A huge thing happened this past weekend.…Can you guess what it is?Also, #sparkleshoes.
Also, #parkinggarageglam.
YOU GUYS.
DANI
I
GRADUATED
FROM
THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
WITH HER MASTERS OF FINE ARTS DEGREE
IN ACTING
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As if that wasn’t enough to impress you, Dani was also chosen to be the class speaker,
Note the kiss mark.
in which she delivered a soul-igniting speech to a packed Bing Theatre,
Blurry because of my tear – soaked eyes.
that of course moved me (and everyone else in the house) to tears.
And even though the wizard hood took a couple of tries,and required a of couple gentleman (of the finest quality),Dani remained regal, majestic, and wizardly.And although the choice of celebratory alcohol thrust D into making a gut-wrenchinly difficult decision under a lot of pressure,she made an informed life choice and STUCK WITH IT (like a ADULT).
She chose: ALL of the alcahol.
And even when some random street urchin crashed Dani’s nice graduation family brunch,
I am very happy with my new mom and dad. I hope this is my new forever home.
She did not turn the urchin away, NAY, she took said street urchin out of the harsh, harsh LA cold and to a very fancy commencement celebration in which Street Urchin forgot to wear nice clothes. And Dani and her sweet Gentleman loved Vagabond Street Youth anyway.
“I can still be seen with you?! THANKS GUYS!!!”
Ah, yes, The Big Three:
1.) Staying regal, majestic and wizardly in times of struggle.
2.) Making an informed adult decision and following through with that decision.
3.) Taking in street urchins out of the cold and not shaming them for their choice of beany and Grand Prix checkered outfit (The “You made it to the finish line!” grad theme did not quite work in hindsight…).
THIS is what a beautiful, talented, well – equipped, successful artist, human, and scholar looks like.And I am so, so proud.I remember the day Dani told me she was going to start applying to MFA programs and I remember the night in our Logus Apartment in Portland, OR when Dani made the decision to say yes to USC. This decision changed the course of both of our lives forever.
Dani, you are the reason I am physically in LA. You gave me the courage to to do this: to move here and to call this crazy place home. I learn from you everyday, am inspired by you everyday, and am constantly anchored by your strength and friendship. I am so, so proud of you. My dear North Star, you have helped me make incredible life discoveries by trusting your gut and believing in mine. I am so honored to call you my best friend. I cannot wait to (continue to) see what badass shit you create in this world.
And now, I will leave with a final little nugget of crazy, a “slice of life”, if you will:
“An MFA Prepares (at 3am the night / morning of her party hardy grad party):
That’s muh girl.
Congratulations, my Dani. I love you sweet sister.All my love,
…Well, I suppose that TECHNICALLY this is my 29th trip around the sun, but Earth Culture assures me that I am 28 years of age. My Saturn is returning. And all that stuff. Planetary.Thank you, Neil.
And now, today, on this, the 4th Day of the Month of May (it rhymes!), about 7 weeks after my actual, special Friday-the-13th birthday (whoops), and about 970 weeks since my last post (sorry), here are a few things to catch you up on in the incredibly not-boring goings-on of my life:
1.) I’ve got Homes in Different Zip Codes.
My dear friendThe Suz gave me this beautiful plant, which I affectionately named Nan, to anchor me wherever I stay.
Read as: “Vagabond”.
I currently reside in Park La Brea, Altadena and Echo Park (I promise you I am not joking), with pit-stops in places like Culver City, Silverlake, and Hancock Park in between. What can I say? My sterling house-sitting reputation precedes me. As a wandering artist subletting her room, I am not complaining.
2.) Continuing on with the vagabond theme: I’ve been on more airplanes this year than ever. (And I hate flying.)
Who AM I even?! This is how I fly now. I am a monster.
… I think I’m getting better at the whole flying thing, though. I’ve got a supplement-popping, face-covering, booze-in-flight drinking system that works for me, so don’t worry about it.
3.)Birds of Neptune is majorly making its presence known in the festival circuit this year after its smashing world premiere at Slamdance Film Fest in January.
Up next on the festival trail? Mammoth Lakes Film Festat the end of the May. Hopefully you’ll be seeing me all over the globe promoting this film. This is just the beginning! 😀
So, basically — Two Evil Actors, the Content Creators, are stampeding your way SOON, betch!! Mark my words! FEAR US!
What’s not to love?
But really though. You want this.
