Pod Insights The Moth The Moth Podcast: Performing in LA and Antarctica About this episode Two stories about performing, from the heart of the entertainment industry to the furthest reaches of the earth. This episode was hosted by Marc Sollinger.
Storytellers:
Darrell Thorne performs on an Antarctic cruise… and encounters some choppy seas.
Brittany Ross moves to LA and becomes an in-demand party princess.
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2:00 Speaker 02 Welcome to The Moth. I'm Mark Sollinger, and on this episode, we've got two stories about performing, from the heart of the entertainment industry to the furthest reaches of the earth. We'll start in one of the most remote parts of the globe with Daryl Thorne. He told this at a New York City Story Slam where the theme of the night was nine to five. Here's Daryl, live at The Moth.
2:27 Speaker 03 It's March 19th, 2022. It's 11 o'clock in the morning. I'm nine feet tall and covered in 2,000 mirrors, top to bottom. On my feet are stilts, brand new, that I've never worn before. On my head is a mirrored globe with the continents and latitude and longitude lines cut out, I can see through them. On my body is a brand new, custom stilt suit with mirrors that I've had designed. And in my hands are silk chiffon fans, they're about five feet long, a blue and white ombre. And I'm feeling really great and really happy because everything's working well. The stilts are working well, the headpiece is perfectly
3:10 Speaker 03 in place, and I'm able to grip my hands tightly with the fans billowing out behind me. And I'm feeling really secure. I'm having to take really long strides in my stilts because I'm trudging through snow. And the hardest part of all is this ferocious wind that is blasting into my face because I'm walking across the top of a glacier in Antarctica. So four months earlier, I get the call from a client, and they say, "Do you want to go on this perform with us on the expedition cruise to Antarctica for 10 days?" And at this point, I've been working for myself as a performance artist and costume designer for about eight years, but this is definitely the most exciting thing that's happened to
3:53 Speaker 03 date. So I'm like, really thrilled, but also I feel this sinking cessation in my stomach because I realize this is going to be very difficult for me. I'm someone who has always been risk averse, and I describe myself as, you know, having a Very high self-preservation instinct. But really, it just means that there's a lot of fear. Flying, turbulence, like the slightest bump, I'm thrown into a panic. My palms start sweating, as they are now. I feel lightheaded and, you know, I have other fears as well. Strange dogs, undercooked chicken,
4:33 Speaker 03 roller coasters, elevators, choking on a bay leaf. There are many things. And basically, anything that makes me feel there may be a risk, I tend to shy away from. So I had certainly shied away from any gigs on a cruise ship. The idea of being on a boat tossed around in the ocean, it was not for me. But I thought, you know, this is amazing. And who knows, maybe the waters aren't so bad down in the south. So I go to a meeting with this client. First meeting, we're laying out the performances, he's explaining the themes, etc. And I notice there's four days on the calendar where there's nothing scheduled. And he says, "I might as well tell you, that's when we're going through the Drake Passage. Those are the stormiest waters in the world. Thirty to sixty-foot waves, and it lasts for thirty-six hours."
