Carmen Cusack Quotes

If you looked at my music collection and saw an album that was a soundtrack to a musical, it’s probably because I had bought it to learn the music so I could go and audition.

Going to Broadway – then to be invited to the Tonys – I really tap into what that feels like now to fulfill lifetime goals.

I’m not a fan of musicals. Never have been.

I wasn’t ready for ‘Bright Star’ to end when it did.

My mother had me when she was 16, and that was an issue that had to be dealt with. She grew up in a very religious background, and there was a lot of discussion of what they should do with this unborn child. But here I am, and thank goodness.

You have to laugh through hard things, right? How else do you cope?

I got married way too young.

An accent always helps me ground a character. It also helps to remind me what age I’m playing.

It’s hard for some parents to give their children compliments.

It’s nice to be able to go do what I love and come home – and get in my own bed.

Taking the arts out of schools is a terrible mistake.

The first music that came to my ear was gospel… I used to sing ‘Amazing Grace’ with a very strong southern accent and a vibrato already at five years old.

We will always need to be reminded that we are human. Art gives us that.

I’ve had one fall that I kind of hurt my toe pretty badly because I slammed into one of the set pieces. But, you know, you just get up and keep going. The adrenaline’s pumping, and you just carry on!

I believe there’s no reason why we couldn’t be entering a new age of musical theater if we continue to nurture young talent, take risks, and give them a playing field.

I don’t think I’ve grown up easily.

I think I’ve gotten to the point in my life where I have to do everything that I’m scared of because you’re not going to learn anything if you don’t, so you just have to dive in the deep end and see if you can swim.

Just stay present in the moment, and what will come will come.

I didn’t get jobs because when I went into the audition, I tried to be somebody else. I had to realize, what I can actually bring to the table is unique. No one else has experienced what I’ve experienced; no one else has walked in my shoes.

Originating something is what every actor waits for. Usually, those opportunities are offered to people who already have a name.

To be honest with you, most of the time the ingenue roles are a little bit dull and boring, in my opinion.

My mother had people lay hands on me to cast demons out of me when I was 8. Then two or three times when I was in college.

When you do something eight times a week, you fall into those little places where sometimes things can get a bit stagnant. That’s why I always welcome a new face on the stage.

I love ‘South Pacific.’ It’s got beautiful music. But there have been so many, you know, renditions of this in high school or college productions.

I like my cheese, I like my milk in my coffee, and nobody’s gonna tell me any different.