Alice Ripley

When I was a kid, I wanted to be an actor in classics like Shaw and Shakespeare and Chekov and Ibsen. ”

When everything kind of hit the fan, my dad married Jo Anne, and suddenly there were five kids from the Ripleys and five kids from the Doughertys. Then my dad and Joanne had a baby. I usually have to make a diagram. ”

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. ”