5:16 Speaker 03 So my heart sank, my stomach flipped, my palms immediately began sweating, and I just was filled with terror instantly. And he saw that in my face, apparently. He said, "It's okay, you know, other people have canceled because of the Drake Passage, so just let us know." So I go home, I'm thinking it over, and I'm just realizing, I have to do this. I can't not do this because of fear. So I'm committed, and basically, I spend the next three months with just this growing pit of dread in my stomach as I'm designing my six new costumes and laying out performances and gathering all the things you need for an expedition to Antarctica. So the day comes, fly to Argentina, board the ship, and the captain comes on and says,
5:59 Speaker 03 "We're delaying for six hours because, apparently, there's a horrifying storm in the Drake Passage." So I'm like, "Okay, this is my worst fear in the moment." And I'm stuck here, there's nothing to be done, so I'm trying to just manage myself. The six hours pass, and we're leaving Argentina, heading into the Drake. And it just so happens that the people who put this cruise together brilliantly... Put a dance party that would coincide with going right into the Drake Passage. They happened to throw a party called Daybreaker and they're masters of these sorts of things. So, I was like dreading this. I heard about the dance party, I'm prepared, and basically that's exactly what happened. We get into the Drake Passage, indeed, these massive waves
6:44 Speaker 03 start coming, the DJs start spinning, and we start dancing. And it is like the most incredible, leaping and spinning and twirling and just like you would jump in the air and the floor is either leaving you or it's coming to meet you and you, it's totally unpredictable. And it was like totally thrilling. You felt like a kid on a trampoline and all of this pent up anxiety and dread that I'd had is just being expressed out of my body and it was amazing. And 36 hours in the Drake Passage and indeed, we had 40 knot winds and 20 to 25 foot waves and I was totally fine. I was just like, and even sleeping, you know, the boat is going
7:25 Speaker 03 like this. I thought that was gonna disturb my sleep. I slept like a baby in a cradle. And I woke up the next morning and it's completely still and silent and I opened the windows from the cabin and there's Antarctica in its pristine beauty. We get in the Zodiac, I'm in my stilts suit, I got my stilts, we're going to the landing, there's a glacier. So I've got my stilts put on and someone is holding this hand, someone's holding that hand, and my friend Eli, who's the client, is pushing my ass and I'm climbing up a glacier in Antarctica, wearing 2,000 mirrors and a pair of stilts. And I get to the top and it's like a brilliant sunny day. I can see far into the distance
8:03 Speaker 03 on my stilts and it's the colors and the penguins and the ice and it was the most incredible workday of my life. Thank you.
8:20 Speaker 02 That was Daryl Thorn. Daryl is a New York City-based artist who blends costume design, performance, and storytelling to create immersive, otherworldly performances. Daryl is currently working with former Moth artistic director Catherine Burns to build his first solo show, combining storytelling with his unique visual art, debuting in January 2026. If you'd like to see photos of Daryl performing in Antarctica, and let me tell you, there are some wild costumes, visit themoth.org/extras. Personally, I would sooner step on a molten Lego than get up on stage in front of a crowd. I mean, I can sit in front of a microphone and talk just fine.
9:02 Speaker 02 I'm all right having my voice on a podcast, but seeing an audience? Absolutely not. That is a level of bravery I just do not possess. However, if you are not like me and you do want to get up on stage and tell your tale, you can share your story at one of our story slams. There aren't any in Antarctica yet, but they happen in dozens of cities throughout the US and the world. You can find more info at themoth.org/events. After the break, a story about performing under some completely different circumstances. Be back in a moment.
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11:36 Speaker 02 Welcome back. Brittany Ross told our next story at an LA Story Slam where the theme of the night was anniversary. Here's Brittany, live at the mall.
11:49 Speaker 04 So I moved to LA when I was 21, and I did what every girl who moves out here to act does. Well, first I shredded my college diploma, and then I joined a women's group. It was actresses supporting actresses to become actresses. And there was a girl in the group who had it all. She had just done an episode of Law & Order SVU where she played a very featured dead body, and she owned her own princess party company. And she specialized in high-end LA birthdays. And I was like, okay, this is my chance to perform inside the home of industry power players, people who can make a career.
12:33 Speaker 04 And I was like, I have got to single white female this girl. So I get a job working for her company, which kind of feels like destiny because as a princess, I finally get to use my real voice. And I'm taking this as like a serious acting job, so I study up on all my princess theory. Ariel and Hercules, they're actually cousins.
12:59 Speaker 04 Cinderella wears a size four and a half shoe, which just happens to be exactly the same as me. And my princess boss says I am ready, so I head out into the field and I hold on to my wig, like my acting career depends on it. And I am killing it. Party after party, I am becoming a very in-demand actress. Just a princess. And I am so in it that somehow a year flies by and I get a call from my princess boss. She wants to celebrate my princessiversary. And she wants to talk to me about something. And I'm like, oh, my god, she's probably gonna ask me to be a partner in this company
13:43 Speaker 04 or like CEO, whatever that is. And, um...
