Hometown: New York, NY

Homebase: It's like the Atlantic Ocean. Somewhere in the middle.

Talk about the first song you ever wrote.

Well, I have two answers. The first song I ever wrote, like ever, ever wrote, I was 14 or 15. And I wrote the melody when I was walking down the street. And it's like the poppiest of pop songs. I thought I was so edgy because the whole thing was "What would you do?" And all the lyrics were like, "What would you do if I held you in my arms? What would you do if I showed up at your door at four in the morning?" I felt I was very edgy, which it's not. But it's a good song. It's all about saying to someone, "What would you do if I was there?"

But the first time, which actually came to mind when I actually considered the first [song] I wrote... Well, that one I wrote, too. But this one I wrote all by myself. I was in college, and I wrote this song called "Please Be Back Together." And it was this really cute piano ditty. I was obsessed with Ingrid Michaelson at the time, which I sound nothing like her. And I don't know what it was. I just wanted to sing quirky love songs. And I wrote this little thing that went in a round, and I remembered it was the first time I felt like I had any kind of identity in songwriting.

In fact, I've come so far from that. Who I am now is different from the girl who wrote that song. It was the first time I felt something and sat down and actually finished a thought with a song, which is how my process is still, even though I write about very different things.

You went to New York University for acting. How did studying acting help you with your music career?

I started in theater, and I was a working actor way before I ever started in music. I was part of the musical theater world. I started as a dancer actually, and I was taking classes in the city. And I got pulled and asked to be part of a modern dance company, which is so amazing. And I had no idea that it wasn't a thing that happens. And I did that, and it's like you dance and then start acting and started singing. I was bit by the theater bug. And I got cast in an off-Broadway show when I was 13 or 14, and I had an agent and a manager. I was just working.

So when I went to NYU, I went somewhere that would allow me to continue my life. And I started writing music on the side because I liked it. I always played piano. I wasn't aiming to make pop music and be a musician, but it was always something that was a release for me. In hindsight, it makes sense because it was ultimately what I decided I wanted to do. But being in NYU and as an actor, I learned what it was to be disciplined and self-motivated and having to deal with rejection at a really young age. It was just building a tough skin. By the time I was making my own decisions about work, it was all the same craft. It's all the same discipline to wake up and push yourself to get better. No one's going to wake up and write a song for you. In the same way that as an actor, if you don't get work, you write your own work. There's all these similarities.

And while I was at NYU, I joined the experimental theater wing. It was one of my first forays into devised theater and downtown theater. I was in a theater company, and we did things at La MaMa and PS122. And that really opened my world into the immersive theater scene, and I would not be doing the things I do in my own show now, had I not do any of that.

And you are working on a show right now? Can you talk some more about that?

The show is called Light + Space. It's an immersive event. It's a party, first and foremost. And we're looking to create a futuristic disco. So it's pulling from the 1980s dance scene like Danceteria and Paradise Garage like when Madonna and Grace Jones were coming up. There was just this club scene that's just so different from the club scene now. There was this place for people to go and get dressed up and party and be themselves. It was more free in a lot of ways than it is now. So it pulls from that.

But instead of creating a throwback, we're looking to create something that's completely full and completely futuristic and almost other worldly like you're pulling from outer space. It's like you don't know where you are. So everything is meant to play with your senses like the lighting, the colors, the temperature of the room. Everything is designed to ultimately be a fun night. It's a party. There will be elements of a party and immersive theater. There's performers who are woven in throughout the whole night. And then at the center of it is a show, and Ariana and the Rose is the house band. So the whole thing combines theater, live music and a party.

Sweet! So when will this happen?

It is coming into New York in September. We did the first one last year in London with Red Bull Music. We have these ideas, and you think, I'm crazy. Is anyone coming to this? But people came. We were at capacity, and we did all of it through word of mouth. People were inviting people. And it was passed around. After that, I knew it would take a long time. But I wanted to take a step back and make it so when we do it in September, we can turn around and really start doing them. So I took a year to develop this, and then put out an EP and play shows in the middle. So I'm really excited to putting it out. I think it's really fun, and I think it's something people want.

Since you guys are the house band, I presume Retrograde will be part of the set. But will there be other music? Maybe new music?

Well, our set is longer now than the EP, as it is. It has some music that I've put out over the last year. Light + Space is different from our regular shows because we have musical interludes, and it's more about creating a rave dance experience. So we've built in segments of music where you're just like dancing and having fun. It's not about having a song exactly. I don't want to give all of it away, but we do a song and then do a remix of the song. We don't play all night. We collaborate, and there are DJs on both sides of our sets. It's meant to be this experience about different artists and different mediums. So that's sort of the idea. 

Onto your EP, Retrograde, what's currently your favorite song to perform off it?

I like doing 'How Does It Make You Feel' live. It's a really sexy song. The guys I wrote it with, they call it a sex jam, which I love. I love doing that one live. I really started incorporating choreography and movement, and that's the one I really get down in it. It's really fun, and there's an energy shift in the room. You really start to get that people really themselves, which is really cool to provide that. You know you did it right when people are loving themselves in their music.

And recently, I did an acoustic version of "These Ruins," and it was just me and the piano. That was really fun. And depending on different shows, I'd like to do that a little bit more just because...  At the end of the day, it's just an acoustic song with a piano, and it was really fun playing it with a soundscape for the record. But it's nice that in the middle of a show to slow it down and let me tell you a story. It's nice to be able to do that.

Since you have that song, "Super Cool," what makes someone or something super cool?

People who love what they love unabashedly. I think that's super cool. I think that people who are comfortable in their skin. I think that shows in so many things. When you seem someone with style and they're wearing something very simple, you're like, "Oh my god, they're so cool" because they're wearing their outfits -- as simple as it can be. Or someone who doesn't care about being aloof or detached. Someone who's passionate and wants you to know that. To me, I love people like that -- who don't care what anyone thinks. They love what they love, and they want to share that. I'd like to think that's where things are going. Being standoffish is not the way. There's so much going on in the world that people are looking for connection. And I think anyone who's down with being a part of that, in my opinion, is super cool.

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