Rachel Carter
Encyclopedia
Rachel Carter is a theater director in the Oklahoma City
drama scene.
Carter's directorial efforts have won awards and garnered critical acclaim. She has recently accepted the position of Associate Artistic Director for the Oklahoma City Theatre Company. She has also just been named the program director for "The Classics Live," a touring troupe that brings classic works of drama (e.g. Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
, a dramatic adaptation of Beowulf
, and Antigone
) before a variety of audiences.
Rachel Lee Carter was born in Searcy, Arkansas
in the mid 1970s. She began her theatrical career at Harding Academy
in Searcy and continued it at Harding University
, where she won female performer of the year for 1994-1995. Her early career was marked by dramatic success and multiple acting awards.
After getting her BA from Harding University, she formed the Persnickety Players Drama Ministry, a small touring troupe focused on sacred drama, with Scott Hale in Oklahoma City. Her graduate degrees from Oklahoma City University
(MPA) and the University of Oklahoma
(MFA) focused on acting and directing respectively. She has directed and starred in dozens of plays and even written a few.
The Oklahoma Gazette
named the productions of On the Verge of the Geography of Yearning and Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol, both directed by Carter, to their list of Top Five dramatic events in 2003 and 2005, respectively. Carter's directorial prowess generally receives praise from local journalists and critics, though some have noted their reservations. Carter now splits her time between adjunct teaching at Oklahoma City universities, grant writing, several directing projects, and the occasional onstage appearance.
in a way that demonstrated her commitment to artistic integrity and to bringing a wide range of theatre experiences to the local community. Her full-scale rendering of Aeschylus
’ Oresteian Trilogy (a classic of Greek tragedy, uniting the narratives of Agamemnon
, Choephori, and Eumenides
) included a traditional Greek chorus
(complete with handmade masks) and an original musical score crafted to complement Carter’s own painstakingly edited script. Modern productions of Greek tragedy rarely aim for such historical and aesthetic authenticity.
, a dramatization of Barbara Ehrenreich
's popular non-fiction book of the same title. The play focuses on the lives of working class women. It ran 14 April 2006 through 7 May 2006.
Carter also played the role of Grendel's mother
in a new play called Wealhtheow’s Dream. The play is an adaptation of the early English epic, Beowulf
. (Wealthteow is Hrothgar’s wife.) The show was one night only: 26 April 2006.
She played Calpurnia
in William Shakespeare
's Julius Caesar
at the Oklahoma City Theatre Company on 10 November 2006.
She played a small role in Peter Shaffer's play, Amadeus
, September 2007.
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
drama scene.
Carter's directorial efforts have won awards and garnered critical acclaim. She has recently accepted the position of Associate Artistic Director for the Oklahoma City Theatre Company. She has also just been named the program director for "The Classics Live," a touring troupe that brings classic works of drama (e.g. Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, a dramatic adaptation of Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
, and Antigone
Antigone (Sophocles)
Antigone is a tragedy by Sophocles written in or before 442 BC. Chronologically, it is the third of the three Theban plays but was written first...
) before a variety of audiences.
Rachel Lee Carter was born in Searcy, Arkansas
Searcy, Arkansas
Searcy is the largest city and county seat of White County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,663. It is the principal city of the Searcy, AR Micropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of White County...
in the mid 1970s. She began her theatrical career at Harding Academy
Harding Academy (Searcy, Arkansas)
Harding Academy is a K-12 private school in Searcy, Arkansas. It is affiliated with Harding University. Like that institution, it is associated with the Churches of Christ and named in honor of an early minister of that fellowship, James A. Harding....
in Searcy and continued it at Harding University
Harding University
Harding University is located in Searcy, Arkansas, in the United States, about north-east of Little Rock. It is a private liberal arts Christian university associated with the Churches of Christ. The university takes its name from James A...
, where she won female performer of the year for 1994-1995. Her early career was marked by dramatic success and multiple acting awards.
After getting her BA from Harding University, she formed the Persnickety Players Drama Ministry, a small touring troupe focused on sacred drama, with Scott Hale in Oklahoma City. Her graduate degrees from Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma City University, often referred to as OCU, is a coeducational, urban, private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church...
