to read about painful moments of crisis from which I have been able to come out the other end stronger and more whole.

Fitting both of those criteria was the journal I kept during the height of my canvassing career here in New York.  The period chronicled ranges from, when I was riding high fundraising for Amnesty International, through March 2012, when I finally quit after struggling to sign up child sponsors for Plan USA.  As I read these passages, I am struck by the pain I felt during that period of my life, when I was struggling to find a foundation emotionally, financially and artistically.  At the same time, I also am struck by just how much the work I was doing for those charities meant to me--a kind of passion that, while draining, I sometimes miss.  I tried to bring some of that passion into Marcy in Sex and Charitable Giving.  Here I've selected passages from February 2012 through my quitting in March.

A note on the handwriting:  for this period of time, I started writing in all CAPS.  This was inspired by a directive from my boss, who instructed us to write in CAPS on our forms to improve legibility.