Coachella was the best day of my life.
My friend Alessandra and I were ordering pizza and just chilling in the shade on day 2 before the Violent Femmes were to go on the Main Stage. I’m not paying attention to anything in particular and Alessandra turns toward the fountain behind us. She then says “Kasey, Darren Criss is right there.” There he was, no more than 10 feet away sitting on the edge of the fountain angled over his phone texting. I turned around and froze. I have been a huge fan of Darren since I saw A Very Potter Musical for the first time four years ago. I am a dedicated Starkid fan and watched him perform on Glee and I find him and inspiration for those who want to pursue theatre and screen acting. In my opinion, he deserves nothing but success in everything he does.
Alessandra says, “Kasey, let’s go say hi!” I was shaking a bit and said “No, I don’t want to bother him. I would feel bad!” She then grabs my arm and takes me over to where he was sitting and says “Excuse me?” He looks up. “My friend here is a big fan of yours. Is it alright if she has a picture?”
“Sure! But I look like a [bad word] without as shirt on..”
We assured him that he didn’t.
After the photo (above) he starts talking to us. He asked us where we go to school and what we are involved in, and then he continued to talk to us. He was so friendly and humble and made me feel so comfortable talking to him. He seemed genuinely interested in what we had to say. He told us about AVPSY (“My friends gave me an hour to rehearse! Those bitches..”)
After our conversation I expressed my amazement that he was so friendly to his fans and cares about what they have to say. I let him know that he was an inspiration and he seemed very appreciative.
I met my hero on April 13.