8.) I am writing a lot of music these days. I hope to record my stuff later this year, so I will keep you posted on that. All of this material is all super personal to me so it is SCAAAAARY. Which obviously means that I have to do it.9.) Speaking of recording music, I had the opportunity to record music with my very talented brother for the first time in March.I was lucky enough to be in Seattle for an audition when my brother Nate and my cousin Cameron were recording the first EP for Nate’s music duo, NW Passage. (Think of Nate Harris as the Ryan Lewis to NW Passage’s Macklemore. He is a genius.) They asked me to record vocals on some of the tracks. It was SO fun.
In studio with my cuz Cameron, sound engineer extraordinaire, and musical genius, my bro, Nate.
Look! Cute photos of me and bro in the studio!
Nate being annoyed of my Genius.
Me being annoyed of Nate’s Genius.
10.) STILL speaking of recording music– I have finished recording basic vocals for the first No Vanquished album! It won’t be long now ’til we release and UNLEASH this music into the world!
11.) I am in love with Los Angeles,but Portland has my heart.
Short and sweet and sad, it hurts me a bit to come back to Portland now. It confuses me and makes me wonder where I am supposed to be. I don’t think it will always be that way, but…. what is it they say in that one song?
Yeah, something like that.
Anyway. My heart is in Portland. Y’all knew that.
13.) Surprise, Mom! I got a new tattoo. I was born ass-first on Friday the 13th (it ALL makes sense now, right?!) and my birthday happened to fall on Friday the 13th this year. So, naturally, I needed to get a Friday the 13th tattoo.
I also got this tatted across my back. Kidding. Not kidding. Wait what?
I must note that Dani and our good friend and housemate Raisa got Friday the 13th tatts that day as well. Because we are part of a gang.
14.) I am officially theUSC MFA program’s biggest stage-mom. I could not be more proud of my Dani, who recently completed her THREE SHOW REP (AND NY & LA Showcase!), each of which, I saw two times. Trust me, I would have seen these shows every night they were running if I could clone myself. This girl inspires me everyday. True to her nature and talent, Dani killed it in each show with every character she lived in, but her portrayal of Nina in The Seagull especially took my breath away.
Nina is SUCH a difficult role to nail, you guys, and it takes a REALLY gifted, insightful, brave, and effective actor to be able to play the arc of this role. It was one of the most incredible performances onstage I have ever seen and I wish I could show each and every one of you her incredible work. I feel stupid even talking about it because I can’t quite find the words to quite articulate how much I look up to my best friend and how proud of her I am.
So, I’ll just dumb-it down by saying: “YOU ARE AMAZING,DANI!!”
My little DaniBird. D in USC’s production of “The Seagull”.
I tend to look more legit when at parties I ninja into. Also, my mom took one look at this photo and told me I had Drunk Eyes. Thanks Mom. Pictured: EP Sam Eather of Aussie film “Love Is Now” (look it up).
I drank a lot and ate a lot and consumed 7 s’mores at one event and had a very nice time, thank you.
Also, I felt fancy.
16.) I am really itching to travel. I hope that the stars align to grant me an international trip (or five) this year. I think the odds may be in my favor.
(Come on, come oonnnnn Birds of Neptune International Premiere..!!)
Yeah. You like what I did there??
17.) I’ve decided that I really want a pet but am truly TOO VAGABONDY and poor to be a good dog or cat mom (see #1 & #2 above).
See?! I’m even in my car in this pic! I am never NOT DRIVING.
18.) SO I’ve made many new dog friends around town. (Also my ulterior motive for all of the house-sitting I do.)
dog spoon > every boyfriend, ever. Sorry.
WOAAA PUGGLE
19.) AND I’ve made many new cat friends around town.20.) I’ve discovered that the older I get, the more I dress like a child.
Do I ever wear NOT animal prints?
Pretty sure I had this same outfit at 4 years old.
21.) Okay… uhh.. god… thinking of 28 things is actually pretty hard… let’s see, um.. ….I’ve been eating a LOT of pizza lately? Like, a lot?
…surprise, surprise, in airports, too, people.
22.) Ummm… it rained in LA a lot this past month? And that was weird?23.) I don’t know why I am ending things in question marks all of a sudden? 24.) Maybe because I’m avoiding big parts of my life?
(c) Allie Brosh, my spirit animal
(c) Allie Brosh, my spirit animal
25.) Okay, let’s get real here for a second. Because 2EA believes in that shit.
Also, we are a meme. So automatically anything we say is awesome.
After all, we are real humans with real feelings.
