I don't think theater is dying, and musicals are a great American art form. We've got apple pie, jazz and musical theater.

I think being young in a grownup world, I think it stunted me a little bit. I had to grow up too fast on the outside, but I didn't get to grow up on the inside in the way that you might if you're allowed to fail more.

If we had an audience to play to, the performance would have gotten too big. Sizing our performances to the camera was an important journey for me at least.

There were TVs everywhere. When we weren't on stage, we were watching what America was watching and rooting for each other and our leading lady. That experience was incredible, and I was just enjoying myself.

I think we've become a TV culture where we forget the live performer in front of us can see us. I think there is a self-centeredness that happens. There's nothing more important than what you are doing in that moment. So, unless it's an emergency, put your phone away.

That was my intention, was to have it be from the perspective of my high-school-aged self, and to try and emulate the music that I listened to at that time. So to write essentially like a pop-punk song about musicals. I wanted the dichotomy of the tone of the music with the lyrics and my singing voice.

Of course I wanted an agent from the time I was like 5, but my mother was like, 'No, you're going to be normal, you're going to go to school, you're going to get good grades, you're going to play soccer, and if you do well, if you keep your grades up, you can do one community-theater show a year'.