Karen Fitzgerald has been an actress and singer for twenty five years. Her tale of reinvention includes launching her own company, Flying Free Productions and adding writer to her list of credits. Six years ago she left the New England suburbs for the island of Manhattan to begin her life anew after a twenty five year marriage. I had the pleasure of seeing Karen perform her one woman show Hot Mama Mahatma at the Midtown International Theater Festival on Tuesday. We caught up after the show and I got to ask her some questions about her reinvention journey.
Did you choose reinvention or did it choose you?
I have been reinventing my whole life. I was born to reinvent, literally. November 2 is astrologically the day of transformation. But the defining event in this reinvention was my divorce. I had a lot of fear at that point. As I talk about in my show, I did alot of prayer, a lot of journaling. I found the quieter I got, the more my own intuition kicked in. First it said sell your house, then it said you would move someplace bigger. I got an invitation to a birthday party in NYC just around the time I needed to decide where I would move to. Turns out I was staying in the apartment across the hall from where I now live! The woman who lived here just happened to be at that party and her move coincided with my need for a new residence. Things like that happen to me all the time.
Where did you get the idea for your scripts?
The quieter I got the louder my inner voice got. It said write, the film script, the TV pilot and of course Hot Mama Mahatma which is my story, or as I like to say, Eat Pray Love, run amok!
Has your past experience prepared you for this?
Everything I have ever done is tied to my writing. My acting gave me a sense of story sequence. Both shows have to do with recovery. I was nineteen when I took my father to AA. I believe that when you get to your destiny you start to see how everything you have ever done before is linked. Life is like a tapestry. You look at the backside and it is a mess, odd colors, totally random strings, all chaotic, makes no sense. Then you turn it over and see this beautiful design, all planned, every color and every string woven perfectly to create this intricate, beautiful image, your life!
What has been the biggest surprise?
I think in one of your blogs you wrote that magic is underrated. Magic for me is really miracles. I used to worry all the time, but prayer showed me how to surrender. And when I learned how to do that one miracle after another unfolded.
What has been the biggest obstacle?
To remember to pay attention and notice the guidance when it shows up.
What has come the easiest?
To do the work, take the actions. Learning to release the worry and learning to trust.
Do you have any regrets?
I sometimes wish I had been wilder when I was younger but then I see that is what propels me forward now.
What do you love the most?
I love transformation. I like watching other people get there. That is why I wrote this show. I have also been a keynote motivational speaker. I like showing people that if I can do this, then you can too.
Besides that I love my children Chris and Lauren the most.
What do you miss the most?
My life now is amorphous. Then it was more structured, there was an expectation that each day would be the same in a good way, a comfort in the perceived stability. Now I feel like I am walking on trust. I think it was Edwene Gaines who said you walk out on a branch and you hope the tree is going to grow under you.
What advice would you give others shaking up their lives?
To do it!. Get really quiet whether through prayer, meditation, reading, journaling, whatever works for you. Ask for guidance and then listen for the answers. And seek out support.
You can follow Karen Fitzgerald on Facebook
Tickets are still available to see Hot Mama Mahatma! this Saturday July 24 @2:30
and Sunday July 25 @7. For tickets https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/756855
I highly recommend it! It is laugh out loud funny, and it will also make you pause and get quiet for a little bit, just in case you’re planning on doing some reinvention soon!
I so enjoyed reading this interview as I saw Karen;s performance on tuesday night. I think the photograph of her sums it all up…she is one of the most vibrant, fun, funny woman. She is celebrating herself and all that life has to offer.
Tara Dixon
Wish I could see her…she sounds amazing. Alas, I will not be in NYC this weekend.