Values, Action, and Uncertainty
About 2 weeks ago, I was fired.
I was one in a group of 10+ employees at my old music venue, World Cafe Live, that took part in a staff walk-out in protest of problems the staff was experiencing under a new leadership team. The next day, 10 of us were given termination letters.
Since then, I’ve been feeling lost.
I’m used to the rise-and-fall of the tides that come with the life of having several part-time jobs, but all of a sudden, it felt like waves were crashing left and right.
Waves of concern about a federal lawsuit that the terminated employees were threatened with. Waves of support from the music community, near and far. Waves of public back-and-forth between the employees and the venue.
Waves of “what the hell is going on, and what is coming next?!?”
Standing for your values
Two things can be true:
I am sad that I was fired
I am proud of how I acted
World Cafe Live (WCL) was my first “real” sound engineering job. I had interned at a small venue in North Carolina, but that was essentially an unpaid internship. At WCL, I was running shows on my own, and I’ve grown a lot since I started in October.
It’s strange and disappointing to think that I won’t run a show there again.
At the same time, I feel that I acted in alignment with the kind of person I want to be. Someone who supports those close to them and stands with others, despite not feeling their burden.
In April, a new leadership team took over the venue.
The production staff was a bit isolated from any significant changes. I came into work, set up the stage, ran the show, and struck the stage at the end of the night, same as I always had
The rest of the staff - bartenders/servers, office operations, ticketing/hosts, etc. - felt more hostile behavior from the new regime.
One example - an employee had a piece of mail delivered to the venue. Someone on the new team opened her mail, made a photocopy of it, and cornered her in her office asking questions about it.
I wasn’t personally in the line-of-fire of the new regime.
But people that I cared about and worked with for 8+ months were, and I had seen enough from the new team to know that my fellow employees weren’t crazy.
I knew there was a chance that I’d be fired in retaliation of the walk-out.
I also felt it was the right thing to do.
Uncertainty and getting back on your feet
It’s been less than 2 weeks since all of this happened, so I wouldn’t say we’re on the other side of it all just yet.
But my immediate future feels clearer.
Right after the termination, I was in a bit of a panic.
I was supposed to be right in the thick of a busy schedule. July was right around the corner and shaping up to be another month filled with shows. I was picking up some new mixing techniques that I wanted to test out.
And then the rug was pulled from under me.
I was caught between a rock and a hard place as I had to figure out what my next steps were.
Do I immediately tell the other venue I’m with that I want more work? Do I pursue another venue/production company to fill in the blank space in my schedule? Should I be hiding details about why things ended at WCL?
I was lost and feeling unnecessarily rushed to have all the answers.
A quote from Jame Clear helped me navigate my crisis:
I split problems into two groups: muddy puddles and leaky ceilings. Some problems are like muddy puddles. The way to clear a muddy puddle is to leave it alone. … Other problems are like a leaky ceiling. Ignore a small leak and it will always widen.
Luckily, this problem appears to be of the “muddy puddle” variety.
My other venue job is managed by a larger production company that operates a few venues in the Philly area in addition to various outdoor concert series. With a foot in the door, I have relatively easy access to more work and new environments.
And with a now free July, it’s a convenient time to get exposure to their other spaces.
The situation came on fast, and the fallout for the venue, staff, and musicians is ongoing. I don’t imagine it’ll stop any time soon.
There will be more lessons learned, but the first two weeks have taught me to act with integrity, support those you care about, and let the rest fall into place.
Things will be okay.
If you’re curious to see more information on the walkout and what’s been happening at the venue, check out our Instagram page: @saveworldcafelive