I always knew that I wanted to work and I knew I wanted to be a singer and an actor. I knew that every choice I made would help me get to that point. So the better the choices I made, the more of a chance I would have to get to where I wanted to be.

I don't think I've gone a day in my life without being inspired by Celine Dion. If you would've seen me at her concert in Las Vegas - like, I'm surprised I didn't get kicked out. I was literally sitting at the edge of my seat like the happiest girl in the entire universe.

I've never wanted to be anything other than an actor. I started performing on Broadway when I was 8 years old. My first night on stage, I told my mom, "This is what I want to do. I was always a very out-there kid. The sad thing about acting business is it's so fleeting. If I couldn't do that, I was going to go to school and study law and become a lawyer. But I probably would have been miserable, or they would have had some very theatrical court sessions.

It's so important, so comforting, to have lampposts in this world who can light the way.

I worked consistently on Broadway from when I was 8 years old through 'Spring Awakening,' which I left in 2008.

I was in choir in school. I kind of just did it. I already knew I wanted to sing. My music program in my school wasn't really great - people didn't really want to be part of the choir, they didn't want to do the plays and stuff like that. It definitely wasn't the cool thing to do.

One of my favorite things about 'Spring Awakening' is that it is enjoyable and important for both kids and adults to see.