(MPA) and the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
(MFA) focused on acting and directing respectively. She has directed and starred in dozens of plays and even written a few.
The Oklahoma Gazette
Oklahoma Gazette
The Oklahoma Gazette is a weekly multi-award-winning independent paper distributed throughout Oklahoma City. It covers statewide news dealing with topics such as theater, music, and sports...
named the productions of On the Verge of the Geography of Yearning and Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol, both directed by Carter, to their list of Top Five dramatic events in 2003 and 2005, respectively. Carter's directorial prowess generally receives praise from local journalists and critics, though some have noted their reservations. Carter now splits her time between adjunct teaching at Oklahoma City universities, grant writing, several directing projects, and the occasional onstage appearance.
The Oresteia
Carter's MFA thesis involved recasting The OresteiaThe Oresteia
The Oresteia is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus which concerns the end of the curse on the House of Atreus. When originally performed it was accompanied by Proteus, a satyr play that would have been performed following the trilogy; it has not survived...
in a way that demonstrated her commitment to artistic integrity and to bringing a wide range of theatre experiences to the local community. Her full-scale rendering of Aeschylus
Aeschylus
Aeschylus was the first of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived, the others being Sophocles and Euripides, and is often described as the father of tragedy. His name derives from the Greek word aiskhos , meaning "shame"...
’ Oresteian Trilogy (a classic of Greek tragedy, uniting the narratives of Agamemnon
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope of Mycenae, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the father of Electra and Orestes. Mythical legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area...
, Choephori, and Eumenides
Eumenides
Eumenides may refer to:* Another name for the Erinyes, Greek deities of vengeance* The Eumenides, the third part of Aeschylus' Greek tragedy, the Oresteia...
) included a traditional Greek chorus
Greek chorus
A Greek chorus is a homogenous, non-individualised group of performers in the plays of classical Greece, who comment with a collective voice on the dramatic action....
(complete with handmade masks) and an original musical score crafted to complement Carter’s own painstakingly edited script. Modern productions of Greek tragedy rarely aim for such historical and aesthetic authenticity.
Selected plays
- Directed Ordinary People, a play based on the novel by Judith GuestJudith GuestJudith Guest is an American novelist and screenwriter. She was born in Detroit, Michigan and is the great-niece of Poet Laureate Edgar Guest .- Work :...
, March 1–2, 8-9, 2002. - Directed Quilters, a play about pioneer women, April 18–20, 2002.
- Directed The Glass MenagerieThe Glass MenagerieThe Glass Menagerie is a four-character memory play by Tennessee Williams. Williams worked on various drafts of the play prior to writing a version of it as a screenplay for MGM, to whom Williams was contracted...
by Tennessee WilliamsTennessee WilliamsThomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
, April 5, 18, and 19, 2003. - Directed On the Verge, or The Geography of Yearning on November 14, 2003. This production was named one of the Top Five dramatic events of 2003 by the Oklahoma GazetteOklahoma GazetteThe Oklahoma Gazette is a weekly multi-award-winning independent paper distributed throughout Oklahoma City. It covers statewide news dealing with topics such as theater, music, and sports...
. - Directed the musical Into the WoodsInto the WoodsInto the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim...
by Stephen SondheimStephen SondheimStephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
, November 3–5, 2005. - Directed Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol, a dramatic take on the classic Charles DickensCharles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
novel, but this time the story focuses on the afterlife of Ebenezer ScroogeEbenezer ScroogeEbenezer Scrooge is the principal character in Charles Dickens's 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge is a cold-hearted, tight-fisted and greedy man, who despises Christmas and all things which give people happiness...
’s partner, Marley (who must escape his chains by redeeming Scrooge). The play ran December 2–22, 2005. It was named one of the Top Five dramatic events of 2005 by the Oklahoma Gazette. - Directed The Rimers of Eldritch, a play which deals with the issues of sexual exploitation and murder, February 15, 2006.
- Directed Little WomenLittle WomenLittle Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott . The book was written and set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts. It was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869...
February 17 & 18, 24 & 25, 2006. The play is based upon the book by Louisa May AlcottLouisa May AlcottLouisa May Alcott was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women was set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, and published in 1868...
and adapted for the stage by Mariod De Forest. - Directed the musical Little Shop of HorrorsLittle Shop of Horrors (musical)Little Shop of Horrors is a rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman...
