Creativity Quote by Ednita Nazario

There is a special kind of vulnerability in admitting you walked into the room without the rulebook. Ednita Nazario’s line doesn’t posture as a humblebrag; it lands as a plainspoken account of disorientation, the moment when even a seasoned performer discovers that “stage” isn’t one ecosystem but several, each with its own rituals and gatekeeping.

The intent is almost deceptively simple: to document inexperience. The subtext is richer. “I was not familiar with what you’re supposed to do” points to Broadway as a culture with coded behavior: how you slate your name, what you sing, how you take direction in 16 bars, how you occupy silence while a panel watches. Nazario, coming from the world of music performance where charisma and audience connection often carry the night, is naming the shock of moving into an institution that prizes protocol as much as talent. It’s not fear of singing; it’s fear of misreading the room.

Context matters: as a Puerto Rican musician with an established career, she’s also hinting at how success in one arena doesn’t automatically translate into legitimacy in another. Broadway auditions can flatten identity into checkboxes and expectations, and newcomers are punished less for lack of ability than for not knowing the choreography of “professionalism.” The quote works because it demystifies aspiration. It’s the sound of someone approaching a prestige system without inherited access, exposing how often “supposed to” means “supposed to already know.”