I always believed I was an ugly duckling in a family of swans, you know? I was such a black sheep, and it was the same way in high school... I was just kind of that awkward theater kid with a bunch of athletes... it was very 'Glee.'
I distinctly remember the vivacious optimism that inundated the United States when the Soviet Union imploded in the early 1990s. This was not glee generated by the doom of an implacable enemy, but thrill germinated by the real possibilities that the future held for freedom.
In my real life, both my bosses are gay. On the 'Real Housewives of Atlanta,' Andy Cohen is gay, everybody at Bravo is gay - we call them the gay mafia. Over at 'Glee' and 'The New Normal,' my boss Ryan Murphy is gay. On the show, my boss, played by Andrew Reynolds, is gay in real life. I'm surrounded by all my gay bosses.
The unhappy irony is that, while 'Glee' is hitting the heights, school arts funding is being slashed across the country due to the steep recession and declining tax revenues.
But when the 'Glee' audition came around, my manager literally had to talk me into it. I was petrified to sing in front of anyone.
How do I put this? 'Glee' is like 'High School Musical' if 'High School Musical' had its stomach punched and its lunch money stolen.
With every job I've gotten, I've bought myself something. When 'Glee' was picked up, I rented a piano for the year. For smaller victories, I'll go to dinner with a friend, or go for a walk and think about it all. It's important to say to yourself, Today was a good day.
Everybody thinks it's going to be so glamorous, so cool, you're on 'Glee,' you know, a hit show or whatever.
Anybody can relate to anyone on 'Glee' at some point in their life.
I was always singing to myself, but I never ever performed, and I never told anyone I liked to sing. So it was a definitely a new adventure going in to audition for 'Glee.'