I'm a method actress in my songs, which is why it's hard to sing them.
I'm not really a songwriter - I'm an interpreter. So in a sense I am an actress first and foremost. I act out the songs, and I lead with my heart.
It's not enough to hit the notes. There is no point in the singers just standing there and sounding wonderful if they're not connecting with the characters they are portraying.
My general audition song is almost always 'Man That Got Away.'
Nobody sang better than my mom. That's why I've never even thought of singing for singing sake. I've always thought of a song as an acting piece, as a way to say something.
When you see a singer on stage who is 100% committed to the personality, character and temperament of the role being sung, it's truly awesome and very powerful.
Singers have a lot in common with actors because you have to dig deep into a song and show the audience what you are feeling as you sing.
I love to sing, but I really only love to do it when it goes along with acting, when it's my character singing. I'd rather not do an album or tour.
Singing is a way of releasing an emotion that you sometimes can't portray when you're acting. And music moves your soul, so music is the source of the most intense emotions you can feel. When you hear a song and you're acting it's incredible. But when you're singing a song and you're acting it's even more incredible.
Usually, in musical theater, if you sing operatically or if you sing in a legit style, you're the heart of the show. You maybe get to be moving and do dramatic stuff, but it's very rare to be that funny.
Singing in character you can be more of a show off or more modest because it isn't yourself it's a nice way to sing, unusual, a bit like being in musical I guess.
