THE OARSMAN: Interviews with Chris Colfer, Vanessa Lengies and Damian McGinty -- by Mia Disanto, Maya Troeger & Mitchell Handler

Q:

How do you like filming at Venice?

CHRIS:

I love it! It's really nice to get out of our soundstage. Venice is next to the beach and has lots of fresh air-it's wonderful.

Q:

What is it like to be a high schooler again on TV?

CHRIS:

Honestly, I don't know what it's like to not be a high schooler! [laughs] I was in college for just three weeks before I joined Glee. I've always been in high school - real or TV - for as long as I can remember!

Q:

What advice do you have for gay teens?

CHRIS:

I know how hard it is. It can be really traumatic sometimes-1 was bullied myself in high school. I know this is a cliche, but it really does get better. You might feel alone, but remember that there's always others like you. Just look at West Hollywood or San Francisco, where being gay is completely accepted.

Q:

What are your favorite songs from Glee?

CHRIS:

I have a few favorites. For solo songs, "Rose's Turn" [season 1], "As If We Never Said Goodbye" [sea­son 2], and "I'm the Greatest Star" [season 3]. For group songs, "Bad Romance" [season 1] was really fun.

Q:

Do you have any upcoming projects, besides Glee?

CHRIS:

I just filmed a comedy movie called Struck by Lightning [coming out in 2012]. My first book [The Land of Stories] cornes out next summer.

Q:

What is your most embarrass­ing high school moment?

Vanessa Lengies:

Slamming into a locked door with my friend after running in front of a big team of wrestlers.

Damian McGinty:

We wore uniforms and one day I thought it was a non-uniform day and I came in. The other kids were wearing uni­forms, and I was wearing jeans and at-shirt. It was awful. It was pretty bad.

Q:

In what ways can you relate to your character?

Vanessa:

I can't really think of just one thing that Sugar and I have in common.

Damian:

I can relate to my character because when I was 14 or 15, I also came out to America by myself. Even though I didn't go to school, I tried to make a career. So it was very much, you know, that whole foreign exchange thing still going on. And, obviously, being from Ireland, I can kind of relate to his loneliness, a little, at that age.

Q:

How do you think "Glee" reflects high school life?

Vanessa:

I think what "Glee" does a great job of showing is that everybody is different and they are all celebrated for their differences and that's what we have a hard time doing in our high school life. I think that we bully what we don't under­stand.

Damian:

So many kids get bul­lied, so many people are outcasts, and so many people who have a tal­ent and want to sing or to join the choir or glee club are bullied. People look down on them because of that and they have a harder school life than your average Joe Soap (Edi­tor's note: Damian later explained that "Joe Soap" is similar to the American expression "Joe Shmo.")

Q:

Which actor do you look up to?

Vanessa:

A lot of people. I'm real short. (Laughing). Dustin Hoff­man. I love him so much.

Damian:

I look up to the real kind of classic old school actors like Clint Eastwood and Morgan Free­man. Honestly I think like their type of acting for me is just mindblowing stuff. There are so many movies that they have been in that you can sit back and admire and they're real men.

Q:

What advice would you give to aspiring actors?

Vanessa:

I would say to act every day. Make videos with your friends. Download scripts off the internet and act them out, because I feel like if you do something every day it becomes your life. If that's what you really want to do, that would be my advice.

Damian:

That's interesting because that's two different points of view. I have never acted in my life ever and I didn't take an acting class ever. What I would say is believe in yourself and go for it. Whatever your dream is, don't be afraid of anything. Don't let anything stop you. Just, freaking, reach for the stars. If you reach for the stars then, you know, you'll hit somewhere. It may not be the stars, but you'll hit somewhere. Hopefully it's not the ground.