Open Forum

One of the main goals for our Theatre Education Community is to help theatre students and professionals from all over connect and identify with each other in order to build resources and support the theatre education field. We shine a spotlight on a different member every other week by conducting a simple interview.

Our latest Spotlight Member is Rachel Snow, the Drama and Technical Theater teacher at Alhambra High School in Alhambra, California, home to Thespian Troupe 2524. Rachel frequently has great ideas about where to find (or how to make) tricky props or costume pieces, along with practical advice and support for her peers.

Ginny: What kind of training/education did it take to get you to the job you have today?

Rachel: As a Los Angeles native, I began acting at age 4 in TV commercials, including Brawny Paper Towels, Volvo, Little Caesars Pizza, and more. As a child and teen, I had several roles, including recurring guest roles, in TV shows and movies such as Friends, Lizzie McGuire, The George Lopez Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Touched By an Angel, Matilda, and Hope Floats. I took acting classes and singing lessons every weekend as a kid, and as a teen, was heavily involved in my high school's drama program, musical theater program, and Thespian chapter. In college, I pursued a BA and MA in English Language Arts Education at NYU and USC, because, up until recently, the state of California required English certification to teach Drama. I continued to study theater and work independently on productions during both college and graduate school. 

Ginny: What inspired you to become a teacher?

Rachel: I always enjoyed school, and for a long time, thought I wanted to be a lawyer. In 9th grade, I had an outstanding and enthusiastic English teacher who really awakened my love of literature and a great Drama teacher who challenged me and pushed me to explore theater more deeply. By the end of my freshman year, I was pretty sure that I wanted to become them when I grew up.

Ginny: What advice do you have for new theatre teachers?

Rachel: Don't be afraid to take a risk and be vulnerable or make a fool of yourself in front of your students. Don't ask them to do anything you can't or won't do yourself. Also, be prepared to work harder than you ever have before when it comes to putting on a production. Being a performer is one thing, but being a director/teacher, and wearing all the different hats we often have to (director, producer, accountant, costumer, technical director, promotions, etc.) can be exhausting, but worth it to make a great experience for your students. And ask for help! You simply can't do it all by yourself.

Ginny: What does a typical day look like for you?

Rachel: My typical day begins at the first bell at 7:45. I have first period prep this year, so I make my copies, get my room ready for instruction, grade papers. Then I have my first Drama 1-2 class of the day. After that, I have two periods of Technical Theater, then lunch. After that, I teach another Drama 1-2 class and end the day with my mixed Drama 1-8 class. If it's show season (Oct-Nov, Jan-April) I will usually have rehearsal starting at 3:00, and depending on where we are in production, will go to anywhere from 5:00-8:00pm. If it's not show season, I will typically stay after school for tutoring or make-up performances until 4:00 before heading home.

Ginny: Everyone has at least one good theatre story. Tell us yours!

Rachel: When I was in high school, I played Sara Brown in Guys and Dolls. If you know the show, there's a bar fight scene that takes place in Havana. I was supposed to clock a guy on the back of head with a breakaway bottle to knock him out so Sara and her love interest, Sky, could make an escape. But a cast member knocked the bottle off the table and shattered it before I got the chance, so I had to improvise with a paperback tourist guide book my character had earlier in the scene. He jerked his neck in just the right way when I hit him that I got him with the spine of the book and knocked him out for real. Thank goodness he snapped to after a half second and was completely fine, but I felt so bad and I was so embarrassed. I have never lived it down. The previous year when we put on Fiddler on the Roof, I played Yente. During a dress rehearsal, the girl playing Golde and I had to improv for almost seven minutes because another actor missed his entrance cue by a mile. During notes at the end of the night the director said, "That scene felt like it was really slow and running long." When we told him we had been improvising the whole time he looked at us and said, "Oh. Well in that case, never mind. Good job, because I had no idea."

Ginny: If you could have a different career, what would you choose?

Rachel: I think I'd make a pretty good lawyer. But in the past two years I've gotten into special effects makeup doing our school's haunted house. I've begun sculpting and making latex appliances along with other techniques. I really like it. So I think if for some reason I was unable to teach, I'd like to go to makeup school to learn more and become a special effects makeup artist.

Ginny: Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of theatre?

Rachel: Theater is pretty much my life, but I enjoy reading, singing, cooking, spending time with my family, and hanging out with my husband and our two cats. I dabble in special effects makeup and vintage hairdos. I also like listening to 90's rock and big bang/jazz/swing music, though I wish I had more time to take swing dancing lessons.

With such a broad range of experiences, Rachel’s students are certainly in capable hands. If you enjoyed Rachel’s interview as much as I did, add her as a contact in the Community.

Do you know someone who deserves a moment in the Spotlight? Tell me their name and why at gbutsch@schooltheatre.org. Want to read more Community Spotlights? You can find them here.