(c) Allie Brosh, my spirit animal
So… sigh. Okay.
Though the external evidence of this post may suggest otherwise, I have a pretty sad heart right now. For the first time in, well, ever, I am unclear of what is next. My internal compass, which is usually pretty strong, is not so strong right now. I don’t know what it’s supposed to mean or what I am supposed to do. I feel sad and scared and slightly stupid. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain and weird to talk about. Depression has been a thing. Top Tier / Grade A / Boss-Level Heartbreak has been a thing. Crippling anxiety spiral has been a thing.
And yet, here I am. Still bravely loving, still going hard at my dream, still refusing the conventional day job…
I am doing my best. I know that one day I’ll crack the happy code. One day I won’t feel so misplaced and scattered and alone-on-an-island-y.
Thank you, Good Portland Omen.
Luckily, I have learned more about myself and what I truly want out of life during these weird heart times. I’ve had to make some really hard decisions, decisions that more often than not have left me with the exact opposite outcome of what I thought I wanted, and through this, I am learning to trust. I am learning to trust my instincts and the order of the Universe. I am learning to breathe into my decisions and into my follow-through. To tell those I love that I love them. To not expect anything back. To be vulnerable. To be a voice of reason. To be a hard-ass. To be a softy. To be what I need for myself in this moment. To acknowledge that no one and nothing is forever, yet allow myself to take comfort in the feeling that some people and some things never truly leave.
Perhaps knowing what I want has somehow made the path I travel seem more indirect or treacherous. Maybe I’ve finally realized the true challenge of committing myself 100% to living the life I want. This is not a life of allowing cop-outs and stifling my feelings and feeling obligated and beating myself up. I realize now that there is nothing more challenging (and more important) than taking care of myself and taking care of my sweet dear heart in the same way that I wish to take care of those I love. It’s no easy thing.
And let’s be real, being a human is just fucking hard.
(c) Allie Brosh, my spirit animal
26.) I’ve also had the feeling that this year may be the kick-off to some very important self-discovery:
I’ve discovered that I feel the most myself when I am on the move. In transit. Exploring. Adventuring. Wandering (I’m sure you’ve picked up that vibe in this post so far). This is also when I feel the most lonely.
There is still so much to discover within myself and sometimes (most of the time) that internal terrain is so rocky. I cry every time I am in an airport. Every. TIME. It’s an odd feeling: always leaving the ones I love, always coming back, this weird ping-pong sensation — but there is truly no feeling that compares to the huge hug feeling from a loved one upon arrival or departure — that pure happycryjoy or happycrylonging –that is the shit that makes me feel alive.
27.) I have the very best friends in the world.
Sweet sweet incredible Dani threw me a surprise party the night of my birthday in March and I seriously had no idea. I felt so loved.
My sisters. Dani and The Suz.
Joy.
Class Photo: The Current and Former Residents of the PRL. Missing: Aussie Michael and Electric Grandma Lucia Babe. And Napoleon the Pomeranian.
28.) Let me say it again: I have the very best friends in the world. We build slip-n-slides in our backyard out of trash bags, tarp, and baby oil.
Dani and I engaging in a little bit of competitive Slip-n-Slide drag racing. NBD.
TRIMUMPH. You put up a good fight, D.
In closing, so far, 28 is looking like this:A little bit scary. A lotta bit fun. I may accidentally sprain an ankle trying to get a running start down that Big Slippery Blue Tarp of Life, or belly flop in a way that fucking HURTS and knocks the wind out of me, and I may cry about it for a while, or curl up in the fetal position for a sec, but I will always get up.
And, let’s just call it like we see it, folks:Really. I don’t even take that shit off for slip-n-slides.
Thank you for reading, friends. And for your love and support in my life. You keep me going. ❤
I need to publically proclaim my unconditional, undying love for the incredible Dani Larson. Dani is my best friend, my sister, the co-author of this blog, and the woman of my heart! We may get married someday, who knows. She is my soul mate. Just saying. So step off, biatches!!
And I am just gushing with love for her on this fine day, her BIRTHDAY!! Please join me in wishing this very special human the most amazing birthday ever!!
Dani, you mean the world to me. I would not be the person I am today without your influence in my life. I am humbled and made giddy by your presence in my life daily. Thank you for being fucking AWESOME.
So! Today! You MUST:
and
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY DANI GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All of my love, forever & ever,
~your britt (and the WHOLE Internet world who is voyeuristically tuning into this post right now)
Actually, this was us this past week in sunny, sunny Los Angeles:
dani, britt, & the fucking OCEAN.
