Alice Ripley

I did grow up in a small town. I grew up in a lot of different places. But I consider my home to be Cleveland.

Next to Normal' has challenged me as an actor because of how complex Diana is. And that's got me hungry for another character like that in a non-singing role because it would be interesting to express that same intensity in a different way.

Now, I come from a long line of narcissists. And I also have no kids - by choice - but I understand not being a mother and the pain that comes from that.

When 'Next to Normal' won the Pulitzer, that was the moment I felt the show was being defined. There's a certain confidence that comes with being selected.

A likable character isn't one who does nothing wrong.

The really good stuff- the 'Hamiltons' - comes out after decades of writing and being committed.

I'm kind of a dork at being able to dress myself.

When you're 20 and you're in acting school and your teachers tell you that 95 percent of actors are unemployed for twenty years, you think it doesn't apply to you. But it does take twenty years to become real, because that's what you have to do to be an interesting actor.

Part of the frustration of being bipolar is people don't understand what it feels like.

What made me so brave? Maybe it was being the middle kid of 11, and we all had to share one bathroom. New underwear? I never discovered that until I got into college.

My favorite thing as a performing artist is to get a pile of raw material from a writer who says, 'Will you help me make this real?' There's nothing like starting from scratch.

As a teen, 'Thunder Road' was always in my head.