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

britt talks not enough time

So yeah, for those of you following along at home, I missed my weekly (Monday) post this week…whoopsie! Better a day late than never, right?

Just as Dani described in her last post of feeling upside-down (both metaphorically and literally, the yoga-genius), I too feel as though my whole life has been turned on its head and my concept of time has been thrown out the window. Things in different areas of my life have begun to spin out of control (for better or for worse) and take on a life of their own. Time speeds up and then slows down and then takes off at the speed of light again, hardly allowing me time to catch my breath.

This week, I’ve been experimenting with time. How can I make more time for things that are important to me? For relationships that are important to me? Is “being this busy” making me a selfish person? Sometimes I feel like it. I am so lucky to have so many amazing people in my life who love and support me and I hate feeling that I am neglecting them. Or maybe this is simply The Exhaustion talking, turning me into a stressie-guilt ball that is constantly bouncing off the walls to stay awake. But in a time when things are taking off career-wise, you are expected to answer that call, right? Put everything else on the back-burner? Put some relationships on hold…or get rid of them all together? Brave the change alone? Is that what you are supposed to do? I don’t know.

I have no idea anymore.

Yesterday was my last “official” day of work at my desk job for four weeks (I am an accountant, mind you, so this is a “big deal”). I am taking time off to shoot for the feature film, Birds of Neptune. I’ve never taken a leave of absence from my job like this before, and I must admit–it makes me nervous. If someone can take over my duties for a month, that means I am replaceable… right? Eeep!! Don’t think about it Britt, just take the jump! One day at a time.

One day at a time. That was the name of the game this week. One moment at time. Let’s catch up, shall we?

My Week

I’m pretty sure that I didn’t get a decent night’s sleep (mostly by choice, but let’s also remember that I’m living with four college boys ) all week. But I need to tell you… at this point in time, I wouldn’t change a thing. Sometimes you to push through weeks like this before you are able to see some incredible pay-off.

This week, rehearsals for the workshop of Amir Shirazi’s musical, Crumbs is in full swing with the cast!! How exciting.

This whole process has been truly fascinating. Each evening at rehearsal we have had a revised libretto to go over, new music to learn, and new material to feel out as an actor. It’s like being at theatre camp!! It is so fun. I love being able to see new work take shape and to observe the playwright’s process. I am honored that Amir allows for my input and to be a part of this experience. We are all excited to share this beautiful project with an audience next weekend.

Birds of Neptune begins shooting in six days and we have been working hard this week with rehearsals, photo shoots, costume fittings, music rehearsal/studio sessions, and me trying to learn how to roll my own cigarettes. Bam.

(c) John Campbell w/ Molly Elizabeth Parker

It is exciting to see the designers and crew added into the mix, to see the art department come in and change the interior design of the house/set while we are rehearsing in it… I can feel everyone and everything buzzing with anticipation of its first official shooting day.

I was lucky to get called in to audition for NBC’s Grimm again this week for two different roles. And thanks to some great coaching and a day off of work, I got called back for both roles!! That was an exhausting couple days (I was trying to meet a payroll processing AND audit deadline at my day job at the same time… when it rains it pours, right?). No dice for Grimm yet, but each time in the room is a step forward.

I also had the incredible fortune this week of booking two commercials: one shoot on Wednesday for a South Dakota car dealership with r-west and one shoot on Friday with R2C Group. This gave me some peace of mind money-wise, as I am nervous to leave the stability of my day job… ah, thank you Universe! Just what I needed. And hopefully a good tax return along with that. 🙂

And as I rush to get this post out in-between things today, forgive any typos, poor sentence structure, and/or just flat-out Crazy Person Talk, okay? Thanks friends. Oh, how I love you.

… it’s a working day.

Love,

britt