As was this:
move along, people, there’s nothing to see here.
We had way too much fun you guys. I can’t even wrap my head around it. I was trying to remember everything we did and I couldn’t.
Me neither. My four days with Dani were pure magic. A magical, glittery blur.
We may have even had some experiences that too closely resembled The Hangover Part 4,but I’m not permitted to talk about that.
I was so caught up in talking incessantly with my Britt and laughing my ass off and wrapping up my first year of M-F-Acting Grad School that I pretty much failed to capture any of this on camera to share with y’all. But here are some highlights!
And don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of relevant pop-culture GIFs to take the place of otherwise documenting our zany adventures. We got ya covered.
1. Mother’s day brunch at Venice Beach with my Momma! My parents were in LA to catch my performances of Don Quixote, so we had the joy of eating Mother’s Day brunch at Figtree’s Cafe and I am 99% positive that everyone who saw us assumed we were twins. NBD.
WHO IS WHO?! I HAVE NO IDEA.
2. Britt invades USC!! I took Brittto campus to see the last of the culmination performances of this semester, and once again tricked everyone into thinking we were related. In all seriousness, we want a nickel each for every time someone says, “Oh my God, you two look SO MUCH alike!” We would be MILLIONAIRES. It’s awesome. I like to think of it as external proof that we are soul-sistas.
USC takeova.
And I would cash in my tens of millions of nickels to buy laser cats.
Holy CRAP though. It was an honor to watch the first and second year MFA students’ final performance work this week. There are some talented fucking actors in this program. I want to shower them all in love and praise!
MFA first years
MFA second years
Whether Dani (and USC, for that matter) likes it or not, I will ninja into being the eleventh member of their MFA class. Or, at the very least, I’ll be everyone’s favorite stage-mom.
3. Britt reunites with old friends! Not only did Britt reunite with yours truly, she got to see some old friends from years past! Highlights include…
Mikey Thomsen. ERS Manager at Deloitte and soon to be MBA badass at NYU.
Avital Shira. Portland-based, Work-In-Every-Major-City Theatre Goddess and all around Badass.
Hillary Burrelle, third-year law student at Loyola Law and future Queen of the World
4. We discovered these amazing smoothies at Urth Caffe, thanks to the lovely Hillary Burrelle, and had them three times in the four days that Britt was here.
Seriously, you guys. These smoothies are crack and I am already having withdrawals from the sub-par smoothies in Portland.
5. We went to the ocean! Here is Britt conquering Mother Nature at Playa del Rey.
And here is Dani conquering a sand-cliff. Don’t mess.
6. Dani and Britt jam!!
Dani captured in a moment of music serenity.
When we live together down in LA LA Land, we are going to have the most musical house on the block. I wish I had room on my carry-on to travel with my new ukulele, cause you know that shit would have gotten CRAZY. We’re about to have some dueling Lady Gaga guitar/uke times, just you wait.
I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to have my bestie with me in Los Angeles. She seemed so at home here, and it was definitely living proof that in about four months, Britt will be conquering the whole damn city of Los Angeles. I’ll let Britt speak for herself, but post-reunion, I am feeling ready to take on India and come back to the City of Angels to continue the world takeover by Two Evil Actors.
Any fear or second-guessing I had about making making the move to Los Angeles dissipated when Dani and her parents picked me up at the LAX airport. The whole trip filled my soul and gave me energy. Thinking of my imminent move makes my chest vibrate with excitement… and I came back to Portland feeling rejuvenated and ready to work hard to prepare for this relocation.
I know that this new adventure will in many ways be stressful and sloppy and LOUD, but I truly do not know if I have ever looked forward to something so much in my life.
So watch out world, cause this Two Evil Actors reunion is about to become a permanent thing.
…Can you guess what it is? 
Also, #sparkleshoes.
and required a of couple gentleman (of the finest quality), 
Dani remained regal, majestic, and wizardly. 
And although the choice of celebratory alcohol thrust D into making a gut-wrenchinly difficult decision under a lot of pressure, 
she made an informed life choice and STUCK WITH IT (like a ADULT). 
And I am so, so proud. 
I remember the day Dani told me she was going to start applying to MFA programs and I remember the night in our Logus Apartment in Portland, OR when Dani made the decision to say yes to USC. This decision changed the course of both of our lives forever.
All my love,
two evil actors 
