There is no playing around for this Fresno City College actress. Rachel White wants to do it all. The 25-year-old Theater Arts and Business major is cool, sexy, beautiful and multi-talented. “Whatever I can do, I’ll do,” she said.
White is currently in rehearsals for the FCC play, Reckless. The play is an absurd, sometimes dark comedy written by Craig Lucas. It was first produced in the 1980s. Lucas balances comic routines with heartbreak. This black comedy introduces us to the character Rachel, played by White. It is just a coincidence White is playing a character with the same first name.
The audience will enjoy the play’s bizarre characters and events, centered around a woman who thinks she is sure of everything in her life. “At the very beginning of the play, all of that security completely shatters,” stated Fresno State Professor and FCC Guest Director, Brad Myers. “Rachel spends the rest of the play, trying to recreate the life around her.”
At home on Christmas Eve, Rachel is informed by her guilty husband that he has hired a hit man to kill her and must flee for her life. Rachel’s husband Tom, played by FCC student, Raul Vasquez, said his character is somewhat of a villain. “He’s just really a torn soul I think,” said Vasquez. “He’s a bad guy in certain ways, but you can’t blame crazy people for the stuff they do, I think he just lost it.”
Rachel then teams up with Lloyd Bophtelophti, played by Fresno State student, James Medeirosa. Lloyd is a true “original” who has changed his name to avoid alimony payments and now lives with a paraplegic named Pootie (who also pretends to be deaf in order to get double disability).
Fresno State graduate, Jacque Babb, plays the character of Pootie.
Rachel wins $100.000 on a television game show and begins a series of picaresque escapades involving numerous psychiatrists and, eventually, an ill-fated reunion with her husband.
In the end, Rachel becomes a therapist herself, treating her own child (who fails to recognize her) and is led more and more to ponder whether the modern world might not be a vast conspiracy designed to systematically undermine her own increasingly shaky sanity.
Myers said White is very genuine and someone who really anchors the play. He said her warmth and charisma is not something she has to invent in her character. “She just brings it naturally to the role,” he said. “That’s really crucial.”
“There’s a lot of wacky people all around her,” he added. There are eighteen playful and imaginative actors sharing the stage with White. Myers said this particular group of actors were carefully picked. “I love them,” he said. “They have such a great energy.”
White has always loved acting, even as a small child. She said she would often entertain her family, just wanting to make them laugh. “Ever since I was little, I would tell my mom I wanted to be an actress and would do my own stunts.” White would then proceed to fall down the stairs.
Born and raised in Fresno, she began pursuing a career in acting as early as middle school where she took her first improv class. “Bullard High School is where I actually got into the drama classes,” said White.
She initially took a beginning acting class at FCC, then moved into an intermediate course and is currently involved in an actor’s workshop. “Oh, it’s fun,” she said.
Acting in front of the audience puts White on a natural high. She enjoys seeing the audience’s immediate reaction. “I don’t really want to be on film, I’m looking more towards theater because I like it better,” she said. “Being there, playing in the moment, that’s better than anything.”
The actress that influenced White to dive into the acting field was the Pretty Woman herself. “I’ve always liked Julia Roberts,” said White. “I liked her growing up, she’s pretty good.”
White touts being more of a drama actress, but said she can do funny too. “I want to be able to do both, have a variety in what I can play,” she said.
White is also taking jazz dance and ballet classes. “I’ve always enjoyed dancing,” she said. “Ballet is so disciplined.”
She also sings in her church choir. “I’m the soprano, but I love singing anything,” she said. “The people I like to copy or sing with are Jewel, Tracy Chapman and Alicia Keys.”
Oh, she’ll melt your heart and make you smile, on stage or off. Beauty, talent, intelligence and an inner drive makes her an extraordinaire role model to other FCC students. While managing such a heavy school load, White enjoys spending any free time with friends and her two young children, 8-year-old Virginia and 5-year-old Joshua.
