{Thomas George Trick alias - Dirty Trick, the Minister of Mischief}
Department: marketing
Position: marketing and sales manager
Hometown: San Antonio, Texas
What do you love and/or miss about your hometown?
I grew up a military brat, so I moved around quite a bit growing up and never got too used to one place. That said, San Antonio has a great riverwalk that I remember fondly and, of course, there’s the Alamo.
When you were young what did you want to be when you grew up?
An amusement park designer/park ride engineer
Favorite part of your job:
I love writing copy that communicates compelling reasons to participate in different theater experiences throughout a season. It’s like a new job every month or so in some ways and that keeps everything fresh. I like being the guy who’s willing to “go there” when others think it’s just too sick, wrong or risky. Also, this is just one of the greatest groups of people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. So many unique and creative personalities and, for the most part, really willing to be human with each other, connecting in ways that are valuable in a persistent and organic way. Maybe it’s the green building, I don’t know.
Hobbies?
Pocket Billiards - my metaphor of choice for pretty much everything else,
Night Bocce Ball (no b.s., the balls blink in living color and it looks like the mothership has landed),
Musing ad nauseum about the nature of consciousness,
Making noise with stringed and skinned instruments or whatever’s lying around
Pet?
I don’t care for the word pet, really but I have a few non-human animals around the house that help make life more interesting. Lydian and Locrian are my two felines and they are the funniest pair of siblings on eight legs. RIP to Phrygian and, the greatest cat who ever lived, Mixolydian. I also have a couple of Egyptian sandfish…Shadrach and Meshach (RIP Abednego) They’re these cool looking lizards (yellow with a black barbeque pattern on their backs) who literally swim in sand. I hardly ever see them, but I take pleasure in thinking they’re a little happier than they were in the pet store, ‘cept for Abednego of course. I have a couple fish too but they don’t have names.
What was your first job?
When I was about 11 I pulled weeds for people in Sierra Vista, Arizona…that’s what kids do there instead of mowing lawns. First “paycheck” job was bagging groceries for army folk at the commissary on US Army Garrison Yongsan, Seoul, Korea.
What was the last book you read? Pleasures of Small Motions (about the mental game of pool)
Movie?: Walk Hard Play?: hmmm other than a PCS play? Grace at Third Rail. Damon Kupper was phenomenal!
What is something most people don’t know about you?
I’m an ordained minister and have my own church…the Church of Instant Awareness (CIA). You can learn more about our guiding principles and discipline at www.magicktrick.com. I’m available for strictly non-conventional marriage and civil union ceremonies. No babtisms or dedications though…I feel that ritual is in direct conflict with free will. Instead I’ll do a “welcome to consciousness” ceremony.
What sets PCS apart from other places you have worked?
In addition to what I said up yonder about the incredible people, the building really is a joy to walk into every day. There seems to be a commitment to consistent improvement and continually trying new things. People don’t shy away from risk here and there’s a nice balance among most people of being willing to get to know who you work with without using those work relationships to supplant a broader social network. I have one of the coolest bosses in town too. Kathy Budas rocks. She knows arts marketing better than anybody in town and she also knows how to invest in her team members individual and group strengths in order to yield an optimal organizational return.
Who is one of your biggest inspirations and why?
Can’t stop at one, here’s a handful…
Jimi Hendrix – he did things differently
Mohandas Ghandi – he knew how to be human
Mark Twain – could put the world in a jar in a way that made sense and was funny at the same time
Rachel Carson – didn’t hesitate to blow the whistle before it was in style to do so
The Geico Gecko – Greatest ongoing ad campaign in history
What is something you are absolutely passionate about?
Pool…the more you know the more you don’t know, the more you learn to calibrate the variables, the more specifically you learn it is possible to do so. It’s just as much fun alone as it is with a friend/opponent, and, as I said up yonder, it’s a metaphor for everything else in my life…a way I can simultaneously escape from and gain insight into life, consciousness and relationships.
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