Actor

I play the guitar every day.

My Mickey Mouse ears were given to me by a dear friend. They remind me of how I need to be silly.

I was always a big fan of 'Pippin' and 'Godspell,' even before I heard 'Meadowlark.'

I take a lot of naps.

Leisure time is when I'm not at the Booth Theater.

I've always looked to that play, 'Virginia Woolf,' for a cue - as far as any cue I might need as an actor for inspiration or as a writer.

Oh my God, I love Max von Essen.

I'm drawn to raw material and raw emotions.

I have learned that music comes in all shapes and sizes.

If there were a song from 'West Side Story' that I would do, it would be 'Something's Coming,' but in a sense that put it in the right key for me and then do that one.

I just think Brian d'Arcy James is a dream come true. I've known of him ever since I saw him in 'Titanic,' and I fell crazy in love with him at that moment.

I am always talking to students and telling them how you have to practice every day because you can't wait for someone to hire you. You need something you do for yourself, something that feeds your creative life.

I didn't see any Broadway till I was in my late twenties.

At the end of 'Next to Normal,' you can see the light. 'There will be light.' That's the reason the show exists. Those are the last four words.

Facebook and Twitter and Instagram are excellent ways to keep in touch with the audience and maintain your image an actor.

Any kind of grieving that is not allowed causes a break. In our culture, grieving in public is not encouraged, but in other cultures, it is done publicly. Some cultures have walls where people can cry. We don't have that. We have theatre where there's always the chance for you to face things within yourself.

I sometimes write songs on the piano, even though I don't actually play the piano. I always hire someone to play for me whenever I decide to sing a song I have written on the piano. My song 'Rosa' is one.

When you're an actor, you do get involved with your characters - your emotional life is tied up with theirs, and so is your physical life.

I would love to play Mary in 'Long Day's Journey Into Night' or 'Virginia Woolf' or a comedy - just, like, a slapstick comedy.

I'm a strong follower of hydrotherapy.