, November 2–4, 2006. - Directed ElectraElectra (Euripides)Euripides' Electra was a play probably written in the mid 410s BC, likely after 413 BC. It is unclear whether it was first produced before or after Sophocles' version of the Electra story.-Background:...
(February 16–17, 23-24, 2007), the first Greek tragedy ever produced at Oklahoma Christian UniversityOklahoma Christian UniversityOklahoma Christian University is a private comprehensive coeducational Christian liberal arts university founded in 1950 by members of the churches of Christ. OC is located on a campus in Oklahoma City. Enrollment for the fall 2011 semester numbered 2,194, which included 1,854 undergraduate and...
. - Directed Cat on a Hot Tin RoofCat on a Hot Tin RoofCat on a Hot Tin Roof is a play by Tennessee Williams. One of Williams's best-known works and his personal favorite, the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955...
, the famous play by Tennessee WilliamsTennessee WilliamsThomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
, late in the 2007 spring season for the Oklahoma City Theatre Company. - Adapted the novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for a stage production at the Oklahoma City Theatre Company, October 2007.
- Directed West Side Story for Oklahoma Christian UniversityOklahoma Christian UniversityOklahoma Christian University is a private comprehensive coeducational Christian liberal arts university founded in 1950 by members of the churches of Christ. OC is located on a campus in Oklahoma City. Enrollment for the fall 2011 semester numbered 2,194, which included 1,854 undergraduate and...
's Homecoming, November 2007.
Recent roles
Carter returned to the stage to star in several roles in the Oklahoma City Theatre Company's production of Nickel and DimedNickel and Dimed
Nickel and Dimed: On Getting By in America is a book written by Barbara Ehrenreich. Written from the perspective of the undercover journalist, it sets out to investigate the impact of the 1996 welfare reform act on the "working poor" in the United States...
, a dramatization of Barbara Ehrenreich
Barbara Ehrenreich
-Early life:Ehrenreich was born Barbara Alexander to Isabelle Oxley and Ben Howes Alexander in Butte, Montana, which she describes as then being "a bustling, brawling, blue collar mining town."...
's popular non-fiction book of the same title. The play focuses on the lives of working class women. It ran 14 April 2006 through 7 May 2006.
Carter also played the role of Grendel's mother
Grendel's mother
Grendel's mother is one of three antagonists in the work of Old English literature of anonymous authorship, Beowulf . She is never given a name in the text....
in a new play called Wealhtheow’s Dream. The play is an adaptation of the early English epic, Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
. (Wealthteow is Hrothgar’s wife.) The show was one night only: 26 April 2006.
She played Calpurnia
Calpurnia Pisonis
Calpurnia Pisonis , daughter of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, sister of Lucius Calpurnius Piso, "the Pontifex", was a Roman woman and the third and last wife of Julius Caesar. Calpurnia was the great-granddaughter of a lieutenant of Lucius Cassius Longinus, whose name was Lucius Piso...
in William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar (play)
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...
at the Oklahoma City Theatre Company on 10 November 2006.
She played a small role in Peter Shaffer's play, Amadeus
Amadeus
Amadeus is a play by Peter Shaffer.It is based on the lives of the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, highly fictionalized.Amadeus was first performed in 1979...
, September 2007.
External links
- http://www.okctheatrecompany.org/company.htm
- http://www.hellorachelcarter.blogspot.com/
- http://www.cityrep.com/top_five.htm
- http://www.oc.edu/academics/arts_sciences/theatre/IntotheWoods.aspx
- http://www.oc.edu/academics/arts_sciences/theatre/LittleWomen.aspx
- http://www.oc.edu/campuscommunity/cc68_apr11_02/
- http://www.okctheatrecompany.org/
- http://www.oudaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/11/14/3fb431ba49ece
- http://www.oudaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/04/11/3e9626dc5d0ca
- http://www.edmondlifeandleisure.com/detail.php?58145,2,38
- http://www.edmondlifeandleisure.com/detail.php?58250,2,45
- http://www.gayly.com/articleprintview.ASP?articleid=71896917320041130221446