britt talks scrappy living

My call time got pushed back after I had arrived on set for Birds of Neptune the other day, so I decided to enjoy some quality me-time at a neighborhood coffeeshop on Hawthorne. I was so happy to have time to breathe. I felt sleep-deprived and displaced as I had been couch-surfing and working 12+ hour days the past week (you know I love it). I went up to the bar to order a latte’ and ran my fingers through my new blue hair. I was feeling especially gritty that morning since I had not been through hair & make-up on set yet and was wearing the same outfit for the third day in a row. I tried my best to shake out my bed-head to look somewhat presentable in public. I removed what I thought was a small rock from my nest of hair and jumped back when I realized the small rock was actually a not-so-small-beetle.

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Yup, I had a beetle in my hair.  No big deal. Nothing to see here, people, just a transient chick with an ant farm for a hair-do. Please proceed with your NOT-watching-Britt-be-weird/gross/awkward-activites, thanks.

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I played it cool though, hoping no one would notice as I nonchalantly removed the insect from my hair and placed it on the ground. I saw a lady staring at me from across the room with a concerned look on her face. Goddamnit. She approached me and said, “Excuse me, but do you know that you have a post-it note stuck on your back?”

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Ah. Right you are, you observant Cafe Angel, saving me from myself.

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Now watch Britt as she once-again nonchalantly addresses her disheveled-ness in public by responding: 

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“Oh, yeaahhh. Thanks! Yeah. I stayed at my friend Molly’s house last night and she left me this really sweet note in the morning and it must have fallen from the door and onto the pile of clothes on the floor …. I have been wearing the same outfit for the past three days, so that’s why… nevermind, long story… thanks though! I was looking for that note.”

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Good save, Britt. You successfully made yourself appear like a high-functioning citizen of society.

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Ahhh my dear Mol. 😀 Molly is my amazing friend who plays my sister in the film I am working on. I think she is my long-lost sister in real life. Either my mom got rid of her (rude) or her mom got rid of me (understandable).

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This is my Molly:

And if you cannot tell us apart, I am the weird one eating her hair. NOMZ.

And this is her sweet note:

I have the best Screen Sister ever.

..Which ended up on my back.
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I spent nearly every night this week staying at Mol’s place. It was the best.

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And on that note, I gotta call it out: I may seem these days like a bit of a wanderer, or even a scavenger, perhaps. But I prefer to label my current self and lifestyle as… “resourceful”. That’s right people. Let’s talk about Britt’s Anthem of Scrappy Living 2013.

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In the whirlwind of exciting events that have occurred over the past few months, here is a glimpse into my crazy brain and poor-person problem solving:

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~”I smashed my iPhone screen to the point where I can barely type or interpret texts? Whatever, this new “spiderweb filter “is totally rad! Why would you want to spend $150 to fix THAT?!”

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~”I’m out of TP? No worries! I’ll use these coffee filters instead! I have a shit*-ton of those!” (*pun intended)

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~”I’ve lived in my brother’s basement for a month and he still hasn’t reattached the door to my room because he is using it as a beer-pong table?! It’s cool, I’ll use this gold curtain as a door instead!!”

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~” Oh darn, I’m outta shampoo?! Ah well, I’ll choose from this assortment of Old Spice* shampoo and smell like middle school boy all day! (*Remember, I am living with four college boys now)

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~” AGHH my college boy housemates are partying until 4am on a Tuesday* and I have an audition early tomorrow morning?!  And for some reason they are throwing chairs across the room upstairs and making blueberry pancakes..?! Not even a problem,  I will just crank my music up to the max on my iPod and cry into my shark pillow!!” (*Remember, I have a “sound proof curtain” for a door)

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~”Ah man! I am so exhausted in between jobs and rehearsals and need a nap before the next thing on the agenda but don’t want to waste gas to drive back home to North Portland… I know! I’ll take a nap on the couch in the rehearsal room at my theatre company because the building is so centrally located!! That’s why I have keys to everything, right?!”

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~”I need new clothes but have no cash. Not a problem! I get half of my wardrobe from the free-pile at Suzzane’s (my old) apartment complex!! Thank goodness skinny PDX hipsters go through their neon V-necks and skinny jeans so fast! I am a genius!!”

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Problem solving on the cheap, people.. it’s my thing. Scrappy living, baby… scrappy living.

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And speaking of scrappy living, do you know what the exact opposite of scrappy living is?! Starring in a MOVIE! Let’s catch up about what has gone down in my life this week! 😀

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My Week

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At 4:30am this past Saturday, we wrapped Week One of principal photography for Birds of Neptune.

