They say for every light on Broadway there is a broken heart, an unrealized dream. And that’s the same in any profession. So you have to want it more than anyone else, and you have to be your own champion, be your own superstar, blaze your own path, say yes to opportunity, follow your instincts, be eager, and passionate, keep learning, nurture your real, lasting relationships, don’t be a jerk, and free your imagination so you can become all that you want to be.
I always say, "Don't let a 'no' or even a dismissal defeat you, let it be the fire that makes you want to go. Every time someone says, "No," that makes me even more determined. That's one of the things I want to try to teach young people. Oddly, the other thing I want to teach the young people is to get a hobby. That's what I first say: "Do something that brings you happiness other than acting, because this business is so fickle." I make blankets and stuffed animals. I don't know. I'm a weirdo.
Everyone's "journey" is different. Obviously with mine, I've had some amazing breaks, but then you have to be ready to seize the moment when the timing and the luck line up. You can't be afraid. You have to be open. I feel like I've always been a leaper, and I've always leapt into things without thinking.
I try to have a very optimistic outlook on life, I try not to take anything too seriously, I try to and I do find a ton of joy and happiness in my life and I think that helps you stay youthful.
It's okay not to know everything; that would have calmed me down.
Even when I’m not working, I’m still working on something because I just want to create something.
I made things a lot harder than they needed to be out of fear and anxiety.
Ballet is an incredibly difficult, beautiful art form that takes a lot of training, a lot of time, and a lot of hard work.
I don't think of myself as a dancer. I think of myself as a singer-actress who moves really well.
It's a bit of an outside-in approach - so often the clothing can reveal so much about a character. It's like part of her superhero costume that she gets to put on and become someone else.
I feel like my life now, it's only getting better, which feels nice.
I was a very outgoing, gregarious, full-of-energy kid.
I'm used to working hard. Theater can be very grueling, and that's all I've ever known. It's what I've done for 20 years, which is crazy.
I think the one thing of me that they really wanted to capitalize on is my dorkiness
I think everybody has something that takes them away or makes them happier. To some people it's baseball or sports or knitting or the movies.
People have asked if I would go back to my 20s, and I'm like, "Only if I could hold onto the wisdom and the things that I've learned." But in reality, I don't think I'd want to even go back then. I'm so happy with where I'm at. My life is very content. Everything feels really good. I wouldn't want to change any of that. I'm happy for all the ups and the downs, and everything that has led me to where I am. I wouldn't want to lose any of that.
I've done some TV and I've done a lot of theater, obviously, and the last character I played on Broadway was a very fast-talking broad. I'm used to learning material and words.
It's weird to have leisure - to have time off. I'm not used to it.
If you're in a relationship and someone was cheating, it could be a complete reflection of the relationship itself.
As actors, you meet people that you are working with and it's tricky. It's blurry... how do you decipher things? I have definitely dated [a co-star], oh yeah, multiple times. It's easy.
I am much more settled in who I am. I think a lot of your 20s is trying to figure out who you are - you're on your own, you've got you first job, you've got your first apartment, you're living away from your parents, you're just discovering who you are. I have deep, long friendships now and real relationships and I am so excited about the rest of my 40s.
I loved New York, but I never quite felt like New York was my home either.
I think if I had just slowed down a little bit it could have a little easier. I multiplied how difficult it needed to be instead of just saying, fair enough. You don't have to make it hard.
I am okay that has changed and I have some more wrinkles and my body is changing.
What I thought 41 would be at 26 is definitely not what I feel now. I still feel incredibly youthful on the inside, in my brain.
