Tracy Marhal, a 27-year-old Milwaukee area native, is taking her shot at the big time.
She’s worked in public relations at C.G. Schmidt Construction Inc. in Milwaukee for the past several years and worked at several local newspapers before that.
While she liked her day job, Marhal was moonlighting at her true passion
as a standup comedienne for more than two years, practicing her lines and standing up to hecklers at local comedy clubs.
Now that she’s ready to jump to the next level and chase her dream of becoming a professional comedienne, Marhal said she doesn’t have many remaining choices in her pursuit, other than moving to New York.
Marhal left the Milwaukee area recently, moving a few possessions she’s taking with her to a small apartment she’s renting in Queens.
Marhal has big goals, but she’s being realistic about them. Her first priority is finding a day job.
"I don’t want to be a waitress. I don’t like being nice to people," she said, laughing. "The ideal career will be in copywriting or communications. It’s going to be a step-by-step process, and I don’t expect instant success. But I’ll do whatever it takes to get there. That’s the plan."
Marhal has a few Milwaukee
contacts in New York, which she will be tapping into during her search
for work.
Making a few trips across the country and abroad by herself helped increase Marhal’s confidence to make the move – one she believed she needed to make sooner rather than later.
"There’s lots of ways to procrastinate or talk yourself out of it," she said. "But things like this are doable. Any big decision is like a series of little decisions or little moves. And there’s no reason not to do it if you really want something."
Although she really wants to have a career as a standup comic, Marhal said she thinks she’ll stay in New York even if that career doesn’t work out.
"Standup is the ultimate goal," she said. "But I think I’ll stay in New York. I’ve always wanted to live there."
Marhal also said she learned a lot about the construction industry while working at C.G. Schmidt.
"They’ve all been very supportive, and C.G. Schmidt was a great company to work for," she said. "I’ll always be appreciative."
May 13, 2005, Small Business Times, Milwaukee, WI
