The Moth - The Moth Podcast: Performing in LA and Antarctica

Episode Date: September 12, 2025

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. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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One and sip, and two and sip, and three in sip. Oh, hey, I'm just sipping Tim's all-new protein ice latte, starting at 17 grams per medium latte, Tim's new protein lattes, protein without all the work, at participating restaurants in Canada. Welcome to the Moth. I'm Mark Salinger, 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 Darrell, 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 month.

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

are about five feet long, a blue and white ombri and I'm feeling really great and really happy because everything's working well the stilts are working well the headpiece is perfectly 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 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 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, 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 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 noticed 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, 30 to 60 foot waves, and it lasts for 36 hours. 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, 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.

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 happen 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 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 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 on the Drake Passage, and indeed we had 40-not winds at 20 to 25-foot waves. And I was totally fine. I was just like, and even sleeping, you know, the boat is going like this. I thought that was going to 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 stilt 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 end. 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 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.

That was Daryl Thorne. 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 26. If you'd like to see photos of Daryl performing in Antarctica, and let me tell you, there are some wild costumes, visit the moth.org slash 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. 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 U.S. and the world. You can find more info at the moth.org slash events.

After the break, a story about performing under some completely different circumstances. Be back in a moment. Oh, hi, buddy. Who's the best you are? I wish I could spend all day with you instead. Uh, Dave, you're off mute. Hey, happens to the best of us. Enjoy some goldfish cheddar crackers.

Goldfish have short memories. Be like goldfish. Bank more oncours when you switch to a Scotia Bank banking package. Learn more at scotiabank.com slash banking packages. Conditions apply. Scotia Bank, you're richer than you think. Welcome back. Brittany Ross told our next story at an L.A. Story Slam where the theme of the night was anniversary.

Here's Brittany, live at the month. So I moved to L.A. 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 and Order SVU, where she played a very featured dead body. and she owned her own princess party company and she specialized in high-end L.A. 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. 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. 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 act. Princess. 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 Princess Aversary. And she wants to talk to me about something. And I'm like, oh, my God, she's probably going to ask me to be a partner in this company.

or like CEO, whatever that is. And, 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.

Tangerbell. I'm like, okay, 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 de Soleil people, guys on stilts. I'm like the tiniest fairy in the room. And I find the mother of the bride, I mean the mother of the baby, the baby who is dressed in head to toe, Dolce, and Gabana. And the mom is like, okay, 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 an 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 a 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, and I'm like, oh, she has everything I've ever dreamed

of. 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, an 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 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. So I just stare directly in the lens to make sure that that shot is unusable.

And I excuse 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 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,

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, she left the ball early. So I just snuck out of there because there were over 500 people there. Nobody was going to notice. And I did what every good actress does. I went and got a waitress job. Thanks, guys. That was Brittany Ross. 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.

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, L.A. or somewhere in between, you have a wonderful week. Mark Solinger 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 Janesse, Sarah Jane Johnson, and me, Mark Salinger. The rest of the Moss leadership team include Sarah Haberman, Christina Norman, Marina Cluchette,

Jennifer Hickson, Jordan Cardinali, Kate Tellers, Suzanne Rust, and Patricia Urreña. 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, the moth.org.