Sisters Rachel & Mona
(c) Reverie Films, 2013

It was an exhausting and rewarding four days (I had Tuesday off…mwaaHA!). The last working day of the week is what the crew was calling a “Fraterday”– where the Friday work day (which started at 2pm that day) ends in the wee hours of the Saturday morning (4:30am). Let’s just say I hibernated this weekend to keep the ‘ol immune system happy. (Oh and thanks a lot for the time change this weekend, Benjamin Franklin… ya fucking asshole. I know we all could have used that extra hour.)

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Working on BON is incredible and I feel so lucky to be a part of this project and to be working with so many talented people. I am still processing a lot of what this first week had to offer and prepping for what the next two and a half weeks will need. I could talk about this experience for hours and also be at a loss for words at how to describe it at the same time. I cannot wait to get started on Week Two.

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This past week also brought my first commercial audition with blue hair. I called my agent to tell her it probably wouldn’t be “very commercial” for me to go in with blue hair, and perhaps I should sit this one out. “Just GO IN and PULL YOUR HAIR BACK!!” says agent. Noted. You genius, genius agent, you.

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…I think it went well.

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Onward!

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Oh! And hey Dani… this scrappy chick can’t wait to move into your basement in sunny LA LA Land.

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Watch out.

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Thank you for reading, my friends!

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~britt

britt talks 6 months

No, I’m not having a baby.

Okay, well maybe my career baby. I’M HAVING MY CAREER BABY.

Let me explain.

I was realizing while talking to Dani on the phone two days ago that in exactly 6 months time, I will be a resident of Los Angeles. It hit me then how rapidly time is moving and that… yes… holy SHIT, I’m doing this!! I’m moving to LA!!

Here are some things I want to accomplish in the next 6 months:

~Have at least four months of Silverlake rent in the bank (I am almost half way to that goal already, wutuuup?!).

~Schedule meetings with potential theatrical agents (perhaps fly down a month before I move for meetings?).

~Have a job lined up in Silverlake/Echo Park area (or a job that I can do remotely).

~Record an album with my brother.

~Have the ultimate Portland summer filled with food carts, Forest Park hikes, SE Portland esplanade runs, The Big Float, binge on Voodoo Doughnuts and Lonesome’s Pizza, and just like… have the city of Portland barf all over my face. Perhaps I’ll even throw the Naked Bike Ride in there. I want to OD on Portland before I leave.

Also–true to Britt and Dani fashion these days–I am posting my weekly post a day late again. DEAL WITH IT.

…Exactly.

(Also, can I say on a side note how much I LOVE the show Girls?! Lena Dunham is a genius and I want to hang out with her. Lena, please contact me so we can be friends and make sweet sweet art love together. Thank you.)

Anywhoo. This is what has been keeping me busy the past seven days:

My Week:

As you may recall from my last post, last Monday was my last official day at my day job until after the film wraps (so… five weeks from now). This is the first time I have taken a hiatus like this and I sure hope I will have a job to return to afterwards…!! LEAP OF FAITH LEAP OF FAITH. !!

But umm.. helloooo dear Britt… you are now transitioning into a new way of life. How awesome is that? At this point in my life, about 50% of my income is from acting or other creative work. Holy crap I have come a looonnng way! And I am going to continue in this direction, damn it. I hope this good fortune continues (and if my dear friend Susan Miller is right, it WILL). I am equal parts excited and scared at all times these days.

In my time away from the office this week, I prepped for Birds of Neptune, stayed up late, slept in, ate well, rehearsed extensively for Crumbs, shattered my iPhone screen, couch-surfed, had a couple emotional meltdowns (I’m a Pisces, don’tworryaboutit), had my parents visit from out-of-town (we had a lovely time), saw a Hey Marseilles show (LOVE those boys), and tried to get my head on straight. It was awesome.

Speaking of Crumbs and my amazingly talented friends Amir Shirazi and Avial Shira, the workshop of the musical sold out for both performances this weekend! Thanks to my wonderful friend Max Maller, we have some photo documentation of this event!

  

That last shot is of Amir, isn’t he sexy?! Seriously. Stop it, Amir (but don’t).

And finally… as everyone scrambled to get the last pieces of the puzzle fitted in time for shooting day one of Birds of Neptune, I got my Rachel hair:

…And I am officially in Birds of Neptune land.

OMG BLUE HAIR!!

OMG 6 MONTHS TIL LA!!

OMG I LOVE YOU GUYS!!

For real,

~britt