Amy Angelilli of The Adventure Project: From Avocation To Vocation; How I Turned My Hobby Into A Career
An Interview With Penny Bauder
No one will care as much as you. The day you discover this is often a sad one. I remember one of my students telling me years ago that I had been a great teacher, community organizer and facilitator, but I was also a frustrated artist. Why? Because I wasn’t getting an opportunity to perform as much as I wanted because the community was so brand new. I had to pick up my toys and go to another community to get my artist needs met so as not to put pressure on my students to perform. Since that moment, it’s always about the stage of life — not the stage of a theater.
As a part of our series about entrepreneurs who transformed something they did for fun into a full-time career, I had the pleasure of interviewing Amy Angelilli, Chief Adventure Officer of The Adventure Project.
An improvisational theater performer of close to 20 years, Amy Angelilli also teaches classes for the stage and facilitates “playshops” for real world personal and professional application. She has facilitated immersive improv experiences for conferences, summer camps, retreats, colleges, non-profits, and organizational team development events — in person, at home and abroad, as well as virtually. Currently she also leads a multi-level improv training school in St. Augustine, Florida.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?
As a kid I was always the one who wanted to dress up and play make believe. When I accepted the roll of the Spanish-language Little Red Riding Hood in the third grade, I knew that I wanted to learn a language, travel the world, and keep playing make believe.
What was the catalyst from transforming your hobby or something you love into a business? Can you share the story of your “ah ha” moment with us?
It was an odd set of events … my non-profit career was wrapping up and I was discovering so many applications for improv — as a personal and professional development tool. Meanwhile, I just had success with online dating and people began asking for support with creating authentic online dating profiles. Because of that, I began hosting workshops to help people create authentic online dating profiles — using improv tools.
There are no shortage of good ideas out there, but people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. How did you overcome this challenge?
I used a business coach because I also had many, many ideas for The Adventure Project — too many to put under one umbrella. She helped me to streamline my offerings under that one umbrella.
What advice would you give someone who has a hobby or pastime that they absolutely love but is reluctant to do it for a living?
Think about if you really want to monetize. When you do, you could lose your hobby. When I get stressed from my work, I can still go off and actually do improv which is like a moving meditation for me. But it took me many years to get to the point where I could enjoy the art of improv without also worrying about the business. The question to ask is, “Will my happy place no longer be happy if it becomes my workplace?”
It’s said that the quickest way to take the fun out of doing something is to do it for a living. How do you keep from changing something you love into something you dread? How do you keep it fresh and enjoyable?
For me, there are two sides to my business. The first is teaching, facilitating, and performing which I love. The second is everything else. However, I know that the “everything else” enables me to teach, facilitate, and perform so I keep moving forward with all the tasks that no one sees. Without that separation it would be too much of a daily slog.
What is it that you enjoy most about running your own business? What are the downsides of running your own business? Can you share what you did to overcome these drawbacks?
I love the ability to touch lives and help people be better versions of themselves at home, at work, at play, and, on the road. It also makes me so happy to be able to develop a local community while also supporting individuals and organizations in different parts of the world. There’s nothing better than marrying travel and applied improv — taking the tenants of improv off the stage and into real life to support people close by and, also, far away. The downside is being alone. I’m a solopreneur who helps people function better in an ensemble, a team, a group setting, and I have no team of my own. The irony of that is not lost on me! The way I deal with this is by getting involved with like-minded people, so we can support each other’s business (and sometimes personal) dreams via regular “round table” zoom meetings. These are called mastermind groups and they really help to combat isolation.
Can you share what was the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?
I have a marketing degree and never ever did I imagine spending so much of my time doing marketing and outreach. More time is spent on that than actual program delivery. One day I’d like to have a partner/collaborator to free myself up from this side of things so I can focus on what I do best — teach, facilite, and perform.
Has there ever been a moment when you thought to yourself “I can’t take it anymore, I’m going to get a “real” job? If so, how did you overcome it?
