Welcome!
Hi! I'm Rachel, a New York City based production designer, writer, and teaching artist.
While growing up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, I could often be found writing, sculpting, drawing, painting, or exploring and people-watching.
After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 2009 ( BA: Art History, BA: Theatre Arts, Minor Studies: Creative Writing ), I did a bit of traveling and eventually moved to New York City. Here, I attended graduate school at New York University (MA: Educational Theatre, 2014). With a passion for film, theatre, and visual art, I stumbled into a career as a production designer. Unwilling to give up my life as a writer and educator, I created a place for all three areas of expertise to thrive.
a bit about my work...
My character-driven production designs seek to visually represent that which is left unsaid. I believe that the subtext of any script, and the motivation and background of any character, can be reflected and enhanced in the colors, textures, shadows, and objects surrounding them. My work has screened with the Tallahassee Film Festival, Sioux City International Film Festival, Buffalo International Film Festival, SXSW, and more. This past summer, I won "Best Production Design" at The Independent Shorts Awards in Los Angeles, for my work on the film "Sinking" written and directed by Dylan Huang. One of my most recent projects, "Grown", written and directed by Jocko Sims (New Amsterdam) will have its world premiere in March of 2023 at SXSW.
As a writer, I aim to situate characters firmly in their physical environment and allow the space and objects around them to influence their story, with the setting often becoming a character all its own. Stylistically, I seek to create a slice-of-life/ realistic world that exists in the belly of the absurd and magical. My plays have been showcased and workshopped with Primary Stages, Hot Metal Arts Collective, Broadway Dance Collective, and others. I'm presently exploring the world of audio drama with an original piece entitled "Quick Nap", told from the point of view of a young woman in a coma.
As a teaching artist, I enjoy providing rigorous and inclusive spaces for others to create. Over the past ten years, I've worked with New York Theater Workshop, MCC Theater's Youth Company, and various other community-based organizations to create both written and visual work with elementary, middle, and high school students throughout NYC and abroad. Currently, I'm creating and facilitating pre / post-show workshops for New York Theatre Workshop's " How To Defend Yourself " (Co-directed by Rachel Chavkin, Liliana Padilla & Steph Paul) and preparing to facilitate their Mind The Gap program in the summer of 2023, which pairs NYC teens and elders together to create original short works of theatre.