A lot of the times, what girls go through when they're growing up gets minimized. 'Mean Girls' marked the first time I saw teenage female aggression articulated well and with importance.
Tina Fey is a genius - I've seen it with my own eyes now. She's a very observant person, and I've never seen somebody write such a high volume or as quickly as she does.
When 'Mean Girls' came out, I was 15. So I saw that movie and was like, 'That is so funny.' But it still has that fluffy, happy ending, and that doesn't happen in high school.
My senior year, I got to play Maureen in 'Rent,' and I had more fun than I'd ever had in my life.
There are good musicals that came from movies, like 'Shrek' and 'Legally Blonde!' But, um... they should never mess with 'The Hunger Games.'
My high school was the closest thing to hell on earth that exists. I was around a lot of ultra-preppy, very mean-spirited girls, and they were very cruel to me. I ended up switching schools and going to this performing arts school near Boston called Walnut Hill.
I wound up going to the Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, which was a really life-changing experience that's still the most intense working environment I've ever been part of. Even now, as a professional actor, I've never once been held to the standards I was held to at my high school.