Almost every day! I read the job listings and find nothing that lights me up. I listen to horror stories about people’s “day jobs” and find comfort in avoiding those situations. I reach out to one of my mastermind colleagues for a pep talk. The bottom line for me is that this is hard, and I value my freedom too much to work for someone else again.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Only one? Ha! Besides improv, the other tool I use is laughter yoga. One time, years ago, I was to be leading a public laughter yoga session, however, only one person registered. Laughter yoga is all about the group, the community — even if all the participants are strangers at the beginning. Instead of cancelling the session, I decided to go forward and lead laughter yoga for this one woman who had to endure an hour of laughing, breathing, and stretching — with only me.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
It’s people who work in the world of “play” that inspire me every day to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Our work helps so many people’s hearts and souls, but we grown-ups are always the first ones to think about play as an afterthought — something optional for when we have time. If we laughed together more, if we practiced cooperative play more, we’d have stronger teams in the office — and at home. The bonds we make through these activities help us to put the humanity back into our lives which is suffering due to the proliferation of social media. The porch culture is gone … we drive into our garages, shut the door, enter our homes, and then maybe go into our back yards that have privacy fences. How can we build strong communities if we don’t know our neighbors let alone play with them? The people in this field are not only passionate, but they also believe in the power of play to connect us. And that’s what life is really all about — our connections to each other.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
- It’s ok to do nothing. Sometimes I literally stare at the wall. No one told me that some days I would do nothing but stare into space. Why? Because if someone told me that, I would never do what I do. Why am I staring at the wall? I’m thinking, I’m imagining, I’m wondering. All of that can’t happen if we are go, go, going all the time.
- You are not anyone else. Because of social media, we have compare-itis syndrome. It gets worse when you work for yourself as you are constantly comparing yourself to your peers. You are not them and need to only be comparing yourself to you. I still remind myself of this regularly.
- Just because you build it, doesn’t mean they will come. I’ve had many “playshops” that didn’t fill up. It’s not personal. No one is at home or at work thinking, “Gee, I wonder how I can NOT go to that person’s event today.” It’s not all about you.
- Things change — always. Just when you have something figured out, something will change. And, that something might be your own wants, needs, and desires. Just because you do something at one point in time doesn’t mean you will want to do it forever. It’s ok to change directions. You’re not a machine.
- No one will care as much as you. The day you discover this is often a sad one. I remember one of my students telling me years ago that I had been a great teacher, community organizer and facilitator, but I was also a frustrated artist. Why? Because I wasn’t getting an opportunity to perform as much as I wanted because the community was so brand new. I had to pick up my toys and go to another community to get my artist needs met so as not to put pressure on my students to perform. Since that moment, it’s always about the stage of life — not the stage of a theater.
What person wouldn’t want to work doing something they absolutely love. You are an incredible inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I have one simple desire that would fulfill my dream and change the world at the same time. I would love to see improv offered at all middle schools. It’s a transformational art form at any age, but in junior high it allows kids to be on the path to greatness with communication, teamwork, emotional intelligence, empathy, and being a good human being. Often, by the time people touch improv, they need to unlearn ways of being that weren’t serving themselves or the people around them. It’s much easier to build an improv mindset from a young age, so the “we before me” mentality is planted like a seed that continues growing.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I use the hashtag #findyouradventure as a way to remind all of us to discover what brings us joy, what lights us up and what makes us flourish. That’s the adventure we need to follow to design a life that works best for each of us. So find your adventure — not the adventure, not an adventure — find the one that’s uniquely yours.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Tina Fey and I are the same age and we both grew up in Delaware County outside of Philadelphia. (This is where Mare of Easton takes place.) In fact, while reading her book, I discovered that we got our hair cut by the same person when we were kids! Tina discovered improv at a young age. I didn’t discover it until I was going through my first divorce! I would love the opportunity to spent time with her to compare improv journeys and to see how improv has affected her life — off the stage.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