13:50 Speaker 04 No, she does want to reward my good work by she's making me a very featured player at the party of the century. It is a Persian christening at the Beverly Hills Four Seasons. And she mentions there will be a lot of Hollywood people there. And guess who I am playing? Yes, a tiny fairy with actual opinions on things. Tinker Bell. I'm like, OK, this is why I got this job. It's my time to shine. And I pull my Honda Civic into the valet line of the Four Seasons. And I get out and I make my way through a sea of party entertainers. There's like Cirque du Soleil people, guys on stilts and like the tiniest fairy in the room. And I find the mother of the bride, I mean, the mother of the baby,
14:35 Speaker 04 the baby, who is dressed in head-to-toe dolce and gabbana. And the mom is like, OK, you will be presenting her to the room in this wheelbarrow covered in roses. And everyone's like, what's the baby's favorite song? Oh, it's Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." Go! And I am now dragging this baby into a room of 500 of her closest friends and family. And as I walk in, I'm like, yeah, I've always wanted to come here, but I thought it would be for like a Emmy party or something where I'd be dressed in, well, probably what that baby's wearing. And I look up, trying to make eye contact with the person ready to give me my big break, but nobody is looking at me. No, they're all looking at this baby. And I look back at this baby too.
15:18 Speaker 04 And I'm like, oh, she has everything I've ever dreamed of.
15:24 Speaker 04 Better clothes, more friends, better taste in music. And I start to realize, like, oh my god. I have wasted a year of my life in actress years that's like nine. And like, what have I been doing? This is not what I moved out here for. Like, I am freaking out on the inside, smiling on the outside. Something I'm really good at because I'm, well, I'm a woman. And um, I look around and I see there is like an E! News reporter guy filming this whole thing and the camera is coming towards me. And I'm like, no, no, no, this is not how I want my big break to go. I do not want to be seen on TV like this.
16:04 Speaker 04 So I just stared directly in the lens to make sure that that shot is unusable. And I excused myself to the bathroom. I'm like, I gotta go, I'll be right back. And I set a timer on my phone for two minutes to cry. And um, I did come up with a really good trick in that moment. If you cry while looking directly at the ground, tears will just fall out of your eyes and hit the floor and you do not have to redo your makeup. And my timer went off and I was like, oh, I have to go back to this party. I don't know, I really don't want to walk back in there. And then I remember my fellow four and a half size shoe, Cinderella.
16:44 Speaker 04 She left the ball early, so I just snuck out of there because there were over 500 people there and nobody was gonna notice. And I did what every good actress does. I went and got a waitress job. Thanks, guys.
17:10 Speaker 02 That was Brittany Ross. Brittany is an LA-based stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. Raised around a whirlwind of cultures, Alaska, Scotland, South America, Texas, Chicago, and Hawaii, as a result, she is very normal. She's performed at major festivals and appeared on Mythic Quest, The Middle, Two Broke Girls, and more. We checked in with Brittany about her time as a party princess, and she told us that she's now a mom of a five-year-old little girl who's absolutely princess-obsessed. Her daughter actually has a princess come to all of her birthday parties, and Brittany says that sometimes she wants to dust off her old princess dress just to get her daughter to listen to her a little bit more.
17:56 Speaker 02 That brings us to the end of our episode. Thanks so much for joining us. From all of us here at The Moth, we hope that whether you're in Antarctica, LA, or somewhere in between, you have a wonderful week. Mark Sollinger is the podcast producer of The Moth, the co-creator of the audio drama Archive 81, a lover of museums, and someone who feels very strange reading his own bio. This episode of The Moth Podcast was produced by Sarah Austin Jenness, Sarah Jane Johnson, and me, Mark Sollinger. The rest of The Moth's leadership team include Sarah Haberman, Christina Norman, Marina Kluchai, Jennifer Hickson, Jordan Cardinalle, Kate Tellers, Suzanne Rust, and Patricia Uraina.
18:39 Speaker 02 The Moth Podcast is presented by Odyssey. Special thanks to their executive producer, Leah Reese Dennis. All Moth stories are true, as remembered by their storytellers. For more about our podcast, information on pitching your own story, and everything else, go to our website, themoth.org.
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