Taylor Louderman plays Regina George in Tina Fey’s stage adaptation of “Mean Girls.”

The only thing Taylor Louderman has in common with Regina George is a stark resemblance. Blond hair? Check. Pink everywhere? Check. However – burn book, backstabbing bluntness, cutthroat comebacks? Not a chance. In fact, she can relate more to a non-Plastic than the one she plays on stage.

“I had a tough high school experience,” she says. “I went to the bathroom to eat because I heard that’s what you did when you didn’t have anyone else.” Ultimately, it made her stronger, and today she maintains that “the best thing you can do is to ignore it and not give them the attention they want. Don’t fan the bully’s fire.”

We arranged to speak in a quaint café and got to cover her own experience with the high school bullies, and advice for others going through similar situations. In real life, this queen bee of Broadway is bursting with witty remarks and insightful thoughts to share!

Catch the musical adaptation of Mean Girls, now on Broadway.

1. What is your background?

I’m from a tiny, tiny town in Missouri where the cattle population exceeds the human population. I was in the middle of nowhere, very lower and middle class area. When I was younger, I had the entire Annie movie memorized. I had taken some dance classes and I had always remembered my parents wanting me to sing. So, when a theater was doing Annie in the town over, my parents sent me to audition and I got the part of Annie and then I just kept doing it.

2. How did you get your start on Broadway?

In high school, I worked at this professional theatre called the MUNY, which is the world’s largest theater. I learned a lot from the professionals they brought in. I got to watch them, talk to them about schools they went to, and learn about the auditioning process. It’s so, so tough. There’s just so much pressure on this one five-minute audition. From there, I started the college audition process myself and landed a spot in Michigan University’s Musical Theatre program, although I never graduated. While there, I knew this girl who interned with a big casting company in New York over the summer and they were looking for girls to audition for Bring It On the Musical. She put down my name, and I landed my Broadway debut as the lead role. It was insane. I’m not going to lie, it was all a bit disorienting after it was all said and done.

3. What excites you the most about playing Regina George in Mean Girls the Musical?

Well, I’m NOT excited about the pink. There’s a line in the show: “I never weigh more than 115,” and Taylor weighs more than 115. When I got the part, there was all this pressure to suddenly be that weight. Tina Fey was like “You don’t have to be 115.”  I got the part looking the way I do, so I just need to relax. It’s hard to do that, though. I think I’m most excited about telling the story on stage and being a real-life character instead of the movie. It makes it a little more relatable to young girls. I’m so curious about getting hit by a bus. I’m excited to make people laugh and be this iconic supposed-to-be pretty girl. I’m just excited to be involved with the project.

4. What’s your favorite Mean Girls quote?

I don’t think this one’s in the movie but when Regina’s like, “Oh my god, Jason. No one thinks you’re funny and your teeth look like corn.”

5. In playing a mean girl, do you have any advice for girls on how to deal with the mean girls of their school or their bullies?

I think as young people we really focus on revenge. With social media so prevalent, it’s easier to be mean. The best thing you can do is ignore it and not give them the attention they want. I think about today when I come across people that I don’t like their behavior, the less attention you give it, hopefully they’ll start to understand that it’s not desirable behavior. It’s hard as a young person to do that. We like to talk and we like to tell all our friends to not like that person because they’re mean, but I think it’s better to think about the fact that bad news is still news. Don’t fan the bullies’ fire.

6. If there is nowhere to sit at the lunch table, where would you sit?

I think Regina would leave the lunchroom so that her weakness wouldn’t be on display. But for me, I had a tough high school experience. I went to the bathroom to eat because I heard that’s what you did when you didn’t have anyone else. I went just to escape the feeling not wanting to be around. I eventually made friends with people who valued me for that things that I appreciated about myself. I found that it is less about being popular and more about finding people you gel with that like you for you. So, some good came out of the bathroom lunchtime.

7. Who do you look up to?

Rachel McAdams is my favorite female on-screen actor. I’m nervous. She’s one of my favorites and I’m stepping directly into her shoes. [Also] Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, hands down.

Some facts about Taylor:

• If she could live anywhere in the world, it would be “probably wherever my family is. It’s so silly, but they’re my favorite.”
• Her dream role would be “creating a role that doesn’t exist yet. That’s when you can make it your own.”
• If she could create her own pizza, she would top it with “pineapples and goat cheese. Does that sound good together? Let’s do it. Also arugula and chicken.”
• Her personal style is a self-described “mix between casual and sporty. I love wearing Lululemon, I love my high tops. I have a little bit of sorority to me, too.”
• She loves sweets. “I have a big sweet tooth. There’s a Nutella smoothie at Holey Cream and it’s so good. It’s my weakness.”

Brooke Stiles is a rising junior at Denison University and a contributor at GlamSalad.com. When she is not in a costume shop or thrift store, she can be found snuggled up with her puppers watching Gossip Girl for the thousandth time.