The Exit Strategy - Act 2, Part 9

Understanding Corporatism

Planning the Escape

In the final months at home, I started planning my getaway. I needed—desperately—to get out of that house. To make some extra cash, I ran around to stores in the shopping mall where I worked, handing out handmade flyers advertising my mime show as an attraction. I also offered a sign-painting service. Once I’d sold them on the show, I’d upsell the signage: a large display—one meter by 75 centimeters—featuring the business’s logo and a clock with movable hands, announcing the start time of the next performance.

I’d walk into a business, ask for the manager, and push for a meeting. I was impatient, always hoping they’d meet with me right then and there. I told each one that my show would give them an edge over the competition—an attraction that would pull customers in. No one else was doing anything like it. One manager was impressed by my hustle and gave me a trial gig at Big Steel Man, a men’s clothing store. I performed three times a night on Thursdays and Fridays, …