We were lucky to catch up with Lars Toler recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lars, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
My resilience and work ethic are both gifts I’ve gotten from my mom. She is the kind of woman who needs to be doing a million things at once – and not only does she get them done, she succeeds with flying colors. Having someone like her to look up to taught me that I can do anything, or at least have the cojones to give it a shot. She taught me that things in life will not be handed to you, even if they might be handed to other people. But none of that matters, if you believe in your ability to step up to the plate.
She taught me to never shy away from a challenge, because that’s not how life works.
She gave me my work ethic, but also my thick skin, my strong mind, and my full heart.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
As a theatre maker, I strive to continue to push boundaries and advocate for more and more representation. As a queer, trans, disabled individual, I am passionate about finding, cultivating, and honoring community. Within everything I do, I create with the intention of telling diverse stories.
I graduated from CSULB in May ’24 with a degree in Journalism and Theatre, where I carved out my own little niche. This unique combo really exemplified my love for both writing and performing, and I was lucky enough to get to do a lot of both. The last role I played during my undergraduate career was Jane Doe in Ride the Cyclone – a dream role, and the perfect way to end my time in college. She was haunting, she was ethereal, she was a gift.
I was able to direct four shows during my time in undergraduate, including one I wrote, entitled Magnets, a short play exploring coming-of-age queer love and toxic relationships. I also got to perform in a show I wrote, entitled Smitten, which was an abstract horror play delving into the meeting place between fear and reality.
Despite being someone who is introverted at heart, as well as socially anxious, I LOVE to be on stage. It’s a little bit ridiculous sometimes. Most recently, I performed with Open Fist Theatre Company in their 16th annual production of BOTH: A Hard Day’s Silent Night. This unique production combines gospel arrangements of Beatles music with a retelling of the nativity story. All of the proceeds went to Heart of LA, an amazing children’s non-profit.
Later this month, in January ’25, I could potentially be singing at Lincoln Center with the American Pops Orchestra. As part of APO’s 8th annual Next Gen Vocal Competition, I went from being 1 of 27 semifinalists selected from hundreds of universities nationwide, to being in the top 12 of all competitors. I am an alternate, so it is not set in stone whether I get to go yet, but I am still immensely proud and grateful for the experience.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1) Empathy/Compassion: I have always cared “too much” – about everything. I am 24 years old and still earnestly believe my stuffed animals are sentient and have their own thoughts and feelings. But, to be fair, maybe I can blame Toy Story for that. However, this is not a flaw, it is a gift. I have found it to allow me to earnestly connect with the people I come in contact with. We can skip the small talk, let’s talk about what makes us beam, what makes us tick. We all have so much in common, no matter how different we may look or seem.
2) Emotional Depth: I have always been deeply emotional. I’m a Sagittarius Sun, Cancer Moon, Sagittarius Rising if that means anything to you. Big feelings. Growing up chemically imbalanced, this was rough. But as I’ve gotten older, it has become one of my greatest strengths. I am aware of my feelings and how to deal with them. As a creative, this emotional depth is an endless faucet. Through my writing, I have been able to turn dark, traumatic things into something beautiful. And, as an actor, this fountain of emotion allows me to invest myself fully in my work. Art is a beautifully transformative thing, and through my art, I find the most emotional fulfillment.
3) Flexibility: This all circles back to my mom teaching me work ethic. You have to have the drive and the motivation, but also the flexibility. You don’t just want to be the person that people know can do one job well. You want to be the person people know they can call on to pick up any slack. As a theatre maker, I just want to be in the room, you know? I love to write, I love to direct, I love to perform – I love to design hair, makeup, sets. I’ll run sound for the first time randomly because we don’t have an operator (and I’ve had to do it, and I did my damn best!). I don’t care what you need me to do, I’ll do it. And I believe that’s passion.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
I believe my biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months has been my ability to take up space more confidently in the world. Not only did I get my name and gender marker changed (shout out my fellow Sex: X friends), but I also have found the strength in my voice to correct people and say: Yes, I’m Lars. My pronouns are he/they. I’m trans and there is a place for me. Not only in theatre, but in the world at large. There is a place for everybody. All of us.
“We have to remain visible. They have to see us, they have to know that we’re not going [nowhere], that we’ve been here ever since God made man and woman, and they have to get over it. I don’t need their permission to exist; I exist in spite of them. I want you to train and teach and love on and create families within my community and gender non-conforming people, so that we can understand that we have a culture, we have a history, we have a reason to be here. We have a purpose. We’re entitled to be loved, and seek happiness, and share that with the people that we care about.” – Miss Major Griffin-Gracy
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tolerlars.wixsite.com/larsworld
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/larslarzlars
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larsworld/
Image Credits
Kailey Bosna, Jackie Jimenez, Andrew Padilla, Susan Gasparyan.
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