December 2020: Farewell

Posted on by Ciara Pressler
Fancy Orange Flowers - Katie Buckman

The general sentiment seems to be that 2020 can’t end quickly enough. All of us have been affected by the pandemic. Depending on where you live, your year may have also included lockdowns, wildfires, protests, counterprotests, election mayhem, and/or general agitation permeating the population. Even if we haven’t become sick, we’ve been physically affected and restricted this year. And it’s certainly created new, added pressure on our mental and emotional states. I’ve noticed friends and family putting up Christmas decorations weeks earlier than usual; it’s as if leaning into the holiday season will get us past the struggles of this year that much […]

November 2020: Stick or Quit?

Posted on by Ciara Pressler
Cosmos, Acrylic on Canvas, 48 x 36

Do you know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em? Perseverance is celebrated as a strength, as it should be. Sticking through hard times isn’t easy, and is often the make-or-break factor in pushing through to success. However, sometimes quitting is for winners. Staying in something too long when it isn’t serving you, others, or the world at large is not strength; it’s distraction. It’s a misuse of attention that could be better spent on moving forward in a better direction. We all have that friend who stayed in their relationship too long when all the signs were […]

October 2020: Bold Moves

Posted on by Ciara Pressler
Turbulence, 2010 Acrylic on Canvas 22_ x 30_ $1650

Pregame players don’t sit on the sidelines. You’re here because you’re all about big ideas. And the actualization of big ideas requires nothing less than bold moves. When my little brother was in his early-20’s heyday, he had a friend nicknamed Bold Dave. I thought this was hilarious and asked where he got the name. The explanation: “Because he’s always making bold moves.” While Dave’s bold moves may have been about [moves removed to protect Dave’s reputation], his moniker stuck with me. I tend to hesitate, trying to make the “perfect” decision, but when I look back on my life, the […]

July 2020: Awakening

Posted on by Ciara Pressler
never waste a good crisis

And then suddenly, everyone woke up. Well, not everyone. And not fully awake. But no one can deny that the past month has seen a remarkable wave of increased awareness in America about the perpetual problem of racism, and how society cannot be healthy when we insist on viewing ourselves as individuals whose actions and worldview don’t affect anyone rather than part of a system where everything is connected. To me, waking up is the point. It’s the process. As in, THE process. The purpose of life. To be continually evolving, learning, growing, connecting. It’s difficult because there is no finish […]

An American Intervention

Posted on by Ciara Pressler
whitney plantation

Photo: The author inside a human cage at The Whitney Plantation, the only American plantation restored to honor the memory and plight of enslaved African people. Welcome to the week of waking up. I am watching the stream of Official Statements from various organizations from the back of the room, leaning against the wall with my arms crossed, side of my mouth turned up and brow furrowed. This week of black squares on social media has been what the rainbow logo is to Pride week: easy, convenient, trendy. Meaningless unless followed by tangible, measurable action. Businesses that declare support for […]

Steve Potestio on Who’s Hiring, Staying Relevant, and Putting In the Work

Posted on by Pregame Magazine
Steve Potestio

In The Interview: Episode #07, Ciara Pressler interviews Steve Potestio, co-founder and CEO of Mathys+Potestio. Steve and Ciara talk about… Staying active throughout a job search How working remotely has forced companies and employees to be much more flexible Shifting away from finding localized talent with a generalized move towards remote office environments Staying relevant in the job market How to run a chill business with a positive team culture Steve Potestio is a co-founder and CEO of Mathys+Potestio, Oregon’s largest recruitment firm for the creative/digital industries. In 2019, M+P was recognized as one of the fastest growing staffing firms […]

Join Pregame: Virtual Membership Now Open!

Posted on by Pregame Magazine
Pregame Virtual Workout

Pregame is all about helping you achieve your goals with the support of a team. We’re excited to open Pregame Membership to players everywhere. [learn more] Virtual membership has always been part of our long term game plan, but thanks to the coronavirus, we stepped up and moved everything online overnight. The silver lining? Now we can welcome you to our team, no matter where you are. For the past four years (plus five years of events before that), we’ve exclusively held our daily workshops in person. Nothing matches the magic of live interaction… or so we thought. It turns […]

A God of My Own Understanding

Posted on by Heidi Busche
In Time It Will All Make Sense

As a teenager, I felt like I had tried religion and found it wanting. I couldn’t square what I saw as hypocrisy with a message of unconditional love. I didn’t have the finesse to separate the humans practicing religion from the spiritual messaging that was at its core. As soon as my parents no longer required my attendance at the First Presbyterian Church of Davenport, I split. Spiritually, I wandered. Practically, I became self-reliant. I began to believe that no one could be relied upon except myself. Until. I hit rock bottom. And I came to a place where I […]

The Courage to Interrupt

Posted on by Michael Roderick
Pregame Group Action 7-13-39

In many of the interviews I do, I like to discuss the idea of turning points in people’s lives and the moment that things really changed for them. And of course, in my own life, I have many of those stories, but the one that came to mind recently was how I ended up getting started in producing and in a room with Broadway producers. Back when I was teaching, I was producing small shows at the Off-Off-Broadway level and used certain venues often. There was one venue that housed multiple theatres and I got to know the manager of […]

October 2019: Approaching Politics

Posted on by Ciara Pressler
Ciara PreGame Portland Oregon

Even though we’re over a year out from the next U.S. presidential election, we’re already inundated with reports of candidates, campaigns, and controversy. We’ve barely had a breather, and here we are avoiding the 24-hour news cycle again like it’s November 2016. Even if we can find a way to opt out of the minute-by-minute ticker tape of speculation and developments, to live in a society is to deal with politics. We each decide on a level of participation on the political spectrum, from habits of avoidance to a lifetime of public service. Eventually, politics demand interaction, if not on voting […]