If I wasn't performing, I wasn't alive. That's the truth. My parents had absolutely no interest in the business, but they knew it made me happy, so they said 'Go for it, girl!'

The red carpet is kind of a surreal experience. There's nothing normal about it, so for me the most important thing is to maintain some normality right until the point you get out of the car.

I want to make smart choices.

When I was a 7-year-old girl, in my bedroom, on my karaoke machine, I would sing 'On My Own' or do a one-woman version of 'Les Miserables.'

There's nothing like the buzz of live theater. You put it out there and receive an instant reaction: laughing, crying, yelling, applauding.

I began with dance, doing ballet at 3, then tap, jazz, modern. Then I sang in church choirs, learned how to play clarinet and drums, sang with rock bands and only then did I get into musical theatre.

I never have celebrity crushes.