Did I ever tell you how I got into advertising?

I didn’t? 

Well, let me explain.

It was a total accident. 

Back 15 years ago I was a filmmaker and performer selling estate finds on eBay to help cover (or lets be honest, pay) the bills.

And so I created a show called AC Dickson: eBay PowerSeller, an hour-long edutainment seminar teaching people about the magic of eBay. 

Now keep in mind, eBay was brand new, and briefly kind of exciting. So I created a show attempting to prove eBay was the greatest thing since sliced bread. 

Only I performed it at an arts festival, the PICA TBA festival to be exact, so people really couldn’t tell if I was serious or satire. (It was both). Or if I was even an eBay PowerSeller or not. (I was, mostly.) 

The show it worked. It travelled to LA, New York, and Europe three times, and even caught the interest of Mike Byrne who was a creative director at Wieden+Kennedy on the Nike account at the time.

He asked me in for a meeting, and proposed I create a character for an upcoming Nike campaign. I was like, I’m sorry, I’m an artist. And then he wrote a number on a piece of paper and slid it across the table. I opened it, and realizing this was my get out of paying rent late for the rest of my life ticket, I said “when do we start?” 

The campaign didn't see the light of day, but I realized I enjoyed and was pretty good at coming up with ideas and writing scripts. So a few years later I joined W+K full time.

But wanting to examine and mark the occasion I created a new show called, Sell Out. A full-length performance teaching people how to Sell Out in 27 steps. 

I have enjoyed advertising, and marketing and branding and communication - I’m freelancing now, so they call it something different everywhere I go. (More about that soon as my friend and partner Aaron James and are creating a course on freelancing called Mt. Freelance!) 

But I found that I’m still most creatively fulfilled making my own work and performing. So I've auctioneering, performing and hosting storytelling shows for the Moth these past few years.

And I’m super proud to announce I’ve got a brand new show. 

It’s called Kids These Days. 

It’s about kids, both the young kind and “kids”, parenting, the generational politics of Baby Boomers Generation X Millennials and beyond, technology and how the world is changing and how it isn’t. 

It’s not quite a lecture, or stand-up or storytelling, or even a “performance”. It’s a mix of all those things. 

And it’s premiering here in Portland at the gorgeous Mission Theater April 12th at 7:30pm. One night only! But hopefully it will get a longer run soon and even tour.

I would so happy to see you there. 

If you’re free and interested because we’re Linkedin friends you can buy a “frequent sinner” ticket which gets you $5 off by entering the code ELMO right here! 

And thanks to 7 Deadly Sins for producing and presenting. And thank YOU for making it all the way to end of this!